Copyright 1995-2001 by Mary B. Lytle. All rights reserved. Before something can be restored, it must first be repaired. For example, if a broken porcelain shoulderplate is reassembled, it is repaired. If after reassembly, the cracks and chips around the repaired area are filled, smoothed, color matched and painted, so the shoulderplate looks as it did before it was broken, it has been restored.
Repair requires technical skill and a good knowledge of materials.
Restoration is a fine art which requires not only technical skill, but a studied eye and artistic talent. The primary concern when contemplating repair and restoration should be preservation, the prevention of further deterioration. A hairline crack will not improve without some help, and the sooner the work is done, the better. If a doll is neglected, deterioration will continue until its value will eventually be completely destroyed. Ethical restoration always maintains or enhances the value of a doll.