Did you know?

Thomas Dam (May 15, 1915 – November 12, 1989) was a Danish woodworker and fisherman who designed and invented the original troll doll also known as the "Good Luck Troll". He created the toy during a period of financial distress, and carved it from wood. Soon, the family had started up a new business and Dam earned enough to buy himself a small factory where the dolls were produced in plastic. Dam created many different trolls as well as plastic baby dolls. Dam formed "Dam Things" to market the dolls. Dam trolls are now considered collectors' items.

History of the Trolls

ONCE UPON A TIME...

A lot of water has flown through the Limfjorden since the fisherman's son and creator af Trolls, Thomas Dam, made his first Troll ( 1930´s )- in his own image - out of a piece of wood. At that time Thomas Dam's family was very poor and the things that Thomas Dam carved in wood were the family's only income.
Nobody knew that at on time these little creatures would become world-famous. Before Thomas Dam started carving in wood he had been fisherman, bricklayer and a baker. After making big dolls for fun fairs for a period of time making Trolls that were smaller. ( 1950´s )
At that time the Troll figures were made of natural rubber and were filled with wood shavings. The wigs were sewed together of small pieces of sheep skin. The clothes were sewed on the Troll. Everything was hard work, but sales went well and it made the family's living. Soon the little back building became too small, and the Dam family had to build a factory.
The sales grew steadily in the 60's and thousands of Trolls travelled into the big world. As sales increased a more rational way of producing Trolls was necessary. Therefore a new kind of plastic had to be used in order to make the Troll's body on a machine. This material also had the advantage that it lasted longer than the natural rubber. The rest of the production of Trolls is still mostly handmade. This ensures that the quality is the best and that each Troll is something very special.
Since the start of Trolls production many people have tried to copy the Trolls. But there is only one original Troll: The Dam Troll from The Troll Company in Gjøl, situated in the northern part of Denmark.
According to old fairy tales trolls have magic powers. They love to make you smile and be happy. Some people say that Trolls also bring good luck. But be careful: only the ORIGINAL Dam Troll has magic powers. Therefore...look for the Dam logo and thereby be certain that you have the

DO YOU KNOW THAT EVEN CELEBRITIES LOVE TROLL DOLLS TOO? :-)

Jimmy Fallon, shown in this 1994 Saint Rose yearbook photo, in Saint Joseph Hall, trying out the John Travolta-talking-to-a- troll-doll comedy schtick that would later make its way to his first CD “The Bathroom Wall.”

Lady Gaga Troll Doll Necklace

Taylor Swift :-)

Neil Patrick Harris

Wil Wheaton

Troll Doll meets JFK Kennedy White House

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10/10/2015

The Creator of Beautiful Dam Things

Thomas Dam was born in Denmark on October 2, 1909. He loved and spent most of his life in his hometown of Argir, a village in the Faroe Islands. On January 11, 1986, he passed away, just before the second "troll craze" hit.

Maria Joensen Dam, wife, sews and stuffs troll dolls - while Thomas Dam "puts on the finishing touches".

Thomas Dam in his later years, enjoying the ocean breezes of the Faroe Islands.

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Trolls Dolls

You will obviously admit this fact that sometime in your life you might have played with trolls dolls in your life. Infact, if you are a child from the 60s then probably you will be well aware of Trolls Dolls hanging on Christmas mornings or any type of troll animals comfortably sitting under a tree. For the teenagers who were in college during 1960s, they might have this passion of decorating their dorm room using troll creatures. Trolls dolls have been very famous and you will genuinely find one or two trolls in every household that you might come across at present. These dolls are available in numerous varieties produced by different manufacturers from around the world. Perhaps, trolls rank among the second largest selling dolls of the 1960s with the first position being occupied by Barbie.

The Emergence of Trolls Dolls

Trolls dolls in collectible form first originated during the 1950s. These dolls were made by the family of a man called Thomas Dam from Denmark and this was the very first time when the dolls were made. Wood was the main materials used for carving the first dolls made by Dam and his family. Later, these dolls started being made of vinyl and rubber. The trolls which were made by Dam and his family and even the company which Thomas Dam started after sometime were called “Dam Things”. Dam Things are the most famous brands of dolls loved by the collectors even today. Collectors are of the view that the trolls from Dam Things possess feature the very best clothing, are available in various characters and the best of all they possess very good quality.

