Doll Land

Celluloid dolls

2012-01-22T02:37:00.000-08:00

Doll manufacturers are always open to using the latest materials in the construction of their dolls, and, in the early age of plastics, celluloid was no exception.

Celluloid is a plastic-like compound made from nitrocellulose and camphor. It's the earliest known plastic compound, invented in 1855. It did not gain widespread use, however, until the 1860s and one of its first uses was in the manufacture of billiard balls. It was often used to replace ivory in the manufacture of hair combs, buttons, buckles, men's collars, jewelry and other household items. It's most popular use was in the creation of photographic film. Of course, it was eventually used to make dolls.

Up until the time celluloid was used to make dolls, they were more frequently made of bisque, wood, glazed china, kid leather, composition, or fabric. In the 1860s, the first celluloid dolls were made by the Hyatt Brothers of New Jersey using a blow mold process.

Celluloid dolls found most often nowadays were made from the 1930s to the early 1960s, as celluloid is highly flammable and deteriorates quickly. It's rare for a celluloid doll made in the 1870s to have survived to our modern era, but what a fantastic find if you have one!

I have two celluloid dolls in my collection. The first is a 6-inch Petitcollin doll in her French regional costume. For such a small doll, great care has been given to her face paint. She has delicately painted eyes and lips, and the eyes are dotted with red dots. The red dots painted on dolls' eyes help to prevent them from looking "cross eyed" from a distance. (This trick has also been used by myself and others in stage makeup.) She is stamped Made in France on her leg, and on the inside of her skirt, she has a tag marked Kimport Dolls, Independence, MO. Mademoiselle Petitcollin is quite light and fragile and she was most likely made in the 1950s. At one time she had a head scarf and carried a basket of flowers.

My other celluloid doll is a 17-inch German turtle mark doll. The turtle insignia is the mark of the Schildkröt (Rheinische Gummi und Celluloid Fabrik Co) company, which was in operation for over 100 years. She is a strung, socket head doll with an open pate and glass eyes, and I believe she dates from the 1950s (she may be older than that.) She is not without her "issues." She is missing most of her eyelashes and she has one lazy eye, but in spite of her flaws, she is an adorable girl. She has the turtle mark on her back with the number T44. She's on my list of dolls next to be repaired and restored. Her wig and clothes do not appear to be original to her, although they fit her well, and her cryer no longer works, but I find her to be a charming example of a celluloid doll.

At one time, celluloid dolls were considered to be "cheap." They were mass-produced and are susceptible to going up in flames if not treated properly. Carnival dolls were often made of celluloid and these can be found in abundance on auction sites, but some celluloid dolls are valuable due to the quality of their design and manufacture.

As a side note, if you collect celluloid dolls, be sure to store them properly. Keep them out of direct sunlight and in a dry area. Do not expose them to water. They also dent easily due to the delicate nature of celluloid, so treat them with care.

Pigtail Sally

2011-12-29T22:01:00.000-08:00

In 1935, right around the time that Ideal was producing their Shirley Temple doll, Pigtail Sally was introduced to the American market. Pigtail Sally is another composition doll produced by Ideal, and like many Shirley Temple dolls, she has flirty eyes and a dimple in her chin. Unlike the Shirley Temple doll, Ideal did not have to pay royalties to Shirley Temple to manufacture her.

Pigtail Sally is also known by other names: Cinderella, Little Princess, Mary Jane, Betty Jane and Miss America. All of them use the same face mold and can range in size from 13 inches to 20 inches tall. She is jointed at the neck, shoulders and hips and is a strung doll.

My Pigtail Sally is 16 inches tall and wears a factory-made starched dress and pinafore that looks original to her. She also wears rayon socks and oilcloth shoes that look original. Her composition and face paint is immaculate, but her eyes were crazed and someone attempted to enhance them. Pigtail Sally (or Pigtails, as she is sometimes known), is a wigged doll. She is marked on her back, U.S.A. 16. I love her flirty eyes which still work. She has a little felt tongue and four teeth.

Ideal's Ginger often gets mistaken for Pigtail Sally. Ginger uses the Shirley Temple face mold and wears her hair in pigtails. As you can see from these photos, Pigtail Sally's face is slightly different to Shirley Temple's.

Pigtail Sally is a charming addition to my composition dolls collection. For whatever reason, Pigtail Sally seems to be hard to find, so if you come across her, you might want to giver her a home.

Video update

2011-12-11T23:02:00.000-08:00

I've gone ahead and put almost all of my dolls into a video log. I thought you'd enjoy seeing all of these dolls in one place. There are a few I have yet to write about, and there are even a few that didn't make this video (next time!)

I hope you enjoy it.

Celebrity dolls: Franklin Mint Gone With the Wind collection

2011-09-30T03:18:00.000-07:00

In 1986, the film Gone With the Wind was closing in on its 50th anniversary, and to commemorate this epic milestone of an epic film, Franklin Mint released porcelain dolls that have been sculpted to look like the stars that made these characters famous on screen. All of the main characters were available for collectors: Scarlett, Rhett, Melanie, Ashley, Aunt Pitty, Mrs. O'Hara, Belle Watling, Bonnie Blue, Prissy and Mammy. Of these characters, I own the four protagonists.

There were 10 Scarletts created for the series, but I have the Scarlett in White Ruffles doll. This is Scarlett O'Hara in her White Ruffle Prayer Dress from the opening scene of the movie. Scarlett wears delicate red bows in her hair. When I purchased her, she came with her own stand and a second dress - the green BBQ at Twelve Oaks dress and hat which you see her wearing here.

Next to Scarlett stands Melanie Wilkes as portrayed by Olivia de Havilland. She is dressed in the pale blue silk gown she wore to Scarlett's wedding to Charles.

Rhett Butler wears the attire he wore when he first laid eyes on Scarlett at the Twelve Oaks Plantation BBQ. He wears a tailored navy blue frock coat and grey trousers with a waistcoat. Rhett stands taller than Scarlett and Melanie. He is 22 inches tall.

Ashley Wilkes looks dashing in his Confederate uniform. He wears the yellow sash favour that Scarlett made for him and gave to him at Tara. He also stands 22 inches tall.

All of these Franklin Mint dolls have porcelain heads, arms and hands, and feet. They have soft cloth stuffed bodies with armatures that make them somewhat posable. They all have their own stands made specifically for that doll and come with a numbered Certificate of Authenticity. Their face sculptures are remarkable and resemble closely the actors that portrayed them on screen: Vivian Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, Clark Gable, and Leslie Howard.

If you're a Gone With the Wind fan or just have a fascination for the period of the United States' Civil War, then you might want to collect these beautiful dolls. Dolls can fetch from $100 and up, depending on their number, rarity, condition, and whether or not they have been removed from their box.

Doll Land update: Toni has new stockings

2011-08-07T16:51:00.000-07:00

Poor Toni - imagine how she has felt all these years, having to wear her roller skates with her feet bare. Recently, eBay has come to the rescue and I found a seller who makes stockings that have the right amount of stretch for the older hard plastic dolls.

