Troll dressed for Easter

A seasonal example of a particular type of figure that has a whole industry focused on it. We want to find out about it.

Troll dressed for Easter
case solved
Case number - AIBDC : 0_67004
A troll with long blue hair and dressed for Easter.
View more images on the MoDiP site
DesignerUnknown - Wanted
ManufacturerRuss
CountryChina
Date1980-1989 (circa)
MaterialPlastic - Wanted
Methodinjection moulded
Coloursflesh-coloured, blue
InscriptionRuss
href=" http://www.10most.org.uk/artefact/troll-dressed-easter"

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Susan Lambert
Susan Lambert
15/04/14

Troll dressed for Easter AIBDC : 0_67004 This Easter Troll isn't made of chocolate. What is it made of?

Ian Holdsworth
Ian Holdsworth
16/04/14

These Troll toys were invented in Denmark in 1959 by Thomas Dam. Legend has it that as a poor woodcutter he could not afford to buy his daughter a Christmas present so he made her a wooden Troll. Then all the children in his village wanted one and his company Dam Things was born. These toys were very popular in the 1960s and again in the 1990s. But Dam’s patent was considered flawed by many companies, notably Russ Berrie & Co. of Oakland. N.J. USA who began to make almost identical copies. This is why some Trolls are marked Dam and others Russ. It was not until 2003 that Dam finally won a court action in America to stop the Russ production. Toy dealers state that Troll bodies are made of ‘vinyl’ – but are not specific about which vinyl. Dam Troll's website, Damworld, states that they were made of ‘rubber’. So I have written to Damworld for clarification. Below is a 1993 Russ Troll with a ‘vinyl’ plastic body. See - http://www.collectorsconnection.com/troll1.htm

Yvonne J Foster
Yvonne J Foster
16/04/14

http://www.damworld.dk/10032948

Susan Lambert
Susan Lambert
17/04/14

Brilliant, Yvonne. Thank you.

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Case notes

Susan Lambert's picture

Troll dressed for Easter: Case AIBDC : 0_67004

Submitted by Susan Lambert on Sun, 13/04/2014 - 13:49.

Surely an individual has to have invented these little figures? Can you tell us who it was?  We are also unsure of which plastic they are made? 

Thomas Dam invention copied by Russ Berrie & Co

17/04/2014

Chief agent Holdsworth and Field Agent Foster have led us to the website of Dam World:

http://www.damworld.dk/10032948 

which tells us this type of figure was conceived in Denmark in 1959 by Thomas Dam.  Dam's patent was thought to be flawed and copies were made by other companies. Our little figures were the product of Russ Berrie & Co of Oakland, N.J., USA. The image Chief Agent Holdsworth has found of a Russ figure from 1993 suggests that ours too date from that period:

We believe it is made of vinyl. Now we just need to know which vinyl.

Case solved

Designer: Thomas Dam

Manufactured for: Russ Berrie & Co

Material: vinyl

Participating agents: Ian Holdsworth