Composition Dolls:

Composition is a catchall term that describes a variety of materials used to make dolls. Composition material could include wood pulp, sawdust, old gloves, rags, and so forth, mixed with glue. Each doll maker had a "secret" composition formula.

Composition materials frequently were used to make doll bodies as well as doll heads. Often, bisque, china, or wax head dolls had composition bodies. Although composition dolls frequently were advertised as "indestructible," in reality they damaged quite easily.

Composition dolls date from the middle of the 19th century (1800s) in the United States. They became especially popular during World War I when it was difficult to import dolls made of other materials. As late as 1947, one doll expert described composition as "the principal material for doll manufacture" in the country. The use of composition has given way to modern plastics.