In the past, I suffered the frustration of stockings that just had a bit of elastic at the top (like a garter.) They are fine for vinyl legs, but not so for hard plastic, which has a much more slick surface. I finally figured out I had to search for stockings made for Cissy or Miss Revlon.

Voila stretchy stockings! Toni finally looks complete.

American Character Sweet Sue

2011-08-06T18:11:00.000-07:00

Sweet Sue is one of the few hard plastic dolls in my collection. She was made by American Character from 1948 to 1961. Sweet Sues range in size from 14 to 25 inches tall (depending on which Sweet Sue model you own.) The Life Size Sweet Sue is 31 inches tall.

Sweet Sue was another teen doll aimed towards older girls who had outgrown the baby doll stage. She came with beautiful dresses, some with special embroidery. Every outfit in Sweet Sue's wardrobe included a slip or petticoat, nylon stockings, and panties.In 1953, McCall issued a series of dress patterns especially for Sweet Sue.

There was a special bridal Sweet Sue (with a matching groom who wore a lamb's wool wig), but Sweet Sue in general, came with lots of beautiful clothing and accessories for little girls to play with. There was no particular novelty to the hard plastic Sweet Sue. She is a sturdy doll with a pretty face sculpture, blue sleep eyes, brush lashes, single stroke eyebrows and a synthetic or mohair wig. She is jointed at the arms, legs and neck and is a strung doll.

Later versions of Sweet Sue were made of vinyl. Vinyl opened up other possibilities for Sweet Sue, and she was given a flexible foot and ankle, neck and waist, which allowed her to wear high heels or flats as her "mommy" decided, and pose as a ballerina or sophisticated glamour queen.

For one year, 1957, a Sweet Sue Sophisticate was manufactured. This version of Sweet Sue was made of vinyl and had flange joints in her arms and legs, which meant that her arms and legs could not be posed away from her body. She was given a more mature figure, and could bend and twist at the neck and waist. Sweet Sue Sophisticates have rooted hair and are more valuable than then standard Sweet Sue, as she was manufactured for only one year. Sweet Sue Sophisticate also had a variety of outfits complete with a bra, panties, and stockings.

My Sweet Sue is an 18 inch hard plastic doll with strung joints and a synthetic wig, which makes her one of the earlier versions of the doll. She is wearing an original factory-made dress and replacement stockings and shoes. Her face paint is all original. She is unmarked (many Sweet Sues of all sizes are unmarked), but some are marked American Character Doll, Am. Char. Doll, Amer Char., A.C. Sweet Sue is a great addition to your vintage American doll collection. Many are still in great condition and can be purchased for a reasonable price.

Doll Land update

2011-03-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

My husband and I attended a local doll show yesterday. Yes, believe it or not, he likes going to them as much as I do because doll shows are more than just about dolls. There were teddy bears, tin toys, and old pedal cars. Attending a doll show is like a step back into your childhood, and we had lots of fun.

While there, I picked up a hand sewn dress for my Rosebud doll, as well as some shoes. She was never dressed in her original costume, so I figured that she may as well be dressed in something pretty. So, here she is, all decked out in a new red gingham dress and red patent shoes. She wears her original rayon socks and underwear, but now looks as if she's ready for a Sunday morning go-to-meeting.

I've also added another Monica Studio doll to my collection. This doll is smaller than the others. She stands 18 inches tall, but like her sisters, she is also made of composition, putty, and has rooted human hair. Sadly for this doll, most of her hair has broken off, so I purchased a human hair doll wig that pretty much is the same style that she had originally. Her dress and hat appear to be original to her and are made of taffeta. She has lovely violet eyes that remind me of the late Elizabeth Taylor. If you look at all of my Monica Studio dolls, you'll see that their faces are all slightly different. Aren't they gorgeous, though?

Click on photos to enlarge.

Helen Kish doll: Spring

2011-03-27T04:13:00.000-07:00

In my collection of dolls, my Helen Kish Spring doll is the youngster of the bunch. Helen Kish, her designer, has been creating beautiful dolls for the past thirty years. She started out making porcelain dolls and worked as a freelance designer for such companies as The Franklin Mint and the Danbury Mint until she decided to start her own company in 1991. In addition to dolls, Helen Kish designs jewelry and sculptures.

Helen Kish dolls are remarkable for their charming faces that include large painted eyes and pouty, well-defined lips. Dolls range in size from 5 inches to 28 inches tall and are balanced well enough to stand on their own. My Spring is jointed at the neck, shoulders and hips, but there are Kish dolls, such as Sheherazade, who are also jointed at the elbows, wrists, and knees. Spring's head and body are made of hard vinyl, and she is strung the same as vintage dolls.

Spring, from the 1997 Four Seasons collection, is 16 inches tall and has beautiful soft blonde rooted hair. You see her here, also wearing Autumn's dress, but Spring typically wears a fresh green dress made from ribbon-embroidered felt and fine netting. She wears pink flowers in her hair, and pink lace up ballet shoes. Spring and her sisters, were made in Valencia, Spain by White Balloon, who made exclusive dolls by world-renowned designers.

Helen Kish dolls are highly collectable, due to their finely sculpted features, beautiful costumes, and perfect balance.

Lenci dolls

2011-03-20T04:59:00.000-07:00

I have three Lenci dolls in my collection. They all date from the 1980s.

The Lenci doll manufacturing company began as a workshop 1919 and was the brainchild of Madame Lenci (a shortened form of Elena Konig Scavini's nickname of Helenchen.) Lenci is famous for the use of felt to create soft and almost animated faces. Oil paints were used to create the distinctive side glancing eyes and pouty lips. While the name Lenci is most often associated with Turin, Italy, dolls made in the 1930s were often made in Madame Lenci's German workshop. Lenci dolls made before 1940 are the most valuable of the Lenci collection as their production was presided over by Madame Lenci herself and have the best craftsmanship.

From the 1950s until the 1970s, Lenci produced porcelain and celluloid dolls and sold old felt stock with new costumes. New felt dolls were produced in the 1970s. For more about the history of Lenci, I recommend the book Lenci: The History and the Dolls by Nancy Lazenby.

In my Lenci collection are the "twins" Aurelia and Bettina. Both dolls are about 13 inches tall and both wear felt dresses with pockets in which they have placed a soft toy "pet." Aurelia's is a goose, and Bettina's is a rabbit. Bettina wears a blue dress, and Aurelia's is pink. They both have blonde, curly hair made of a soft man-made fibre and can stand independently.

My other Lenci doll is a bride doll named Bibija. She is a large example of a Lenci doll, being 24 inches tall. She is number 433 of 499 dolls made. She, too, is made of felt and has beautiful soft blonde hair made of an amazing manmade fibre. Bibija is a boudoir-style doll, that is, she can't stand on her own. Her legs are quite soft and she's more suited to being placed on a chair or on a bed.

Sadly, after World War 2, quality and production went into decline and the Lenci workshop closed in 2002. Still, a doll made in the 1970s or 1980s will make a fine addition to your doll collection, especially if you have a "soft spot" for cloth dolls.

Snow White and Rosebud

2011-02-12T15:54:00.000-08:00

Do you remember the story of Snow White and Rose Red from Grimm's Fairy Tales? Well, I've got Snow White and Rosebud dolls.

