Dammit! Dam Things! Troll Dolls
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Dam Gift
When Thomas Dam, a poor Danish woodworker, carved the first Troll doll from wood in 1959, he had no idea what he had unleased onto this world. The reason Dam carved that first Troll doll was that he could not afford to buy his young daughter, Lila, a birthday present. So Thomas decided to carved for her a doll inspired by the legendary trolls which were believed to live in the Nordic forests. Legend has it that the mischievous mythical woodland creatures would bring good luck to any human who could catch one of them. Dam's delighted daughter took to the doll and dressed it up. Soon Lila's doll was all the talk amongst local village of Gjol's children. The doll and the chatter of the other children started to attract a Danish toy store owner and soon Dam was selling "Dam Dolls" locally.
These original "Dam Dolls", were of the highest quality, featuring sheep wool hair and glass eyes. The trolls were an instant success. As the doll’s popularity continued to increase, Thomas began making them from rubber filled with woodshavings. An enormous family business was born, legend must have came true for Dam... he essentially caught the the woodland creature and was granted good luck...the dolls became popular in several European countries during the early 1960s, shortly before they were introduced in the United States.
Troll Doll Impressions -Jimmy Fallon (live)
Dam Charming
Initially in America the troll dolls were favored by high school and college girls but soon grown men were carrying them around on their travels. Even the United States First Lady "Lady Bird" Johnson bragged that she owned one and apparently plenty of other people did as well, in the late 1960s,
The dolls sudden popularity, along with an error in the copyright of Thomas Dam's original product, resulted in cheaper imitations and knock-offs which flooded the American shelves. The various versions of these dolls would sell over one million dollars worth just in 1964 America alone. From 1963-1965 trolls were the second biggest selling dolls, right behind Barbies.
Because of the copyright snafu, many companies copied and produced cheap imitations of Thomas Dam's "Dam Dolls." Those imitators never met the fine craftsmanship of the Dam Dolls. There is a way to tell the difference between fakes and the real troll dolls. The "Dam" imprint on the back of the troll, or on the bottom of its feet. The cheaply made imitations are also known as Wishnik Trolls, Treasure Trolls, Gonks, and Norfins, just to name a few brand names.
All the dolls, whether original or knock-off, share the signature tall hair, funny-looking face with the same aspartame smile and pot belly. Part of the dolls charm is that they are so ugly that you can't help but to laugh at them, and many do believe if you are laughing, nothing bad can happen to you.
The Trolls: Behind the Curtain
Dam Family
Thomas Dam's family regained control of the copyright in 1993. Before they were mass produced in plastic, the original Dammits were made out of natural rubber, had real glass eyes and sheepskin.
It was not until 2003 that a Congressional law allowed the Dam family of Denmark to restore their original U.S. copyright and become the only official manufacturer once again. A division of Uneeda, a company that made millions of dollars various times by manufacturing Troll Dolls in the U.S., challenged the restoration of that copyright in court. They lost when the court ruled that the Dam Company was the sole owner
Psycho troll
Dam Popular
Troll dolls, originally known as Leprocauns and also known as Dam dolls, became one of America's biggest toy fads beginning in the autumn of 1963, and lasting throughout 1965. The troll's brightly colored hair and impish faces, were featured in articles both in Life Magazine and Time magazine.
Trolls briefly became fads again in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, with as many as ten different manufacturers (such as Russ Berrie, Jakks Pacific, Applause, Hasbro, Mattel, Nyform, Trollkins and Ace Novelty) creating them.
In 2003, the Toy Industry Association named Troll dolls to its Century of Toys List, commemorating the 100 most memorable and most creative toys of the 20th century
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Comments
According to what I have read. The only Dammit Dolls that are good luck are the original Dam Dolls. Keep Wishing and Keep Believing, AshleyVictoria.
Thanks for sharing your memories.
