vintage american industrial hallow copper metal doll head mold possibly fabricated by or for the ideal toy corp., new york city, ny. this "production mold" was created from a wax sculpture placed into a chemical/plating bath where the wax melts away and the copper mold remains. vinyl, polymer, clay or another medium is used to create the actual doll parts that are then treated with skin tones, threaded hair, etc. the molds are typically "retired" after the production of 250-300 finished appendages. the vintage doll form was salvaged from an old doll assembly factory in new york. interior cavity accessed from the backside of the head. great surface patina. similar forms are available. during the 19th century dolls' heads were often made of porcelain and combined with a body of leather, cloth, wood, or composite materials, like papier-mâché or composition, a mix of pulp, sawdust, glue and similar materials. with the advent of polymer and plastic materials in the 20th century, doll making largely shifted to these materials. the low cost, ease of manufacture and durability of plastic materials meant new types of dolls could be mass produced at a lower price. the earliest materials were rubber and celluloid. from the mid-20th century soft vinyl became the dominant material, in particular for childrens dolls.