Snow White dolls became popular in the late 1930s after the release of Snow White by Walt Disney. Not everyone manufacturing a Snow White doll was licensed like Madame Alexander and Ideal, so to get around this, one company made a Snow White doll with blonde hair.

This composition doll stands 13.5 inches tall and sports a blue bow in her hair. She has side-glancing painted eyes. She is unmarked, but she is unmistakably designed to look like the Disney Snow White. Sadly, I have never seen this doll offered for sale with her original outfit, and indeed, my Snow White is wearing a satin underdress and robe that, while old, is obviously a replacement. She is wearing her original oilcloth shoes and rayon socks, however.

Snow White can stand independently. Her joints are held tightly with springs instead of elastic, which was a wonderful improvement over other methods. I'm not sure why this didn't catch on with other manufacturers, although I suppose cost is always a consideration. Her neck is not jointed - it is molded with the body.

Snow White's companion is Rosebud. Rosebud is a composition baby doll made in England. She is marked ROSEBUD on the back of her neck. Rosebud has orange sleep eyes and brush lashes, a painted closed mouth, and has five joints (neck, arms and legs.) Rosebud was manufactured in the 1940s and her composition is in fantastic shape. She also stands about 13.5 inches tall. Her hair is painted, but later Rosebud dolls made in the 1950s, were made from hard plastic and were wigged.

Rosebud looks very much like a composition Pedigree doll, but was made by a Pedigree competitor. Horsman also made a Rosebud doll, but that doll is a little girl and is marked E. I. H. CO. INC. Rosebud's rayon dress is old but not original, and her shoes are long gone.

Both dolls make a sweet addition to my collection.

Crissy, Kerry and Cinnamon vinyl dolls

2010-05-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

If you were a girl who grew up in the late 1960's and early 1970's, you probably owned a Crissy doll, or one of the other Ideal Crissy-family dolls that came out at that time.

Crissy is an all vinyl teen doll with sleep eyes and auburn hair that "grows." She is much larger than Barbie and was made specifically for girls who like to style their dolls' hair. I adored my Crissy! I let her hair out using the button on her belly and braided it, or wound it back up, using the knob on her back and gave her a sporty bob. Mod style clothes were designed and factory-made for Crissy and her friends, that are, today, worth a lot of money.

The idea for Crissy came from American Character's Tressy doll, who also had hair that grows. Ideal bought the patent for the growth mechanism in 1969, and developed Crissy, their 18 inch fashion doll.

Crissy became a world wide sensation amongst little girls and was manufactured and marketed in the UK, Australia, France, Germany, Brazil and Canada. Some countries sold knock-offs of Crissy. One such doll was called Bella Estrella and was sold in Mexico.

From attending doll shows, I learned that the vinyl that was used to make the UK and Australian versions of Crissy wasn't as good at holding pigment as the vinyl used in making the USA version. It's easy to tell those dolls, as their face pigments are usually faded.

Crissy exploded in popularity in the early 1970's and a younger version, Crissy's cousin Velvet, was developed. Crissy also gained friends - Kerry, a blonde teen from Ireland (shown left), and Brandy, a California girl. Velvet also had a little sister, called Cinnamon (shown below). Black versions of most of these dolls were also manufactured. There are websites devoted to these dolls, so I won't repeat what's already out there in this small space, but I will tell you about my Crissy family dolls.

I don't know what happened to the Crissy doll I owned as a child. I suspect my mother gave her to Good Will or threw her away when it was clear that my sister and I had outgrown dolls (temporarily as it turns out.) The Crissy I have now is an American Crissy that I bought at a doll show here in Australia. Her hair was cut on one side, so I bought Katsilk doll hair and re-rooted her hair and gave her a custom look with highlights. She did come with her original orange mini-dress, but I have her dressed in custom clothes that were made by a professional dressmaker.

Kerry is all original, but wears custom clothing as well. While I can appreciate that people like to see these dolls as they were sold, for display purposes, I love these outfits. They truly represent the fashion trends of the early 1970's and are so well made!

Cinnamon is wearing a mommy-made jumpsuit and beaded hair ribbon.

As a child, I only ever owned Crissy and my sister had Velvet, so I'm loving having these additional Crissy-family dolls in my collection. All of the dolls are in pristine condition, even their hair, which can become quite woolly over time.

Every time I look at them, I remember that Christmas when I first opened that box that had my first Crissy doll, and I can't help but smile.

Ideal Toni

2010-04-01T22:27:00.000-07:00

Toni was sold by Ideal and was designed by reknowned doll sculpturer Bernard Lipfert (who also designed Dy-Dee Baby, Patsy, Shirley Temple, the Dionne babies and later, Pebbles and Bam-Bam.) She was introduced in 1949 and stayed in production until 1953.

Toni was designed as a promotion for Toni home permanents. Girls who had outgrown the baby doll stage now wanted to emulate their mothers, and Toni was born. Toni dolls fit the same category as Miss Revlon, Dy-Dee Baby, Betsy McCall and Miss Curity. They almost guaranteed a new generation of loyal consumers of the products that they represented.

Toni most commonly comes in a 14" size, but ranges in size up to 22.5 inches tall. Her home permanent kit consisted of perm solution (made of sugar water), curlers, end papers, and a comb. Little girls could give their Tonis their own home permanents, even though the solution didn't work as well as Mom's. Extra curlers and accessories could be purchased.

Toni is made of high quality hard plastic and wears a nylon wig. Later Tonis have rooted hair. They have sleep eyes, "real" upper eyelashes, and single stroke eyebrows.

My Toni doll is a 19" doll, marked P-92 on the back of her neck, along with Ideal Doll Made in USA. She has a rare pair of oilskin roller skates and a matching coat and hat, which appear to be original. Her white cotton dress is a replacement, and alas, her rayon socks are lost somewhere in time.

Toni is a sweet doll and was meant to be played with. Her hair still curls and hasn't frizzed like many nylon-wigged dolls of her era. Her joints are held by large rubber doll bands, which makes her easy to repair.

Vinyl dolls - Furga Italy

2010-03-16T18:48:00.000-07:00

In addition to my collection of composition and hard plastic dolls from the 1920's - 1950's, I have a few modern era, or "vinyl era" dolls as I like to refer to them. I wasn't going to collect any, but there are a few that have been irresistible for one reason or another.

The first on the list are my two Furga dolls. Furga was an Italian doll manufacturer that started up in the 1870's and is still in existence today. The earliest dolls were made of papier maché and had wax masque faces. Dolls are of a good quality, with many surviving decades. Most doll collectors are familiar with vinyl Furga dolls made in the 1960's and '70's, but Furga also made felt, hard plastic and composition dolls.

I have two Furga "Lady" dolls made circa 1968 - 1971. They have hard vinyl heads and arms, and hard plastic bodies. Both dolls are marked Furga Italy, stand about 14 inches tall and come dressed in period costumes. One doll has high button up boots molded to her feet. Both dolls have soft rooted hair. It almost feels like real hair, but is a fine synthetic. The brunette doll wears an original Furga tagged outfit, while the blonde wears a replacement. The remarkable thing about the dolls made during this period are their beautiful cupid's bow mouths, and eyes with long lashes.