St. James - My troll facts must be misinformed! Or maybe it was my fabulous imagination that so greatly wanted my pony :)
Geez i just bought a warehouse of antiques...And i have a whole room of these things...prolly the lesser value ones with my luck!
The jewel-bellied Trolls were part of that "knock-off" catagory that is talked about in this Hub. They are part of the botched copyright license by the Dam family. So I think maybe the Dam Dolls cursed their imatatos. That is probably why you didn't get your pony....You were Troll blocked.
Pest, I would think they all may have value, but check for the "Dam" imprint on its back, or foot.
Keep on looking for the Dam things.
This brought back some memories big time! As a child I had several of these, from keyring size, up to 5 inch + tall size. Not sure if they were the originals, or the copies, but I loved them anyway.
I'm still not fully sure what the attrction is to the troll doll. Maybe its the so homely that they're cute ...kind of like when Christy Brinkley and Billy Joel were together?
Thanks MistyHorizon for sounding in.
That's a sweet story of a father creating this toy for his little girl. We were crazy about these Treasure Trolls as kids!? You wouldn't imagine how much we love to torture those hairdos of theirs?! BTW, was that trolls ass necessary? LOL
That was the end of the troll...hub. See what happens... you torture a trolls hair and one day your avatar is a cat. Coincidence?..you decide. MayHMong thank you for a bit of your troll-history.
OMG, St. James. What in the world inspired you to write this hub? I honestly haven't thought about Dam Dolls since 1st or 2nd grade. They were all the rage. ANd of course the best part about them (besides the hair in colors not found in nature) was shouting their name: DAM DOLLS!! We thought whoever came up with this name was brilliant, as it gave us elementary schoolers permission to "curse" with impunity. Ha ha ha ha. Teachers and parents were helpless to stop us! Thanks for the walk down memory lane. MM
Well Mighty Mom..I keep trying to research some of the strangest fads to hit America, and outside of talking to your house plants; the Dammit Dolls kept coming up. So I started to research them.
and now how many time do you say Dam in any given day?
Dam nice of you to take the time to read my Dam Hub.
My sister played with trolls! She had a shoebox full of these little creatures.
As long as she didn't con you into an invisible tea party and troll social, I think you may have escaped with your dignity. Thank for the share Moxie Trader
Hi St.James I just adore them. I think they are the cutest little thing going around. Thumbs up for giving them a mention. They are still getting around here in OZ. I am sure I had one...waghhhhhhhhhhh...I want another one.
I'm surpised you didn't give your's a hair style (accidently clipping an ear, of course) and a waxing...maybe lipstick to match hair and eye color too.
Thanks for stopping by my Dam Hub, BlondePoet.
Shouldn't BlondePoet be a legend after all those unforgettable incidents?
She may be the single reason for the bearded lady at the circus sideshow, and for dreadlocks becoming popular, MayHMong!
Thanks for the hub. I didn't know the history of Troll Dolls.My daughter fell in love with them some years ago, and I think we bought some from Ebay.
Yes, Blondepoet is legend.
I'm surprised they haven't made a Blondpoet Troll Doll yet !
Eric Graudins... I hope the Dam Things didn't cost you an arm and a leg, but if they diid I'm pretty sure BlondePoet can separate them from you.
I'd hate to think what a wrathful blondepoet would do to my arms and legs. Actually, she's stalking me. I've got one of these nailed over every entrance in the house to repel her.
url not working - will try to post image later.
Now that is Dam Funny, Eric! Thanks much for sharing. I hope that it doesn't incur the wrath upon you. She could attempt a beard waxing out of vengence.
She already ambushed me and gave me a beard waxing. It used to reach down to my knees!
