It used to be just a simple toy. Now dolls became collectible. It is because through time, innovations have happened with how they make the dolls that one cannot help but buy each design that they like and collect them for personal enjoyment or even as an investment.

A Doll as a Child’s Toy
A doll was created as a representation of people, animals and other creatures that the mind could imagine. It is said to be around since time immemorial. Our ancestors may have dolls carved out from woods and other materials that can easily be gotten from the environment.

But now, name whatever you like your doll to be made out of from and you could easily find one. There are dolls that are made out of simple things like paper or wood, bone, clay, rubber or plastic to the complex and hard to find stones, porcelain, china and cloth.

Other Uses of Dolls
In early times, dolls were used as representations of something important in ceremonies and even religious rituals. It is also evident until now, the voodoo dolls that are being used in witchcraft and sometimes, just as an accessory for people who owns such.

There are also dolls that are being used by people in the medical profession to train budding health professionals regarding the anatomy of the human body. While there are also dolls to train caregivers on how to look after babies, even new moms and daddies can be handed dolls to prepare on how to care for a child while awaiting the birth of the real one.

But most dolls serve as fashion figures. Like Barbies became really prominent because of the clothes that they wear and the accessories that they come up with.

History of Dolls
There are archaeological evidences that prove that dolls are among the oldest toys ever existed, the earliest ones was said to be found on 2000 BC in Egyptian tombs, mostly in children’s graves. While the type that has limbs and are movable and the outfits may be changed is said to date back in the 600 BCE. While in Asia, fashion dolls has become one of the fastest rising forms of collection among adults, especially in South Korea and Japan.

The Materials
Dolls nowadays can be made out of every material available, as long as it can actually be transformed. Not only have the materials varied but the features of the dolls. The materials now known to make dolls from are leather, paper, bisque, china, clay, celluloid, even corn husks, resin, rubber, or wax wood, bone, or ivory, vinyl, porcelain among many others.

Famous Kinds
Barbie may come in our minds first when talking about famous dolls. But other types that stand out in the collector’s market include action figures, especially if the characters are from famous movies or TV shows, Ball-jointed dolls, Chatty Cathy, other Celebrity Dolls or those that are patterned after your favorite famous personalities, Fashion dolls like Barbie and Bratz, Holly Hobbie Dolls, Cabbage Patch Kids, Paper Dolls, Strawberry Shortcake, to Japanese and voodoo dolls.

The abovementioned are only some of the collectible dolls available in the market now. There really are so many to choose from, it just depends on what you want to add up to your collection or just possess to enjoy as a toy.