One of Furga's biggest successes were their Alta Moda line of fashion dolls. These 17 inch dolls have long eyelashes, long rooted hair, come with "Mod" outfits and accessories, and usually fetch high prices in auctions. They have the typical beautiful Furga face with cupid bow mouths. [note: some of this information has been corrected.]

If you collect vinyl dolls, a Furga doll would be a great addition. Dolls still in tagged original costumes will fetch the biggest prices.

Horsman composition dolls

2010-02-21T17:25:00.000-08:00

I have two Horsman dolls in my collection: a mama doll that was made in the late 1920's, and a Patsy family competitor, called Nan.

The Horsman Doll Company is one of the oldest doll manufacturers still extant. It was founded in 1865 by Edward Horsman and has changed hands several times over the past century. Today, it is run out of Hong Kong and is called Horsman Ltd. I really like that despite the change of hands, the Horsman name still carries weight.

My Horsman mama doll is typical of dolls made in the late 1920's. She has a soft cloth stuffed body, a "cryer" (that still works), and four teeth. She is 22 inches long with composition head, arms, and legs. Her mohair wig is a replacement and although her clothes are old, they are not original to her. She has tin sleep eyes and is marked EIH Co. Inc. on the back of her neck.

The little boy in this photo is holding a Horsman Baby Bumps (circa 1911.)

Mama dolls were made for little girls (and boys) to cuddle - hence their soft cloth stuffed bodies. It amazes me that they have survived nearly one hundred years with nothing more than some staining or small seam splits. Even the stuffing hasn't settled to a great degree.

Nan* was manufactured in the 1930's in response to the Patsy craze. My Nan is 19 inches tall and all composition with molded hair, sable eyelashes, and tin sleep eyes. She is unmarked and sometimes gets mistaken for Patsy Ann, although Nan has a noticeable dimple in her chin. She has a toddler body and a bent right arm. I think Nan is just as sweet as Patsy Ann.

Horsman dolls are rather iconic and are a great addition to any vintage doll collection.

*corrected from Jane

Nancy Ann Storybook dolls

2010-02-08T02:08:00.000-08:00

Ms Nancy Ann Abbot, a dress designer of San Franciso, started her own doll company specializing in "wee dolls for wee collectors." Ms Abbott started her venture from her own apartment, and the first dolls were made of bisque. In 1937, she took on a partner, Les Rowland, to help her with marketing these tiny dolls. In 1937, she became incorporated and Nancy Ann Dressed Dolls was born. The company's name was changed to Nancy Ann Storybook Dolls in 1945 and sales topped a million dollars. Bisque dolls were produced from 1936 - 1947, and hard plastic, from 1947 - 1960. Dolls average 5 1/2 inches tall but can be as small as 4 1/2 inches to 7 inches tall.

The earliest bisque dolls had bodies that were made in Japan, but by the time World War II was heating up in Europe, the dolls were being manufactured in California. Each doll during this era was hand painted. Later, the dolls were made from hard plastic. 125 different dolls were marketed, based on nursury rhymes, children's fairy tales, dolls of the world, days of the week, months of the year, seasons, and popular jingles. By the time the 1940's rolled around, the Nancy Ann Storybook doll company produced the largest volume of any dolls manufactured in the United States.

As the dolls gained in popularity, Nancy Ann Abbot expanded her range to include an 18 inch teen Nancy Ann Style Show doll, an eight inch Muffie doll that was a competitor of Ginny, as well as a toddler and baby doll (Debbie and Sue-Sue).

The dolls are actually very good quality and have held up well over the decades. Nancy Ann changed her dolls' costumes every year, making some dolls difficult to identify without tags. Dolls have distinctive faces, however, and many (but not all) are marked Nancy Ann or Storybook Dolls USA on their backs.

I have two Nancy Ann Storybook dolls, and I know women who own dozens! These adorable dolls are made of hard plastic and have flirty eyes (eyes that move side to side as well as open and close.) They have soft mohair wigs and their eyelashes and shoes are painted on. At one time, they would have worn hats or ribbons in their hair. Their clothes, while removable, aren't really meant to be removed. The dolls' underclothes are taped to their bodies. I don't know who they were meant to be, as they came to me without boxes or tags. They are, however, very sweet, and they don't take up a lot of room if you have limited space for a doll collection. The earlier bisque dolls will fetch higher prices than the hard plastic dolls at auction, and even moreso if you're fortunate enough to get a tagged doll in its original box.

Madame Alexander Princess Elizabeth

2010-01-23T03:24:00.000-08:00

To commemorate the coronation of King George VI in 1937, Madame Alexander introduced a new celebrity doll. Her name is Princess Elizabeth, and she is made totally of composition, with a mohair or human hair wig, sleep eyes, and is marked Alexander Doll Co/Princess Elizabeth. Dolls range in size from 13 to 27 inches and have open mouths with a felt tongue and teeth. A 17 inch doll, also called Princess Elizabeth, has a closed mouth.

Princess Elizabeth came wearing a gown, drawstring handbag, and a tiara, but parents could also buy other beautiful clothes for Princess Elizabeth. Not all the clothing was tagged, but thankfully, the doll is marked on the back of her neck for identification purposes.

The Princess Elizabeth mold was also used for several other Madame Alexander dolls: McGuffy Ana, Flora McFlimsey, Cinderella, Snow White, and Kate Greenaway, to name a few. What differentiates these dolls from Princess Elizabeth is their hair styles, clothes, and subtle details like freckles in the case of Flora McFlimsey.

My Princess Elizabeth is 16 inches tall and wears her original black leather shoes and rayon socks. Her taffeta gown is a replacement, and her tiara is older than she is and dates from the 1920's. Her necklace is a handmade original. A taffeta bow in her mohair wig complements her gown.

The real Princess Elizabeth was eleven years old when the doll was introduced. King George VI was her father. It's amazing to look at the doll and compare her to the grown woman who is the current reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. Nice to be reminded that we all started out as little children at one time!

Unmarked composition dolls

2010-01-17T14:47:00.000-08:00

When I first decided to collect dolls, I had no real idea of where I wanted to start. I just knew that I wanted to collect dolls with sweet faces, that were pre-plastic but post china and bisque. That put me squarely in the range of composition dolls out there.

My first doll was a fairly local purchase from a woman in Australia. The doll is 100% composition, jointed, with a feature that I've not seen in other dolls - ceramic eyes. The irises and pupils are concave. Her hair is a replacement wig, and I've tried to find some kind of marking on her, and the only thing I've been able to find is an inscription written under her neck in pencil. It's quite faded, but is written in the kind of script that was used in the 1920's and 30's - a little flowery and artistic. I wish I could make out what it says. This doll is 18 inches tall. She has a round mouth - another unusual feature. If anyone recognises her, please contact me. I'd love to know more about her. I am guessing that she dates from the 1930's.