What you see now is just regrowth.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahaahah
Ooooooo you are awful but I like you. Eric Eric Eric, twenty lashes for you. LMAO. I just saw that doll. ##*)$#. See how good you are looking Eric, from what I did to you with my wax. I used a whole tub on him, honestly he was as hairy as a baboon.I shaped him, waxed him, polished him, and look at him now. Stalking you eh, put boards up, well I am heading your way with my pink bulldozer I am going to be like the big bad wolf and huff, and puff and blow your house down haha. Now here is a real pic of me. I am on the right, the two girls on the left are starring with me in my new Broadway production. http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/images/ma/matt
Maymong you beautiful girl to say such things. Here is a gift voucher to come to my salon.....I will pamper you...whatever you desire.x0x0x0x
James,James, James.......Now what am I going to do to you...(Blonde is now deep thinking). You actually have given me a little backing here.....You can co-star with me as Romeo in my upcoming production, "Romeo and Juliet".
"Oh that the fates should throw up this cruel barrier, just when I shouldst choose to marry ya."
I'm sorry Eric...that you are being now threatened with a BlondePoet on a pink bulldozer, but judging by her styling stories...it maybe your best shot at a safe haircut.
BlondePoet...it sound like a lot of fun. I'd be honored to be part of your production. Just as long as your shears are far away.
I'd forgotten about my little troll! Don't remember it being called a dam doll, though, so I suppose I had a knock off. Hmmm....gives me a silly idea for my daughter's upcoming birthday :-)
Oh damn just had to come back now that I have slept on all this. You know Eric, maybe my troll doll is not as bad as I first thought. This could be marketable material. I of course should receive...cough..errr.. a 10% commision of all sales. Oh I must go get AEvans to come have a look at this. Haha don't worry James my shears are put far away, for you, I don't want to risk losing my leading man at any costs LMAO.
BP is a legend and I had those little troll dolls , they are so adorable!!! I had one with yellow hair and one with purple hair, in fact I have them still in a box from my adolescence, thanks for sharing the story behind the "dam doll" ::::::)
Awwww AE......I am really beginning to like this idea.......the Blonde Troll Doll for anyone else who is interested comes with 6 pairs of stilettos and 4 pairs of removable ears.....
Now that would be adorable!!!!! I would buy a few and don't forget the jewelry and multi trendy outfits. :)
Hahaha and the lip gloss and the corset and suspenders...just like the set you wore in Singapore AE, except these ones are black LMAO
I think its a lot safer for blondepoet to work on dollys. But thanks for the nice make over invitation. I uhhh...gotta go out of town this weekend. BTW, you make one beautiful dam doll. ;)
@ blondepoet:
OK, 10% it is. But you'd have to do some - err - modelling for the manufacturer.
And I'll let you use the prototype image in the link as your avatar free of charge.
(That would freak a few people Out :-) )
Err - Sorry St. James for going off topic, but when a hub is hit by the Blonde-Evans tag team, the results are totally unpredictable.
Oh Mayhmong you really think so that I make a beautiful troll doll ? Oh bless your little cotton picking socks you little honey bun. Ok well the offer is still open, if your confidence in my abilities ever grows.
Yahoo Eric let me shake your hand as we cement this business proposition. Ooooooo sorry I had a little wax on my fingers........oops sorry....oh look at what's happened.....I guess we are going to be stuck together for awhile Eric.............may as well take me for a ride on your bike while we are waiting............bring the wax remover Nurse AEvans....hurry.....haha yes I don't mind doing some modelling...have you got sunglasses on......my glamour and poise will blind you.....you aint seen a real woman til you see BP LMAO.......AE where are you...
BP: I am right here :) I am trying to figure out the type of sunglasses I need to put on, Lolol... Actually I was trying to create the cute little glasses for the trolls, they also need designer fashion.:)
LOL The Blonde-Evans Team? Is this their new project to raise money for the next trip?
mayhmong: Yes there is would you like to be involved??? You can join our team :)
BP: I am back and I certainly hope that you are not busy trolling as being stuck with hot wax is quite painful...Lol:)
Lol Mayhmong yes that is right we are selling troll dolls, raffle tickets, we have had several kiss-athons all for the good charity of the Blonde-Evans Foundation.This funds our over-sees trip,which we need to go on to pinpoint where in the world..the errr...troubles are stemming from. Omg none of that made sense LMAO.
