Engel-Puppen has been in business for more than 100 years. It is the oldest doll factory at its location in Roedental, Bavaria, Germany.
The Engel-Puppen dolls produce almost any type of doll from small playable vinyl dolls to decorative dolls in original German costumes, from nostalgic collectible dolls to valuable artist dolls made of porcelain in limited editions. The company also produces a large variety in doll clothes and accessories. One very important fact about the Engel-Puppen doll lines and accessories is that they are all made in Germany and meet the standard of quality that German products are known for all over the world.
At the end of the 19th century, home-workers in the city of Rodental, collected materials from their contractors located in world city of toys, Sonneberg. The dolls were usually complete. Most of the workers worked from workshops in their living rooms.
The first doll factory was established in Monchroden in October/November of 1896 by Edmuch Knoch and his wife, Emilie. Together they started working in one room of her father's house, but soon outgrew the space and moved to another house in Rothinestr 7. They moved into their own factory building in 1908 in Lange Wiesen 6.
The first big success of the Edmund Knoch Company was the small princess dolls sold mostly by exporters from Hamburg. Their next biggest customers were the export companies from Sonneberg, which is the oldest toy city in the world.
Edmund Knoch died in 1934. Edmund's son, Otto and his mother began to run the company, which now had 30 employees and home workers.
After the Second World War, Otto Knoch and his wife, Helga restarted the doll production with a trade mark of the letters "E.K." with a crown over them. Most deliveries went to the wholesalers and exporters in Sonneberg until the year of 1948.
Three more important doll factories were established in Germany. These were:
• E. Maar & Sohn in 1910
• Drei-M in 1920
• Zapf in 1931
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The materials changed over the years from pressing compo, paper-mache, casting compo, porcelain and rubber to hard plastic and vinyl. Hard plastic and vinyl are materials of choice for doll production today.
With the death of Helga Knoch, Otto retired. His son, Lothar, had become a lawyer and was not interested in the doll business. Otto Knoch died in 1985.
January 1, 1976, Helmuth Engel came into the company and rented it for three years. Helmuth Engel worked with dolls all his life. After his childhood days in school, he joined the Drei-M doll company, which was one of the largest doll companies in Germany at that time. After 25 years working for the Drei-M doll company, Helmuth Engel decided to start his own company.
Helmuth Engel lead the Knoch Company in 1976 and at that time a new trademark was designed. The trademark was an angel with a crown placed in an oval. In 1979, Helmuth Engel bought the Knoch Company and moved the company to a larger building at Monchrodener Str. 55 on the main road in Rodental, which is located near the old factory. The company's name was changed from Edmund Knoch to "Helmut Engel."
Helmuth's daughter Susanne joined the company in 1983. By 1992, Susanne Engel created a part of the Engel collection. Markus Engle, the youngest child of Helmuth was the designated successor of Helmuth Engel. He joined the company in 1989. The company changed into a corporation with the name of "Engel-Puppen GmbH." Markus Engel now leads the business as the sole manager.
Source: Engel-Puppen Online
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© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Written by: Connie Limon. For more information about starting and maintaining a Vintage Doll Collection visit http://smalldogs2.com/VintageDollCollecting For a variety of FREE reprint articles as well as special sections in U.S. History and the Kennedy Administration visit http://www.camelotarticles.com
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