The other unmarked dolls include a baby doll, which I swear I have seen in a vintage Christmas short film, and a Black baby doll, who may have been a Patsy competitor. The Black baby doll has tin eyes, painted lashes and is also 100% composition. Her outfit appears to be original as it fits her perfectly and is quite fragile. She is about 12 inches tall and probably dates from the late 1920's. The larger baby doll is a "mama" doll, although her cryer no longer works. Her face is so cute and she has a soft stuffed body. Her face was completely professionally restored and her legs and arms are sealed against crazing. She is about 21 inches tall and probably dates to the 1950's.

None of these dolls are marked, but I got them for various reasons. They are all unique in some way and just add a different dimension to my doll collection.

Miss Revlon

2009-12-30T02:52:00.000-08:00

In 1950's United States, there was a boom of dolls created that were a result of products geared towards grown women. These included Toni (who came with her own "permanent wave" kit,) Miss Revlon, and various other "makeup" or glamour dolls that came with their own hair styling or makeup kits.

Doll manufacturers are smart. They know that little girls like to emulate their mothers. There are few little girls that haven't watched their mother put on lipstick or do their hair. So, in 1956 Ideal licensed the Revlon name and created a fashion doll for little girls, with a name that they and their mothers (or aunts or grandmothers) would recognise.

Miss Revlon came in various sizes, from 15 to 20 inches tall. Some dolls have jointed elbows (like Madame Alexander's Cissy.) Most dolls have light brown hair, but some can be found with dark brown or very blonde hair. A modified version was introduced toward the end of Miss Revlon's popularity, and this doll was a pixie faced doll. She had pink hair, was called Pink Fairy, wore a fairy dress and only comes in the 18 inch size. Miss Revlon has a "high heel foot" and wears dresses and costumes that were representative of the high fashion of their day (including real fur wraps). Some dolls have pierced ears. Hair can either be short or long and worn in a pony tail. Dolls have sleep eyes. They are marked Ideal, followed by VT and the size of the doll, and are made of high quality vinyl and hard plastic.

I have a Miss Revlon and a Little Miss Revlon doll in my collection. Little Miss Revlon was introduced in 1958. She is a smaller version of Miss Revlon, and stands at about 10.5 inches tall. Little Miss Revlon is all vinyl and has a twisty waist. Both dolls have girlish faces on a teen body.

My Miss Revlon is a 20 inch doll. She wears an original Miss Revlon dress and replacement shoes. She is the shorter haired version and does not have pierced ears. My Little Miss Revlon also wears an original dress. Her vinyl has darkened slightly, but she fortunately is not plagued with a bad case of green ear, which is the case with so many pierced ear dolls of the 1950's.

Miss Revlon was sadly knocked off her pedestal by the introduction of Barbie in 1959. Barbie was more adult-like compared to the childlike Miss Revlon, and so a new era of dolls began. For some of us, however, the old era never really passed away.

O K Kader doll

2009-12-14T12:43:00.000-08:00

Until I moved to Australia, I had never heard of these hard plastic baby dolls that were manufactured in the 1950s through the 1990s in Asia. OK Kader had factories in Hong Kong and Thailand. The Thai factory closed in 1993 after a massive fire killed many workers. There were both black and caucasian versions of these dolls.

Kader dolls seem to be popular among collectors in Asia and the Pacific, and no wonder. They have sweet chubby faces and characteristics unique to Kader dolls: a "clacking" tongue and twist wrists. The tongue is attached to the eye mechanism, so when the doll's eyes close, the tongue retracts and moves side to side. Wrists can be twisted so that the doll's hands can be posed. Dolls have hard molded eyelashes. My doll also wears replacement lashes.

All Kader dolls come with molded hair, although mine is wearing a wig (dolls usually lose most of their hair paint). The dolls may have residual glue on their head seams. I've seen them range in size from 13 to 25 inches (although there may be dolls on either side of that figure.) My doll is a 20 inch doll from about 1960. She has two little teeth in her rosebud mouth. Her matinee jacket and pants probably are not original to her, although I usually see OK Kader dolls for sale wearing knitted baby clothes. Most of the dolls I've seen for sale on eBay are vintage dolls that date from the 1950s and 1960s. Newer dolls have hard vinyl heads.

If you are a collector of dolls from the 1950's, you might want to have a look around for an adorable OK Kader doll.

Celebrity Doll - Sonja Henie

2009-12-10T21:41:00.000-08:00

Sonja Henie was an Olympic ice skating champion from Norway. With her blonde girl-next-door looks and athletic abilities, she became a natural for the cinema and starred in several motion pictures in the 1930's and 40's.

Given her prominence and popularity (it's said that at the height of her acting career, she was one of the most highly paid actresses in Hollywood), it was natural that a doll was made in her likeness. In 1939, Madame Alexander released the Sonja Henie doll (a few years after Ideal released Shirley Temple and around the same time that the Deanna Durbin doll was released.)

Sonja Henie is an all composition doll with blonde curly hair and brown sleep eyes. She was available with several skating outfits, and also came with skiing outfits and skis. Sonja Henie dolls range from 14 to 21 inches tall, with the smaller sizes having a twist waist. Her toothed smile and dimples give her face a soft appearance, and her face mold was used for other dolls including a bride doll and some WW2 military dolls. Arranbee also made a Sonja Henie doll with the Nancy Lee head mold.

My Sonja Henie is 18 inches tall. She wears a skating outfit that I haven't been able to identify, new ear muffs, and her skates are original. Her wig is a soft mohair wig. My doll is marked MADAME ALEXANDER SONJA HENIE on the back of her head.

I love these old celebrity dolls. They're great reminders of days gone by.

More Patsy family dolls

2009-11-21T17:29:00.000-08:00

With the phenomenal success of Patsy, Effanbee developed several other dolls with the same Patsy type face and right bent arm. These dolls were manufactured in the period from 1929 to 1946

First there was Patsy Ann, essentially a larger version of Patsy; Patsy Lou, Patsy Joan, Patsyette, Patsy Jr, and many others. All of the dolls have a typical Patsy-type face: chubby cheeks, puckered lips, short bobbed hair (some with molded headbands), painted side-glancing eyes or sleep eyes in all different colors with lashes, and a toddler proportioned body. Dolls are all composition. Some dolls came with mohair or caracul wigs. There were also black versions of these dolls.

The dolls started to wane in popularity and in the last year of their manufacture, 1946, they were unmarked, otherwise, dolls are marked Effanbee and have the doll's name.

I have a Patsy Ann from the early 1930's and a Patsy Jr, from 1946. There's a big difference in the quality of the newer dolls versus the older dolls. I am guessing that when materials became scarce during World War 2, shortcuts had to be made. As you can see on my Patsy Jr from 1946, there is a top layer of paint that is peeling, revealing a lighter tint below. I've seen this on a few Patsy Jrs. Patsy Ann, however, looks almost as good as the day she was purchased. Patsy Ann wears an original dress (don't you love the penguins?) and shoes, and Patsy Jr wears a vintage mommy-made onesie and old oilcloth shoes.

Patsy Ann is 19 inches tall, and Patsy Jr is 11 inches tall. There were plenty of imitators during the years of Patsy's popularity, but one good way to identify your doll, if she is unmarked, is to closely check the pattern in the molded hair. It's unique to Patsy dolls. It's generally straight, slightly parted in the middle, and curves on her cheeks. Some dolls have the molded headband. Patsys did not come with bow loops (a loop of composition through which you can thread a ribbon.)