Oh Nurse AEvans is here. Oh wonderful she is doing some fashion designing for the BP troll doll, I can hardly wait...umm AE....see this man attached to me...no he is not my new fur coat....haha...ummm do you have any solvent to wield us apart...what type of procedure is needed here...you are the expert in situations like this
Mayhmong we would be honoured for you to join the team.
AE I am still stuck here to Eric, haha,cough,cough.
I wonder what St.James will say when he is back LMAO. He is lucky we haven't started mud-wrestling yet.
He certainly is lucky and I don't know if he will be shocked or excited but in either case we have enjoyed his presence, check out jjrubio on EL Monte I will see you there. :)
You know all of you DAM people hanging around here, is good for my DAM image. I appreciate you all very much.
Thanx
Dam! LOL
I think SJ will be excited, maybe just as excited Eric is to be err attached to my appendages.
Here is a new line from our Shakespeare play St. James.
"Oh the doctor is a lousy dingo, for he hath gone to play a game of bingo." That happens just before you discover my limp body at the end of Act4.
Coming AEvans.
I love hanging around here and I love this dam hub...LOLOL:)
mayhmong you are here too, now you are on our team BP-AEVANS and mayhmong yippeeee!!! I don't know where the boys are but we will catch up.:)
I love hanging here too....even though I have something quite heavy like EG hanging off me. This has been a blast.
Yayyyyyyyyyy St.James is back. We need to get cracking with our lines. I promise to wash my hands before we practise....My producer Mr Pai Ling will get upset if I have two men attached to me lol
AE I don't know where you said to meet. I don't have my compass on me. Hell. Wait til I brush my hair and floss my teeth. Wont be a minute...Do you ever get the feeling you have to shake something off LMAO hahahahaha.
Have I missed the mud-wrestling yet?
Yes I sometime feel like I have to shake somethings off LMAO hehehehe!!! Lol look for me under hubtivity ....:)
Mud Wrestling will begin shortly :D
No way St.James we would not start without you.....you are the man. (Blonde stands in the prey-mantis position) Get ready to go down...
One...two.....three....Blonde takes a flying leap(Mid-air)...St.James goes flying.....spat goes the mud...got him....pinning him to the ground..one..two...three...four.....what an easy match this is...
BP are we ready???? (AE stands oh my goodness hold on my bikini top is coming undone........)
BP are we ready???? (AE stands oh my goodness hold on my bikini top is coming undone........)
Here let me fix it for you....(ripppppppppppppp) Oh goodness I am so sorry AE I didn't mean too.........one,two,three........I got you both down in the mud hahaha.
Do you mean something like this Blonde?
http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/dr3am-pri
I think I would let you win... I can't think of anything more fun then being pinned by you.
no you didn't slammmmmmmmmmmm(ripppppppppppppppp) gotcha ya whoohoooooooooo LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL:D
Omg where has St.James gone hahaha. ...AEvans that is not a rock you have in your hands that is St.James head..........haha ...you two are going down.........
ooooppppssss!!! I didn't mean toooooo , (AE slips and falls ) are you o.k. S.J.???
hahaha groovy picture SJ........jajajajajaj...........St.James lays gasping on the bottom while AE has hold of his legs...........{Blonde takes a huge leap and splat this now turns into a full blown game of Animal Twister}
I think I may be enjoying this a bit too much.
