19" Antique Tin Metal Head Buschow & Beck German Helmet of Minerva Doll c. 1900

Description

19-inch antique tin/metal head doll made by Buschow & Beck in Germany
, 1888 until about 1925. Their shoulder-head dolls were marked with the word Minerva over a helmet and were called Helmet of Minerva or Shield of Minerva. They were popular play dolls around the turn of the century because they were less expensive than porcelain bisque dolls and were said to be "indestructible." George Borgfeldt and Louis Wolf were the American distributors of these German dolls and brought them to the US so they were prevalent in the US. Minerva heads were used on Sears Wearwell dolls and Violet dolls from the Sears catalog.
I have a handful of these wonderful metal-head dolls and you can always spot and identify them by the smudge on their nose from missing paint that has worn off from age and play. She is at least 100 years old and in good condition.
Shoulderhead front marked: Minerva over a helmet
Shoulderhead back marked: Germany
Flesh-colored paint over tin/metal head, fixed brown eyes, painted lashes, multi-stroke eyebrows, open mouth with teeth, red lip-color, dimpled chin. Chip of paint missing on nose and under chin (common on Minerva metal head dolls; please see photo). She has a vintage brown replacement wig and pate (originals would have had mohair or human hair). The pate is glued on and the wig is partially glued on (it can be easily replaced if collector wishes to do so).
Body:
The body is vintage, but I don't think it is original. It has a hole in the bottom (please see photo) for an old-time doll stand so I think it was made long ago. She has bisque lower arms and cloth legs.
Clothing:
Slip and panties appear to be vintage. There is a hole in the pantaloons where someone put the doll stand through the cloth and into the hole in the bottom.  The sailor outfit was likely sewn within the last 30 years (that would be my guess), but the seamstress did a nice job.
Stand will be included. No returns please. Thank you.