American Girl marks certain dolls with an “artist mark” on the back of their necks. This makes it a super neat thing to look for, and may tell you more about your doll!
What is an artist mark?
In their post Basic Doll Anatony, American Girl Wiki gives us this: “Some dolls have small “artist” markings behind one ear. These are assumed to be from the early production, but cannot be relied on to give a definitive age of the doll.”[2]
In other words, an artist mark is a little patch of scratches molded underneath your doll’s ear—usually the right.
American Girl doesn’t mark all dolls, and it’s unknown for sure why they don’t. I agree with AG Wiki’s suggestion that it’s a mark of early production[1] since none of my newer dolls have them.
Whatever dolls you own, it’s fun to check and see if you can spot one or more of these unique artist marks!
Where is the artist mark?
To see if AG marked your doll, lift your doll’s hair off of her neck.
Check behind and under her right ear, near the crease of her neck. After that, if American Girl has marked your doll and if look closely, you should see a unique patch of scratches on the vinyl.
Emily — edited to show detail
For instance, my dolls Molly, Emelie (Emily), and Jasmine (Saige) all have artist marks. None of my newer dolls have artist marks, however (Ivy [’14], Truly Me #56 [’15], Lea [’16]).
In addition, I’ve noticed all three of my dolls’ marks look the same: a distorted hashtag with a C in the bottom righthand corner. Molly was purchased in 2011 and Emelie & Jasmine in 2013.
Check your own dolls! Do any of them have artist marks?
What are your thoughts and observations as to why certain dolls have artist marks but others don’t? And above all… why are they even there? Join the discussion below!
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P.S. In addition to some other exciting plans, I’m working on an introductory photostory for my two new dolls!
Interesting! I can’t wait for the photoseries!
Thank you so much! Can’t wait to post them! :D
Your welcome! :) I recently started my own blog! It’s hoovesandpens.wordpress.com if you want to check it out.
Ooh, your blog sounds awesome! What’s it about? I’d love to check it out!
Um, right now I’m working on an article about birth symbols!
Ooh, nice! Do you ever post about dolls?
I only have one. :). I probably will in the future though! (I’ve only had my blog for three days)
Cool! Is she an American Girl one? And awesome! And hehe, I’m sorry sound like I’m interrogating you or something… ? I’m just a curious person. XD
That’s okay! I’m curious too! Yeah, she TM #30! I’m saving up for their new contemporary doll, Tenney Grant! I will definitely be doing doll posts in the future.
Yay for curious people! ;) Ooh, that’s so cool! And Tenney is so pretty — I hope you’re able to get her soon! I can’t wait to see them! :D
Hey, madison!
Oh wow that’s so cool I didn’t know about that! Great post! I like to chat for while if you have time?
It is! Thank you! Sure!
Thanks for following!
No problem! :D
Ok I didn’t know about theark on some AG the sooooo cool! HOW ARE YOU???
They are cool! I’m good, how are you?
I meant mark on the doll lol typos ?
I’m Great just really tired! I’ve been busy all day? oh….I was going to ask you something….??WHAT WAS IT! Uhh..?
Haha, I’m really tired, too! I got one hour of sleep on Sunday. :/ Don’t know how many I got this morning… >.< LOL! I forget what I'm going to ask people sometimes, too.
Oh wow really I own had a couple hours of sleep on suday :/ I was to tired to get p for church XD! Actually it’s not a whole lot funny I’m tired?LOL! I know right i forgot what I was going to say!?lol how’s your family?
Oh my. ??? They’re good! How are yours?
Lol??? there good! I’m going to send you a couple pics I took today it’s hallarious!
OK! I have to go now, but I’ll definitely check them out later! TTYL!
Okay me too! Talk to you soon! Ttyl?
Interesting! I read, and then went off to check my dolls. Turns out, Clara (55, from late 2013) has one! Wow! Julie, who is an older doll from 2008, does not seem too, though, and Grace and Caroline are newer and don’t either. It’s fun to know that now!
~Gracie
P.S. Yay for the new dolls’ photo series! :-)
Ooh, awesome! Thanks for sharing! That really is interesting. Hehe, it is!
