Do you think troll dolls would be as popular if they were known as Dammit Dolls? It is an apt question because those tiny naked imps with the hideous Marge Simpson hair style were originally known as Dammit Dolls after their creator, a woodcarver from Denmark named Thomas Dam. For most of their early days, troll/Dammit dolls were primarily confined to the female of the species who regarded them as objects d’luck. A female pilot who successfully made the same trip that transformed Amelia Earhart from a celebrity into a tragic legend made the trip with one of these wild-haired pieces of molded plastic sitting atop the control panel. In fact, if you were a young girl in America in the 1960s chances are you possessed either a troll doll, a Barbie doll or, most likely, both.
By the 1960s the Dammit Dolls were becoming known as troll dolls. The original dolls created by Thomas Dam were made of wood and were intended to represent the elves of Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. Apparently, these elves were quite ugly because the original Dammit Dolls were even more ghastly than the plastic troll dolls of today. In fact, if you ever get the opportunity to see one of the original Dammit Dolls based on Thomas Dam’s model you may be taken aback. The faces bear a distinctly more simian look than modern day troll dolls. In fact, Thomas Dam’s originals look more like George W. Bush than Legolas. Because they were assumed to bring good luck, troll dolls were quite popular with young women who also used them to bring about the good luck of finding a hottie with a great job. Once those original plastic replicas really took off and it became obvious that part of their charm was the so-ugly-they’re-cute appeal, the makers decided that de-uglification would result in even better sales. As a result, the troll dolls as you know them are far less atrocious than the original Dammit Dolls. The psychedelia of the late 60s saw the troll doll fad really take off as their white fright wig hair was dyed all sorts of colors, with purple and pink becoming the most popular. Soon enough the troll dolls were being dressed in all kinds of outrageous gear that served both to hide their pagan nakedness and turn them into an easy advertising gimmick. Today you can even find troll dolls wearing Harley-Davidson leather. Talk about the revelation of conformist rebellion!
If you can find a Dammit Doll from before they were slightly prettified to become the modern day troll doll you just might be able to make some pretty decent cash. Original Thomas Dam dolls in good condition can sell for over $100 bucks. Just be wary of anything termed an original Thomas Dam doll selling on eBay. Some knockoffs sell for under $50 in great condition. Stay away from those because original Dammit Dolls can’t be gotten for under fifty bucks unless they are practically falling apart.