We won!!!!!!! Yipppeeeeeee (what the???) is he breathing???? Oh there he goes great mouth to mouth BP , see I knew you could do it, and you always said you didn't have it in you. (SJ standing up and a little unbalanced).
he can't talk AE he is overwhelmed....he is alive though...I hear him breathing.......oh take that AE...you beast.........my hair-do is all ruined.......aghhhhhhhhh........whose foot is that wrapped around my left shoulder.........ohhhhhhhhhhhh.....i could quite get used to all this.........ahhhhhhhhhhhh....................shame on you both...............hahaha.......noooooooo I'm tickilish...............omg
SJ what are you doing?????? Shame on meeee??????? Shame on SJ , naughty naughty I will leave you two to duke it out as I am hungry.....LOLOLOLOL:)
yes........pant pant......... I gave him the kiss of life.....I learnt it from that nursing manual you sent me...........did I do a good job........lololololol. His eyes are open. He is staring into space transfixed hahaha. Yes we won, we won, yahooooooooo......we better find our clothes now......oooh that was awesome thankyou guys. I got to walk home now and find a hose to wash off.....I am burning my lunch..hahah truly smoke alarm just went off..........that was heaps fun.x0x0x0x0x That was a long time overdue AE, and I hope it was a good first experience St.James LMAO
The picture is awesome love it.We made the headlines woooooooooooottt. The fame never stops rolling in.See you guys that was just awesome.x0x0x(Hugs)
I just may never be the same again... but I can scratch number 5 off of my fantasy card.
You guys have way too much fun :0)
It wasn't much fun for me Tom, still stuck to BP.
I feel like I've been in a tumble dryer with a couple of Amazons. (But I must admit the view was pretty good :-) )
Just my luck...two beautiful wimmin...all of us hot, sweaty and muddy. They leave me covered in mud, and dazed.... HEY! my wallet is missing!
BP bring back SJ's wallet I have told you not to do that, BP give it back....!!!
I swear it wasn't me noooooooooooooooooooooo. How can you think that AE and St.James nooooooooooo.How can you think that St.James ????? Did I not give you the kiss of life,that took me ten whole minutes breathing into your mouth.Growl.What about Eric. Yesssssssssss that's right EG, that man is still attached to my appendages.This calls for a body search.Who volunteers to go first. Ehhhh.
It was Eric has he pointed it out , I knew it was a man's hand that I saw snatch it away, sorry about that buddy through all of the mud , I forgot Eric wears the same ring you do....hehehhehheheh LOLOLOLOL:)
BlondePoet... thanks for the ten minutes. Do you want your gum back?
@St. James Here's your wallet - complete with moths.
I was just practising for my new job as first mate on a pirate ship, where I'll need to use those skills. But I've said too much now.
<<Pulls out katana, and with a might swipe cuts himself free of BP. Only drawing a bit of her blood in the process.>>
(Oh well, now we're even for the time she cut half my ear off.)
Bye Landlubbers. AHOY !
hahaha see I told you. EG's hands where everywhere I can assure you.HE IS GUILTY GUILTY. ....Haha St.James if you like the flavour you can chew it on it some longer......(Blonde suddenly clicks). No no I want it back now you have to transfer it the same way it was delivered..(Blonde begins to pucker up) EG turn away stop looking you will be corrupted further........See AE I am no thief, I may be a scoundrel but I would never........oh here AE please take your 24carat ear-rings back they kind of dropped in my pocket
Ouchhhhhhhhh ooo that hurt. Bye EG I will forever remember this experience we shared
I'd be more than happy to return your gum to you BlondePoet.
Eric...you're finally free! Run like the wind you batty bastard
Yes run run run remember I would like to be paid by cheque for BP Troll Doll Enterprises's monthly sales. Fire away SJ....ohhh I feel so much lighter........
Wow St.James 78comments here....you truly deserve every single one this was so much fun.I give the page a thumbs up too,everytime I click on it.
Thanks BlondePoet...just for that you do deserve to get your gum back!
BP remember I let you borrow those earrings, no more wine for you , oops I almost forgot here is that ring , oh dear whose ring is this??? It was stuck in the mud, whose ring is this???
