The Industrial Revolution was a period of immense social and technological upheaval, and its impact reached into every corner of human life, including our most private desires. While handcrafted effigies had existed for centuries, it was the innovations of this era that paved the way for the first true mass-market artificial companions.
Before industrialization, any such creation would have been a one-of-a-kind object, painstakingly crafted from wood, cloth, or leather. The process was slow and expensive, limiting them to the very determined or the wealthy. The Industrial Revolution changed everything. First, it introduced new materials. The invention of vulcanized rubber provided a substance that was waterproof, durable, and could be molded with a consistency and realism previously unimaginable. Second, it introduced the factory. Mass production techniques meant that these rubber figures could be manufactured at a scale and cost that made them commercially viable for the first time. While still a niche and deeply taboo product sold through underground catalogs, this was a pivotal moment. The doll moved from the realm of personal craft and folklore into the world of commerce, laying the groundwork for the global industry that would emerge a century later.