Tonner Doll Company, Inc. was a collectible doll design and distribution company located in Kingston, New York. Founded by Robert Tonner in 1991, Tonner Doll designed and marketed original doll lines, as well as a number of licensed dolls for films such as Harry Potter, Spider-Man 3, and Twilight. Its original products included the Tyler Wentworth, Kitty Collier, and Antoinette series.
History
Tonner Doll Company, Inc. was founded in 1991 by Robert Tonner under the name Robert Tonner Doll Designs (RTDD). Originally, the company had only three employees: Tonner, his partner Harris Safier, and a part-time seamstress. In February 1991, RTDD made its public debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York City, displaying multi-jointed porcelain fashion dolls and jointed porcelain child dolls in limited editions. Prices ranged from $650 to $1500.
In 1995, Tonner Doll gained licensing rights for the recreation of the 1950s paper doll Betsy McCall for reintroduction to the collector's market. To keep costs down, Tonner decided to produce the doll in China. Made from vinyl, the Betsy McCall-license series was one of the company's initial mainstream commercial successes.
Over the following years, as RTDD's business grew, so did its staff. This growth would lead to the company being renamed the Tonner Doll Company. By 2000, Tonner Doll employed 24 people, including designers, marketers, and various sales and administrative staff.
In 2017, the company released its first