P.S. Yay! I can’t wait to post them! :D
Hehe, I was just thinking, what if some American Girl manufacturers schemed to put marks on a few dolls every so often to get people talking, wondering, and thinking that it had some special meaning or something, LOL. It was probably not for that reason, though. XD
If it was, I’d probably bust out laughing at American Girl’s randomness. ???
Interesting! I’ll have to check Caroline to see if she has an artist mark!! I’m not sure why some have them… maybe in early production, people were apart of the production and wanted to mark the dolls they made, and they it turned to all machine made? I don’t know! It’s interesting! :D
Ooh, let me know if she has one! Hahaha, maybe! It really is! :D
YOUR NEW HEADER IS EPIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the new doll is so pretty along with K.C. and Taryn!! I love the new header, you did such a great job!! :D
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! :D :D :D I’m SO glad you like it, thank you so much! :D
Very interesting, Madi! I will check my dolls later to see if they have any. Have a great day!
Thanks, Liz! Ooh, let me know what you find! Aw, thanks — you too! ❤️
Cool! I can’t WAIT for the photostory… where I’ll meet Taryn’s sister? ;)
Izzy?
Thanks! And why, yes, yes you will… ;)
Now you have me wondering, I’m going to have to check!!!
Let me know what you find!
Ooh, interesting! I had no idea. I’ll certainly look at my dolls’ necks! (That sounds sort of weird… XD )
It’s really neat! LOLOL! XD
Ooh, thank you for posting about this! Turns out Ava and Poesy both have them, but Ivy doesn’t. How interesting! :P
-Clara <3
Aw, thanks for commenting! Hmm, interesting! :P
Yeah! :D (Your new header is so pretty! I spy a #62… XD)
(Thank you so much! Heh heh… ? XD)
Ok, here’s what I got:
Melanie( purchased 2014): no artist mark
Chrissa: no artist mark
Kanani: no artist mark
Jamey and James(purchased 2014): no artist mark.
Kit: (purchased used): no artist mark.
Kaya (I don’t know when she was purchased.): no artist mark.
Saige : artist mark on left.
Molly (Pleasent Company doll purchased used ) : artist mark on left.
Grace: no artist mark but she has two tiny purple lines at the base of her neck that she came with. (I don’t know if that’s a defect or some sort of artist mark type thing.)
Wow, I’ve never heard of an artist mark on the left before! I’m going to go edit the post. Thanks so much for sharing!
HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS??? Welp, you learn something every day! XD
Anyway, I just checked my dolls, and Saige, Nicole (#22), and Caroline have them! You should have seen my reaction to finding them – SO COOL! :D :D :D
XDDD True dat! ;D
Oooh, neato! That’s so cool! :D Thanks for sharing!
Hmm…Out of my 11 dolls, only 3 have an artist mark! Pleasant Co. Felicity (Probably from the 90’s, since she has soft eyelashes) Samantha (2008) and #33 (2011).
My Pleasant Co. stamped Nellie (2007) and my new Logan doll, (who also has the Pleasant Co. stamp!?!) don’t have artist marks. Nor do my Emily (2013), #56 (2012) or Ivy (2014)
Oooh, nice! Thanks for sharing — my Emily has an artist mark but she’s from 2013, too, so that’s really interesting.
Can’t wait to meet your new dolls! Hmm, I’ve never heard of artist marks. I wonder if they just made them for fun. ;)
~ Taryn
http://lifeofafarmdoll.blogspot.ca/
I can’t wait to post the photostory! LOL, that’d be funny if they did. XD
this is so cool! i just ran downstairs and checked all of my dolls. molly, emily, caroline, tracy, savannah, isabelle, and saige all have an artist mark. i had never noticed it before!
can’t wait for your photostory. they’re always amazing. :)
xo loren
Isn’t it? I can’t believe I haven’t posted about it until now. XD Woah, that many? Nice! And thank you! I can’t wait to post it. ?
Intriguing! So excited for the photo series!
Thanks so much!
Lea has no artist mark on either side. ??♀️
Neither does mine. ??♀️
Maybe it’s a Lea thing. ??♀️
Probably.
Hi! Madison!?How are you today??
