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I remember as a kid back in the-mid sixties going to the grocery store and stopping at the gumball machine, and finding along with the gum balls little capsules containing troll dolls. I became fascinated and had to have one. Before long, every kid on the block was collecting them. What was it about this ugly pot-bellied, no-foreheaded doll that made people crazy for them? It all started when a Danish wood cutter named Thomas Dam could not afford to buy a doll for his daughter’s birthday and instead carved a troll doll out of wood. A troll, according to Nordic legend, is a mischievous creature that lives in forests, caves and logs, and under bridges. If caught, it will bring good luck to its owner. Dam’s daughter liked her present so much that she showed it to all her playmates. Eventually, a Danish toy company collaborated with Dam and in a few years the doll was showing up in stores around the world. Trolls come to the U.S. The doll hit the U.S. market in the autumn of 1963, and in 1964, both Time and Life magazines wrote articles about the doll emphasing the good luck it brought its owners helping to propel sales in the U.S. past the million mark second only to the Barbie doll. These first dolls were produced by Dam were called “Damit” dolls in honor of their creator . Spurred on by the huge success of the dolls and a mistake made by the Dam family in the filing of their American copy right, other manufacturers were soon producing dolls under trade names “Wishniks,“ ”Treasure Trolls" and “Nor fins“. By the end of 1965, the market was flooded by cheaper, poor quality imitations from Taiwan and Hong Kong that led to the rapid decline in demand for the dolls and a subsequent disappearance from store shelves. The doll became a fad again in 1989 driven by demands of nostalgic baby boomers and its appearance on television shows including "The Drew Carey show," where arch rival Mimi has a troll collection on her desk that serves as material for numerous jokes for the series. High profile political figures such as Lady Bird Johnson admitted that she carried a troll doll when she traveled. Even small towns keep the legacy alive — Mt Horeb, Wisconsin, claims to be the troll capitol of the world and decorates their downtown business district with many troll statues, helping to keep the "troll" popular.
Are troll dolls worth collecting? Yes. Although thousands of types were made and produced by several manufacturers, the most valuable were made by Thomas Dam. The original 1960’s Dam trolls in their original costumes with felt clothing and mohair hair usually go for $15-$30. Rare animal trolls, moon trolls, extremely rare two headed trolls and black trolls along with large Dam trolls over 12 inches can go from $50 to $200 per unit. To read more about troll doll collecting, check out the following web sites. More about trolls —Frank
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me back to the Main Archives page!
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Want
to take a troll down memory lane?
In
2003, Dam was able to fix the loop hole on his American copyright
and become the official manufacturer of the doll once more. Dam
started producing the dolls again during this time but will only
sell his current trolls in Denmark.