Hahahaha AEvans oh you mean to tell me that ring just happened to slip down your cleavage ooooo you are a bad bad girl. I swear I haven't been drinking I am just on a natural high from all these adventures and all the perfumes in the air.You deserve a good spanking from SJ over his knee, but you got to hang on 5min til I get my gum back hahaha.In the queue now LMAO
We are in trouble again AE http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Captain-and-Chi-Chi-Ch Eric is talking of us to the Captain...oh aye indeed.
Aye St.James haha but AE does not seem to be here, I take all the blame,pick me, pick me..........LMAO
The psycho troll is positively creepy. I am checking right now...there must be some kind of urban legend lurking around that creepy psychotroll! Great hub.
You can be my first choice BlondePoet... Maybe you'll return the favor sometime.
Mythbuster... that would be sooo cool if there is a troll myth.
Much thanks to ya both!
Yahoooooooooooooo I shall certainly return the favour....
I bet you willl LOLOLOL , did you get your gum back. :)
.....?!
Man, I go to bed and return to hear all of you in to mud wrestling?! LOL That was great! I'll catch you two in the captains hub and see if its safe.
yes I did AE wooooott and it was still fresh as when I first put my teeth into it. Oh Mayhmong you missed out on so much fun, I did think of you though as I threw my full force down upon the others....Did you hear AE they flagged my pic again LMAO, now I am but a mere brunette there. Oh well the show must go on.....the show will always go on...
Dam! I wish I had some more gum to get more attention or mud, but Troll dolls don't do wishes... I guess.
From how you all behaved, sounds like a bunch of naked trolls having some mud wrestling together!
Don't be hatin' just because you went to bed early... I'm sure you will be invited in more misbehavin' mis-advertures
LOL thanks, I probably will miss the next one too cuz I'm starting to hit the z's soon.
You never know... these are some pretty unpredictable people... pretty, but crazy. That's a great combination to be...
I once had a two headed troll doll. I'm sure it must have been a knock off, but when they're so dang cute, who cares!
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder... One man's rubber doll .. is another man's joy
Oh my, yep, I had plenty of Dam Trolls in my day...I'm not proud of it, just putting it out there :) Nice Troll butt pic LOL
Thank you Janetta for your Dam Troll input.
Haha, I'm still obsessed with those trolls. I personally always preferred the rubber types. A lot of my usernames had 'troll' in it and some still do. My people are troll people, I tell you! We are runty and hairy and we love our belly rubs.
I'm glad I came across this hub. Funny comments here, too. ;)
My companion & me were gearing up for another Craigslist run before starting off on a weekend of Flea Market sales. He asked me about the foot locker full of troll dolls. We spent hours researching prices, history, you name it.....
We sold 8. We ain't going to do the Flea Markets this month. We made enough money to pay the apt. rent, car payment, & a month's worth of food!
We're still working on the contents of the footlocker! Some are original, and some are knockoffs. But! I will say this! I'm keepin back my favorites!!
Thank You Thomas Dam!
Richard ~~ Hard Tymes At Gmail Dot Com
6/17/2K9
Hi St. James
Thank you for writing this hub. My mom is 74 years old, and she collects troll dolls. When I call her tomorrow night, I plan on reading her your hub. I am sure she will really enjoy it just as I did.
I totally agree. Their ugliness is what everyone loves. You can't help but look at them and smile.
Im trying to sell 14 of these and im not sure how much to sell them for, help :)
That would be something I can not answer. Check with a vintage toys shop, antique dealer, and on Ebay. Then figure out an average price.
I loved reading this! Very informative indeed. I don't think I have ever learned so much about that doll. Hell, I don't think I knew ANYTHING about it. Thanks for the Hub!
ashleyvictoria says:
9 months ago
St. James, great hub!! I used to love troll dolls when I was a child. I specifically collected the ones with diamond belly buttons. Legend says that when you make a wish by rubbing on the trolls special belly button, your wish would come true. As a child I used to wish for ridiculous things like ponies and unicorns. Safe to say these wishes never came true, and I for a while was convinced that troll dolls were a sham!