Hello! Good, you?
Hello, ?Great that your Great! I’m Great! LOL? Guess what I have to watch my cousins dog Elliot from last Saturday to this Saturday for a whole week!!!???????
Oh my. ??? You’ll be busy. ?
I know right!!!
They said until Monday but they were house sitting And my aunt can’t drive because….I’ll tell you through text!
LOL
LOL! Okay!
Keep
Up
the
AWESOME-
NESS!
&
THE AWESOME!
WORK!
On EVERY-THING!
I
Am
Really
excited
for
the
next
post!!!!!!!!!
Awww, thanks! ❤️
Ok I don’t know why it did that!
LOLOLOL!!
XD!!!
You know, that’s what I ask myself after everything I say or do… ever. Now why did I do that? ?
Haha, me too!
OOOOH COOOL. LIKE A TATTOO. XD Also I’ve been meaning to watch your stop motion video??? However, homework hates me so and I have no time. :(
YEAH, LIKE A TATTOO. XD Aw, no problem! I hope you get to watch it soon, but if you can’t, it’s fine! Life is… insane… XD
This has GOT to be the coolest post I’ve ever seen! I checked all of my dolls, and 6 out of 9 (soon to be 10) have them! Molly, Emily, Kit, Saige, Amelia, and Samantha have one! Mine are similarly shaped to the ones you have, but some have an I and a P, and one has a V and an R!
This was SO INTERESTING to read! Tanks for telling me about this!
~Sam
Aw, that means so much! I’m glad you like it! :D
Ooooh! Don’t they all have the classic mold, and yet they have different signature letters? WOW! Thank you so much for sharing! That’s so neat!
Thank you again, Sam! I’m so glad it was interesting! :D
Yeah, I was SO excited! That is SO weird! I can’t wait to see if my newest #58 will have one when she arrives Friday!
Molly, Emily, and Saige were from 2013, and Kit, Amelia and Samantha were from 2015!
Also, I LOVE your new header!
~Sam
(BTW, I changed my username to Samantha rather than samanthadolls, so don’t worry, it’s me not a poser!)
*screams* You’re getting #58 on Friday? That’s today! YAAAY!
Ooh, thanks for telling me! That’s really neat!
Yay, I’m so glad you like it! Thank you!
P.S. OK! I figured it was still you, hehe!
WOW!! As soon as I read this post I checked my doll Caroline and she had the mark!! (Behind her right ear) Then I google searched ‘artist mark’ and this is one thing that came up:
In addition to the neck stamp, many dolls also have an additional mark which is found at the hairline toward the doll’s right ear (looks a bit like #@). This is called the artist mark or designer mark and is actually the mark of the designer of the original head mold.
The presence of this mark is very random as it can be found on some old dolls made in West Germany, brand new dolls made in China, and signed dolls. However, it is also absent on some old dolls, signed dolls and new dolls. Despite a lot of attention that is given to it, this mark does nothing to help in the aging of a doll or in the determination of the country in which it was produced.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ooooh, that’s so awesome!
And thank you so much for sharing that! I searched Google for artist mark too but the only thing I found was on AG Wiki. Do you know what site you found that from / what page that was on? I’d love to reference it in my post, if possible. Thank you so much for sharing! :D
Not trying to be weird….but I just copy and pasted that artist mark info into google search and found where it was from! It was on the page titled “Collectible American Girl Dolls: An Insider’s Guide” at ebay.com.
Here’s the link (you have to scroll down some to find it the part on artist marks): http://www.ebay.com/gds/Collectible-American-Girl-Dolls-An-Insiders-Guide-/10000000000962859/g.html
~Ms. AGdoll XD XD
Oh thanks Ms. AGdoll!! No problem!!
BTW Madi, I LOVE your new header pic!! Its AWESOME!!
haha……just noticed the dolls in the stunning header are in the same order as the as on your ‘Meet the dolls’ section!! :P…is it in the order you got them?!!
Yes, you’re right! They are in the order that I got them!