Patsy's face is so endearing - no wonder she had so many imitators!

Ginny, Jill and Jeff

2009-11-09T23:34:00.000-08:00

Vogue Dolls, Inc. was created by Mrs Jennie Graves and grew from humble roots as a cottage industry, to be the largest doll-only manufacturer in the world. In 1957 Vogue bought the Arranbee doll company and used their R & B doll molds for a few years.

In the late 1940's, with the advent of hard plastic being used for doll manufacturing, Mrs Graves developed a little doll who was to be named after her daughter, Virginia (Ginny.) Ginny dolls are only eight inches tall, but came with extensive wardrobes and accessories that Mrs Graves designed herself.

These dolls are highly sought after and changed in small ways through the years. The earliest dolls had painted lashes and eyes and had molded hair under their wigs. Later dolls had molded eyelashes, sleep eyes, and came as bent leg walkers. Dolls are often marked Ginny and/or Vogue. Ginny connoisseurs will say that the best Ginnys have a hard plastic head and body (later dolls had vinyl heads).

Of course, a successful doll always has extended family. In 1957, Vogue introduced Jill (1957 - 1965), Ginny's big sister, and then in 1958, Jan came on board. Jan was Jill's best friend. Ginny and Jill also had a brother, named Jeff (1958-1961), who was Jan's boyfriend. There was even a baby sister, named Ginette (1955 - 1969). Jill and Jan are 10 1/2 inches tall, Jeff is 11 inches tall, and Ginny and Ginette are eight inches tall. Dolls are marked Vogue either on the head or the back.

Jill and Jan are teen dolls. My Jill is an early Jill, with a grayer skin than later Jills, and a pony tail instead of a bubble hair cut. She wears a vintage untagged dress. Jeff is wearing original clothes tagged Vogue. My Ginny is wearing an original tagged Ginny dress. Together, they make a cute slice of 1950 's Americana.

Mrs Graves refused to advertise on television, so Barbie overtook sales of Ginny and Ginny faded into obscurity before becoming popular again with collectors. Thankfully, there are plenty of people who appreciate Ginny, Jill, and Jeff.

Pedigree dolls - older and newer

2009-10-31T22:09:00.000-07:00

The Pedigree Doll Company was an English doll manufacturer that was active from the 1930's through the mid 1980's, when it eventually went bankrupt. Dolls are usually marked Pedigree Made in England.

I own three Pedigree dolls which are examples of the Pedigree company through the decades.

The first is a baby boy doll made of composition. He has side-glancing painted eyes and teeth that need a wee bit of work to straighten out. He's in need of a good cleaning, but, as he dates back to the 1930's, he's not in too bad a shape. Baby Pedigree is approximately 16 inches tall.

The next is the much sought-after hard plastic toddler doll made from the late 1940's to the late 1950's. She was a Mama doll, but her cryer is now missing. This adorable dolly was literally rescued from a trash heap. She needed to be re-strung, her torso was split and warped, and her hair was bleached to a strange colour due to being left outside in the sun; however, being the kind of woman who takes pity on old abandoned dolls, I rescued her, and with the help of my husband, we managed to repair her body. She has silicone "collars" where her legs meet her torso so that they don't get pulled in by her new stringing. Her wig is original and full, and I dyed it to help mask the strange green tint that it had, and her eyelashes are replacements. She has flirty sleep eyes that still freely flirt from side to side, even if they don't open and close well any more.

After her body was repaired and some blush restored to her face, she was given a new outfit. Her shoes are original as far as I can tell, and I am eventually going to make a new set of front teeth for her. Truly, restoring this doll has been a labour of love. Toddler Pedigree is about 20 inches tall.

The 1950's was a heyday era for Pedigree. They made toddler dolls, walker dolls, and Brighton Belle, a playpal size doll that stood around 28 inches tall. All are highly collectible and sought after, especially if their plastic hasn't faded and they don't suffer from Pedigree doll disease. Pedigree doll disease is not treatable, unlike other hard plastic doll "diseases." Once the plastic begins to break down, you may as well throw the poor dolly away, as she will melt over time.

The third Pedigree doll dates from the late 1960's. She's Pedigree's Sindy doll - their teen doll competition to Barbie, Tammy, and other teen dolls of the era. My Sindy has a twist waist and posable legs. I am fussy about Sindy. When Pedigree went bankrupt in the mid 1980's, Hasbro bought the rights to manufacture the doll, and they changed her look. The Sindy of the 1960's is quintessentially a British Mod doll. Anything else just doesn't feel right. Sindy is 11 inches tall and like Barbie, came with an extensive wardrobe and accessories.

Pedigree dolls are great examples of dolls that were popular in England and other Commonwealth countries in the 1940's through the 1960's. Since living in Australia, I've been introduced to these dolls and love them as much as my American dolls.

Madame Alexander Cissette

2009-10-25T21:48:00.000-07:00

A couple years after Madame Alexander developed Cissy, she also came up with Cissette, a miniature version of the large fashion doll.

Cissette has all of the attributes of her larger "cousin," including bendable knees and a fabulous wardrobe. She is made from hard plastic and wears a synthetic wig.

The original Cissette was discontinued in the mid 1960's and then came back in the 1990's, with a few modifications. For one thing, she grew two inches! Early Cissettes came dressed in the couture of the day, but modern Cissettes are often sold as historical figures. My modern Cissette is dressed and coiffed to represent Veronica Franco, a celebrated courtesan of 16th century Venice. As you can see, the Alexander doll company is meticulous in their costume and hair style details!

Vintage Cissette has a matching bra and panties with rosebuds. She dates to about 1961 and is marked MME ALEXANDER on her back. Modern Cissette is from 2008 and is marked ALEXANDER on her back. They certainly are very "grown up" for such little dolls.

Kewty and Sue

2009-10-23T23:21:00.000-07:00

In the late 1920's, toddler dolls started to take the nation by storm. Two such dolls were Amberg's Sue doll (a doll with molded curls and a swivel twist waist) and Arranbee's Kewty. (There was also another version of Kewty made by Domec which more closely resembles a carnival doll.)

Kewty and Sue rode the wave of success that Effanbee's Patsy had created. Toddler dolls with molded hair, about the right size for little hands to hold, became popular. There were also plenty of other imitators that cropped up along the way during the 1920's and 30's (I'll showcase a couple more in another entry.)

My Kewty and Sue dolls appear to be dressed in their original costumes with their original shoes and socks. Sue is about 14 inches tall, and Kewty is about 15 inches tall. Sue is marked on her back:Amberg/Pat. Pend./L.A.& S. © 1928 and Kewty is marked on her back: KEWTY. They both have painted eyes, and to be honest, I think they are just as adorable as Patsy. Both dolls have a little age-related wear, but considering that that are 80 years old, they've held up well over the years.

In these photos, Kewty is on the left, and Sue is on the right.