The Popularity of Trolls Dolls

Trolls have remained as a very important part of legends forever. They are popular in the form of mischievous and bad creatures who used to live in logs, under bridges and in caves. These creatures are believed to bring in good luck and this has certainly supported the immense popularity and even the sale of these dolls. It is because of the charm and the good luck which they are considered to carry that has gained them a good place in cars, houses and offices. These dolls are basically bought with this hope of bringing in good luck for their owners.

The Downfall in the Popularity of Trolls Dolls

Although the best, the most collectible and the most famous trolls were made by Dam Things, there were other companies too who started producing these dolls during the 1960s. However, it is very difficult to identify trolls from different manufacturers because most of these dolls are unmarked. Nevertheless, you can have an idea about the fact that most trolls produced during the 1960s came from manufacturers operating in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The trolls made by other manufacturers were low quality and cheap imitations of those made by Dam Things. The low quality trolls produced by other manufacturers filled the entire market and this was the main reason behind the decreased popularity of Trolls Dolls in the year 1970. The trolls went completely downhill during the 1970s and they became invisible by 1980s. Troll manufacture was restarted in 1989 and this served as the second boom-era for trolls which continued till the 1990s. It was during this time that trolls again became ubiquitous and started being found in every gift and toy shop. These days, trolls are not very common as they were in the 1990s but they are still available. There are different manufacturers of trolls these days including Dam Things which engages in selling its product only in Denmark.

Different Varieties of Dolls

There have been different varieties of trolls dolls produced since the 1960s. Troll collectors boast of possesses more than 4000 varieties of trolls. The different varieties of trolls include skinny, fatty, pretty, ugly, fat, mean and strong. There are some people who are of the view that these dolls are very cute whole other are of the view that they are outrageously ugly. Other varieties of trolls include holiday themed trolls, pencil topper trolls, Rasta trolls, college trolls, ballerina trolls and female trolls. Trolls these days are not only made of wood and vinyl but they are also made of glass, porcelain, ceramics, rubber and hemp. There are different varieties of hair flaunted by trolls ranging from nylon and straw to fur and mohair.

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WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES AND MANUFACTURERS OF TROLLS?

If you want to be a collector, you should know the different types and manufacturers of troll dolls. In 2003, the Dam company became the only official manufacturer of troll dolls and they are the only one who has the license to manufacture and sell trolls. If you are looking for brand new trolls, then you can buy Dam trolls online. There are some trolls (Forest Troll) that are manufactured from China which you can buy as "new" and "unused". We may consider them as "immitation" but if you are not particular with the brand then Forest Troll is not a bad one to collect (and they are also cute :-))

A lot of people ask me or probably would think what is my basis on how i do my pricing on each troll. How do I identify their value? Let me help you understand, I buy trolls abroad and when you buy things outside Philippines there are several factors that you have to consider such as a) Price of the trolls b.) shipping price c) import charges if applicable d) custom fees e) taxes (price of the package + shipping cost). So if you think of it, a lot of fees that you have to pay. It's always cheaper to buy trolls as a set than individually so you can pay the fees and charges "one time big time". I also based my pricing on the brand of trolls and it's rarity. For me.. Dam, Uneeda Wishnik, Norfin, will always be the most expensive ones because they are considered as "Vintage" in the true sense of the word. These trolls are the ones existed in the 60's. Russ Troll can be expensive too depending on the quality of the troll, they existed in the 90's so if they were preserved and still in good quality then you can sell them with high value. I also have to consider the height and weight of the trolls as it will also affect the shipping cost. There are other type of trolls such as the Applause Trolls, Soma, HYI/Cabage Patch, TNT, Ace Novelty, Bratz troll, Hasbro Battle Troll, etc. These brands of trolls have distinction on their appearance. You should know their manufacturer based on their features. I'll show you some pics below.

DAM Trolls

This is a rough guide to hunting for & buying some of the Old Thomas DAM Trolls from the mid-1960’s. One of the most popular of these could quite possibly be the DAM Tailed troll, made in 1965 as well as the DAM troll animals;

The 2006 Original Good Luck Trolls by Dam

UNEEDA WISHNIK TROLLS

1960's Wishnik Troll Groom'

I have this one available for sale!! Get while it is still available. Uneeda Troll

NORFIN TROLL DOLL

NORFINS In 1982 market executive Steven Stark and his wife Eva stumbled
across the Dam trolls while on business in Denmark, where trolls have never gone out of style. This discovery led to the set up of EFS Manufacturing to license the Danish designs. The result was a line of trolls called Norfins. These trolls of course are still the creation of Dam There was A norfin fan club through which you could buy all kinds of trolls and troll collectibles!!.