Thank you SOOO much! I’m so glad you like it! :D
Holy cow! You got a new header! I love it so much!!! But wait, who is that unnamed doll at the end?!?! ;)
~ Taryn
http://lifeofafarmdoll.blogspot.ca/
I sure did! Aw, thank you so much — so glad you like it! UHH… NOBODY… XD
LOVE then new header!
Felicity has one, but she’s the only one. Lea, Alexandra, Maryellen, Isabelle, and Logan do not have one.
YAY, I’m so glad! ?
Ooh, thanks for sharing! Yeah, my Lea doesn’t have one either.
Audrey, #33 (2011) has it, and so does Macy #14 (2011), but Rebecca (2009) does not…
~Alyse~
I find it odd, because I got Rebecca the year she came out….
Hmmm, that’s interesting…
So does it have something to do with early production? If so, the Rebecca that I got must be wrong…
That’s what’s assumed, but we don’t know for sure.
Ooh, neato! Hmm, interesting.
This is so cool!! I never knew about this…….XD
I checked my three dolls (MAG #24, Caroline, and Pleasant Company Felicity), and Lissie is the only one who has one!
~Ms. AGdoll~
P.S. I spy a mysterious unknown doll in your new header…….
LOL! XD
Ooh, that’s so neat! You have a PC Felicity? That’s so cool!
P.S. Ah, yes, you do indeed… ;)
Soo cool! :) I went to my dolls directly and checked each of them…. only Katie has one! :) I LOVE YOUR NEW HEADER! DID YOU NAME HER WHAT I THINK YOU NAMED HER?!?!!??! SHE’S GORGEOUS! YOU FINALLY GOT IT UP! AND TARYN AND K.C. ARE THERE TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
Light4theLord
https://dollsnall.blogspot.com
Isn’t it? Ooh, so cool! Katie was originally a Kit doll, right?
OOH THANK YOU! MAYBE! TEHEHE! :D SO excited to introduce them both!
Hey Madi ! IDK if my dolls have artist marks or not because im not home i didnt bring my dolls on vaca with me.But i will check! Miss u !
Ooh, let me know what you find! Miss you too! Please be back in time for youth camp this summer… if I have to go without you I promise you I’m gonna die. ?
I’ve never noticed these before!
Here’s what I have…
#23, purchased in 2009- no mark on her, but I had her head replaced last summer… may have something to do with it!
#39, purchased in 2011- Yep, on the right!
#24, purchased 2016- Nope.
This was cool Madi, thanks for sharing!
Also, I LOVE your new blog photo!!! <3
Can't wait to formally meet K.C. and ?? !!! :)
Oooh, that’s so cool! I wanna check my friend’s #39 now and see if she has one, too.
Aw, thank you! :D
And YAY! So glad you like it!!
I can’t wait to introduce them! I’m about to post something… ;D
Yes, you should! :)
I saw Heads Up Part 1! Loved it! And I LOVE the name Delaney! <3
:)
Hey madison!
I can’t see your reply ☝up at kind of the top lol
GOOD GOLIATH’S GRAVVVYYY!!!! My mind has officially blown through the roof. THIS IS SO COOL!!!!! You know what’s even cooler?!?!? THE ANTARCTIC!!! or me…ya’ know I’m cool too XD wait I just realized those are two different definitions of ‘cool’….. but anyway putting my random kidding-ness (sorry I’m making up words here) aside what’s even cooler is, my Sage doll has this mysterious signature on her neck also! This is so cool, and I can’t believe I never noticed it before XD thanks so much for pointing this out!!!
Did I never respond to this?? Anyway thanks so much! XDD
Hi madison,
My name is Hope Hyink. (aka violahope).
I Like your blog.
I just found an artist mark on my Gotz doll.
The info you posted is very helpful.
Thanks,
~violahope`
Hey, Hope! I’m so glad you found my blog! I’m really happy you like it. :D That’s so neat! Thank you for commenting! ❤️
Mia has one! I just found it yesterday even though I was going to check when I found this post #procrastinator, am I right?
Mood ?? that’s so cool Mia has one too!
Sry bout my name…..
And my old blog address….
No worries! I can fix it for you if you want?
I have one like your top picture. Three vertical lines and two horizontal ones with an e. (e then a . After)
Isn’t it so cool to discover? Thanks for reading and commenting!