Arranbee Debu'teen

2009-10-22T22:29:00.000-07:00

The Three Graces and a Muse

The Arranbee doll company is known among collectors for creating dolls with beautiful faces. One of these dolls, aimed towards the pre-teen market, was called Debu'teen. As her name implies, this teen doll was intended to be a debutante - or the age at which a girl entered society and was considered to be grown-up.

Debu'teen was made only for two or three years, from what I can tell, between 1938 and 1940. She came in various sizes, from 11" to 22" tall. The larger dolls had cloth bodies, one that was designed so that the doll could be seated more easily. Debu'teen came with beautiful clothes designed to appeal to older girls.

I have four Debu'teen dolls. All are unmarked (not uncommon for these dolls) but are distinguishable by their facial molds, which strongly resemble a larger version of the Mary Hoyer face mold. There is a second face mold doll that I unfortunately don't own, that has wider set eyes and a wider mouth. Three of my dolls have mohair wigs and one has a synthetic wig which may not be original to the doll, although it is certainly very old. It feels like a very early version of saran.

I nicknamed my dolls the Three Graces and a Muse since they are so beautiful and delicate. They all have composition bodies. The larger dolls are 18 inches tall, and the smaller one (which may be a Vogue doll that used the Debu'teen face mold) is 14 inches tall. They all wear their original clothing, with the exception of the blue dress, which is a replica of an original costume. They are truly stunning, dressed in heavy satins, netting, and lace!

Nancy Lee (also made by Arranbee) often gets confused with Debu'teen, but when seen side by side, it's obvious that their faces are quite different. To see more Debu'teen dolls, you can visit DollyHeaven.com.au. Carol Pope restores these dolls to their original beauty and does a great job!

Celebrity Doll - Ideal Deanna Durbin

2009-09-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

The Ideal Novelty and Toy Company had a hit on their hands with their Shirley Temple doll. Shirley appealed to little girls everywhere - but what about older girls? Every doll manufacturer covered both their younger and older consumers, so in 1938, Ideal came out with another celebrity doll for their teen consumers: the Deanna Durbin doll.

Deanna Durbin, a native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, is a contemporary of Judy Garland, and they appeared together in a short film called Every Sunday. Ms Durbin became Universal Studio's most popular female star of the 1940's, so Deanna Durbin dolls became popular, as well.

The dolls range in size from 15 to 21 inches (a 24 inch doll was produced in 1938) and are made of composition. They are jointed at the shoulders, neck and hips, have beautiful human hair wigs, brown sleep eyes, and an open, smiling mouth with six teeth. She is marked on the back of her head: Deanna Durbin Ideal Doll, USA.

At the height of Deanna Durbin's career, her image was also used for Ideal's Miss Liberty doll (a Deanna Durbin doll dressed in patriotic outfits with blonde hair), The Queen of the Ice (an ice skating doll also with blonde hair), and a short haired Gulliver doll. The Deanna Durbin doll face mold was modified only slightly for Ideal's Judy Garland doll, which came out in 1940.

My Deanna Durbin is marked and has her original face paint and human hair wig. Her eyes were crazed but have been enhanced. Her dress is a replacement but suits her, and she wears a tiara. My dad once told me he had had a crush on Deanna Durbin when he was a boy, so this doll will always be a little bit special to me.

Doll Land update

2009-09-17T16:44:00.000-07:00

A kind blogger let me know that the comment function in Doll Land wasn't working - so I've had to change templates. There will be some continuing updates to the functionality of Doll Land, but at least, now you can leave comments or ask questions if you like.

Thanks, Giovanna, for letting me know.

Regards,
Melanie O.

Madame Alexander Cissy

2009-09-17T03:48:00.000-07:00

In the mid 1950's, Madame Alexander added a fashion doll to her range. This doll has arms jointed at the elbows, and legs jointed at the knees. She is made of hard plastic, has sleep eyes and wears an elaborate wig. Her name is Cissy.

Cissy is 21 inches tall. She comes with a large array of costumes, most of which were high fashion of her era: swing coats, pencil skirts, and Chanel-type dresses with petticoats, hats, wraps, and high heels with stockings. Cissy was the first fashion doll made with a "high heel" foot. Cissy is a teen doll meant for older girls with dreams of being all grown up.

The Cissy face mold was previously used for Winnie and Binnie Walker, but Winnie and Binnie have little girls' bodies. Cissy's body is more mature and is jointed so that she can be posed in many ways.

Madame Alexander ended the first Cissy run in 1962, and later dolls were made without the elbow joint. So influential was Cissy to a teen girl's sense of fashion, that the Fashion Academy awarded Madame Alexander with a gold medal award - three times!

In 1996, Cissy was revived and a modernized version of the doll was born. Modern Cissy has a hard plastic body and a vinyl head and arms and stands 20 inches tall. She has a slightly narrower bust and smaller waist than Vintage Cissy, but both dolls are favorites with collectors.

As you can see, I have one of each - a Vintage Cissy and a Modern Cissy. Both dolls are gorgeous, for different reasons - each representing her own era. Vintage Cissy is marked Alexander on the back of her head, and Modern Cissy is unmarked (which is why saving those hang tags and tagged outfits is so important.) Modern Cissy is Holiday Cissy from 1999. She wears her original outfit and comes with her own earrings as well as a pair of matching earrings for her adoptive "mommy."

Dream World Dolls

2009-09-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

Dream World dolls are 11 inch composition dolls that were marketed to the "average" family who could not afford more expensive toys.They were sold throughout the 1940's and were available with a range of costumes: historical, ethnic, occupational, and fantasy.

These unmarked dolls have side-glancing painted eyes and mohair wigs that are glued directly to the head, as opposed to being constructed on a skull cap. Their costumes are stapled to their bodies, so costume changes were not intended for Dream World dolls. As a result of very little handling by little mommies, Dream World dolls tend to remain in very good condition. They don't appear to suffer from the same cracking and crazing as other dolls of their era with "better" composition. The dolls wear oil cloth shoes with laces.

I have two Dream World dolls. Both are ladies of the French court. Their costumes have a few age-related holes, but the dolls themselves are in great condition. When you purchase a Dream World doll, you will most likely also purchase her original costume, which makes her a true representation of her manufacture.

These dolls are delightful and aren't costly at all unless you're fortunate to find one with her original hang tags and in her original box. They are a great representation of their era and sometimes get mistaken for Wendy Ann or Tiny Betty dolls; however, the stapled on clothing, glued on floss, and lack of maker's marks gives them away.

Mary Hoyer dolls

2009-09-06T02:04:00.000-07:00

I think, of all my composition dolls, my Mary Hoyer dolls have to be one of my favorites. All right - they're all my "favorites," but my Mary Hoyer dolls are just that little bit more special. I'm not sure why this is, but I am guessing it's because of their faces. They remind me so much of Botticelli's Venus:

Back in the 1930's, Mary Hoyer, designer and owner of a knitting shop, had an idea. Why not create a doll for girls who are learning to knit and sew, and sell her own patterns for clothes that fit the doll? She approached the Ideal Toy and Novelty company, who created a doll with a Mayfair twist waist. The dolls were not marked Mary Hoyer, but were marked Ideal, and they wore costumes with a Hoyer label.

