Vintage dolls by Milan Gehler

A little story about Milan Gehler vintage dolls that I found. The history of the MiGe company.

Most often I buy dolls for the collection on eBay, preferring delivery from Europe and especially lots of several dolls. Be sure to find rare and in good condition dolls in such a set. And so, after a long search, I saw this lot –

For a very long time, I dreamed of getting Milan Gehler (MIGE) dolls in my collection. Milan Gehler dolls are quite rare to see on sale. One of the reasons is that few original dolls were produced, and therefore the cost of the dolls sold is high. Let’s take a look at these dolls –

The history of Milan Gehler’s company is foggy and according to information in various sources, one can only guess and try to systematize information based on some facts.

The catalogs of dolls and toys, on the tags of dolls, and on the packaging indicate the year of the foundation of the company MiGe (Milon Gehler) – 1898.

Carl Milton Geller, born in 1868, died in 1950. After the wedding in 1898, he was listed in the church book as a baker.

His only son Carl Arnaud (1899-1970) continued the business when he lived in Neustadt near Coburg
where after 1945 he had a company that had no economic connection with his parents’ company. This area of Germany is famous for its puppet companies.

Milon Gehler was founded in 1898 and dissolved in 1969. Most likely, this was due to the nationalization of small puppet artels into single factories. Milan Gehler’s doll Factory was founded in 1898 and dissolved in 1969. This was due to the nationalization of small puppet artels into separate factories. With the advent of large concerns, small factories lost their trademarks, and dolls were no longer labeled. Dolls are sold in ordinary cardboard boxes with the inscription Steinacher.

The company joined the huge toy factory VEB Kleinpuppen Lichte and Kombinat Spielwaren . The main products of the new department were fabrics, fashion, and dance dolls, as well as a bumper car.

All MiGe dolls have a simulated hairstyle with a “roller” in the center, but some dolls had small triangular company logos attached to their wrists with a thread.

If you have a similar doll in your collection, then you can check it for compliance with the MiGe company on some grounds.

A special kind of shaping of knees on legs.
A special kind of shoe molding.

The second find brought me a 10.5 cm tall MIGE doll already produced without labeling, and it was by these signs that I realized that it was a Milo Gehler doll. And the little dolls from the lot also turned out to be MiGe dolls.

The heart of the GDR toy industry was beating in Sonneberg. In 1952, there were more than 100 small private companies producing toys here alone. Gradually, more and more puppet enterprises in the GDR were united into factories. In 1972, the last private toy companies in the GDR were nationalized, centralized, and thus transferred to state-owned factories.