kluless: Have You Seen This Elf?

I rescued this little fellow the other day and I have been searching on the Internet for his heritage but I'm coming up empty. Maybe some of you doll folks will be able to give me a clue. I got him at the VOA and the clerk told me he is from Germany c. 1920s. I have not been able to find anything to support that.
Clearly his clothing is made of wool felt because some pesky moth caught him napping and chewed his pant leg right off. His body is a hard composition material with joints at the shoulders and hips. The beard is yarn but the hair on his head is bristly like it might be horse hair. The hair and cap are firmly attached to his sweet little head.

The face has an unusual shape, very flat and then curving out below the nose.

The up-turned shoes shoes are painted on. I have searched on elf, fairy, pixie, gnome and even leprechaun with no result other than to wonder how many knee-huggers the world really needs. If you know something about him I'd love to hear!
On a less mysterious note, my dear blog friend, Laurie, at IndulgeYourShelf is closing her Etsy shop as a conflict of interest requirement of her new job. She is offering 50% off everything over $10 until the end of the month so hop on over and help her send some of her treasures off to new homes.

15 comments:

laurie -magpie ethel said...: CUTE ELF, but no clue. Those moths really went to town on that pair of pants...; July 30, 2013 at 8:41 PM
Betsy@My Salvaged Treasures said...: He sure is the cutest little guy. I wish I could help solve the mystery, but I'm not too informed when it comes to dolls. Love his beard and the chewed off pant leg adds character:-); July 31, 2013 at 6:56 AM
Jennifer Pearson Vanier said...: what a fabulous find! He looks like a "Little Sandman" character. A German TV show. You can see a similar doll here:
http://picturebookillustration.blogspot.ca/2009/11/little-sandman.html; July 31, 2013 at 7:06 AM
Andy's Attic said...: Can't help but it does look German to me for some reason. Let us know what you find out.; July 31, 2013 at 8:50 AM
Maureen said...: Aw, he is cute, and may be the one Jennifer mentioned - I hope you find out more about him!; July 31, 2013 at 9:05 AM
oldgreymare said...: That is a very different molded face... Happy searching; July 31, 2013 at 10:46 AM
vintage grey said...: No, but he sure is pretty cute!! ;) xo Heather; July 31, 2013 at 11:38 AM
Blessed Serendipity said...: Cute. I have never seen him before.

xo Danielle; July 31, 2013 at 4:33 PM
Art and Sand said...: No clue on the elf, but thanks for letting me know abut Indulge Your Shelf.; July 31, 2013 at 7:00 PM
~Damita's Pretty Wrap~ said...: Never seen one like him, but he sure is a cutie! :) xo Holly; August 1, 2013 at 6:03 AM
Laurie said...: Oh, my first thought was that the doll was German, then I read on and saw you knew that already! Thank you for the shout out!!; August 1, 2013 at 6:04 PM
The Polka Dot Closet said...: Oh, I can't help you either! He is adorable and he looks so old.

Carol; August 1, 2013 at 6:47 PM
Annette said...: I got caught up on your posts, and WOW, you found some pretty amazing stuff! I don't know anything about your elf but he sure is fascinating!; August 1, 2013 at 8:59 PM
CATHY said...: I am going to guess it is a Swedish or Scandinavian doll. Very interesting - you have me searching : ); August 3, 2013 at 6:15 PM
Marc said...: I have a very similar elf with the same wool felt suit albeit a different colour. Mine also has the same nose with the flat profiled cheeks. Not the same hair but the same beard. The good news is ours has the original tag attached to his arm! He was manufuctured by Seyfarth & Reihardt between 1920's and 30's. They were in East Germany and if it's the same rubber/plastic face as ours it's a proprietary fire resistant compound called Suralin possibly. Hope this helps.; April 2, 2014 at 4:38 AM