A few years later, Mrs Hoyer commissioned a well known doll sculptor, Bernart Lipfert, to sculpt her own doll, and the Mary Hoyer doll was born. The dolls were 14 inches tall, made of composition and had sleep eyes (or painted side-glancing eyes), and mohair wigs. Patterns of dresses and other outfits were sold along with the dolls. The dolls themselves were marked The Mary Hoyer Doll in raised print on their backs.

The original Mary Hoyer doll became a huge success, and after 1946, they were made out of hard plastic. Other dolls in the line followed: Gigi, Margie, Vicky (identical to Uneeda's Suzette doll), Cathy, Janie and Beckie, but their sales at the time did not match the success of the original doll. The Mary Hoyer doll company closed in the early 1970's, but Mary's granddaughter has re-introduced her grandmother's doll with a few changes and the company has been revived.

At a point in her career, Mary Hoyer licensed her doll mold to several companies including Richwood, Hosely, the ABC Toy Company, and de Angeli-Hedwig, so the only way to be sure you own a Mary Hoyer doll, is if it's properly marked.

I have four marked Mary Hoyer dolls, and one unmarked Hoyer face doll in an original historical costume, which may mean that she is a de Angeli-Hedwig doll; however, with no hang tag or other identifying information, that is just a guess. Two of my Hoyer dolls are unretouched and wear knitted or crocheted outfits made from original Mary Hoyer patterns. The other two have had touchups and are redressed. The blue and cream outfit is one made by a talented doll dressmaker, from an original Hoyer pattern. The unmarked Hoyer face doll is wearing tagged Hoyer accessories. All of my dolls are composition dolls, which dates them to 1946 or earlier.

Retouched Mary Hoyer dolls:

Unretouched Mary Hoyer dolls:

Unmarked Mary Hoyer face doll (de-Angeli-Hedwig?):

Madame Alexander Wendy Ann - doll repair story

2009-08-29T17:55:00.000-07:00

When I first started to collect composition dolls, I decided that I had better learn how to repair them since they are quite old; and unless I wanted to pay premium prices for premium quality dolls, I needed to be prepared to buy dolls that were less than perfect.

In some cases, I was lucky and bought near perfect dolls for a reasonable price at auction, but in some cases, I deliberately bought dolls that needed some help, so that I could learn how to restore them without detracting from their original beauty.

I have nothing against dolls sold as "One of a kind" restorations with custom face paint, but that was not my intention. I wanted my dolls to look somewhat close to factory perfect.

My first "victims" are these Madame Alexander Wendy Ann face dolls, made some time in the 1940's. The smaller Wendy Ann has a Mayfair twist waist and human hair wig. The larger Wendy Ann has a mohair wig.

Here's what they looked like when they came to me:

Both dolls needed their wigs cleaned and re-set. The larger Wendy Ann needed to be re-strung and re-painted. She had been left in the sun to bleach. The smaller Wendy Ann's eyes were completely crazed. Neither doll had any clothes to speak of.

Since their composition was still good, I figured it wouldn't take much to bring them back to their former beauty.

So, for both these dolls, the wigs were cleaned and re-set using doll curlers. I bought an old set of curlers that had been sold with Toni dolls. I figured if they were good enough for Toni, they were good enough for Wendy Ann. I could have saved money and cut up some straws to use for curlers, but the doll curlers were a lot more fun. The mohair wig was completely removed from the large Wendy Ann. It was caked with dirt and would have to actually be washed. The wig was still nice and full, however - so it would have been a waste to throw it away. It was dried on a form so that it didn't shrink. The human hair wig was lightly cleaned with a wet cloth and a little bit of conditioner. That wig wasn't as dirty. It was just a bit ratty and needed detangling. Both dolls' wigs were set with a little bit of white glue greatly diluted in water.

I re-strung the large Wendy Ann. She was my first re-stringing project, and I used cotton-wound elastic. While her wig was off, I repainted her face. It was an interesting exercise in recalling my fine art training in order to mix her face paint to match the rest of her body. It's a very close match, but if I had to do it over, I'd just take her down to my local hardware store and get their computer to match it. Since she is composition, I used oil-base paint. I used an oil crayon rub to give her a soft eye shadow and blush, and a modelling detail brush to do her lashes. If I had to do it over again, I would just use an artist's black illustration pencil for her eyelashes, although the brush is closer to factory. Both dolls had their composition sealed.

The eyes of the small Wendy Ann were crazed, so I cleaned them and gave her new pupils with highlights. Now, they were ready to be dressed.

The large Wendy Ann, I believe, was a bride or bridesmaid doll, as the shape of her burnt-out décolletage looked very much like the shape of the original Madame Alexander bridesmaid costume. I may dress her one day with an original bridesmaid costume, but for now, she wears a factory-made tartan jumper and blouse that complement her red hair. Her underwear and shoes are modern replacements.

The small Wendy Ann is wearing a dress made by a very talented doll dressmaker. I made her pearl and glass bead necklace. Her shoes and underwear are modern replacements.

Would these dolls fetch exorbitant prices on the market if I sold them? Probably not; however, the things I learned while restoring them to their former beauty are priceless.

Arranbee (R&B) Nanette, and hard plastic disease

2009-08-22T23:44:00.000-07:00

Some time in the late 1940's, Arranbee began making hard plastic dolls, and one of the first off the line was Nanette. Nanette is another teen doll who sometimes gets mistaken for Nancy Lee; however, Nanette has a slightly more oval face and fuller lips than Nancy Lee (who was also manufactured in hard plastic a few years later. )

Nanette was often made as a walking doll, and came dressed in beautiful outfits and with elaborate hair styles. She wears a Saran wig (not rooted hair) and has sleep eyes. The 1950's hard plastic Nanette is very different to the 1930s-1940s composition Nanette, which has a cloth body and a child's face.

My Nanette is all original, from her head to her toes. She's a 21" walking doll in beautiful condition. Her problem? She had an odor from hard plastic "disease", which is sadly common in old hard plastic dolls. She can be cleaned up and made less stinky, however, using a few tips that I've picked up from other doll collectors:

1) Clean the doll inside and out with Lysol or a similar antibacterial cleaner. I use a hospital grade disinfectant. Do not use bleach or you will ruin your doll's color. The smell from the deterioration of the plastic (something not unlike the smell of Parmesan cheese) usually originates from the inside of the doll, so you will need to take care to swab the inside thoroughly. Since my doll is held together with her metal walking mechanism, the best I can manage it to dislodge her arms from her sockets and saturate the inside of the doll. (I don't feel confident taking her walking mechanism apart at this stage.) Allow to dry and repeat as necessary. If you feel confident about taking your doll completely apart, that is the best way to get to all parts of the doll.

2) Order D-Stink from Twin Pines of Maine: http://www.twinpines.com/ and give your doll the same treatment.

3) When you have swabbed and dried the doll a few times and the odor has pretty much disappeared, spray the inside and outside of the doll with a matte finish lacquer. This will help to retard any advancement of the disease. The bacteria that feed off the plastic are aerobic - so, no access to oxygen = no stinky plastic.

4) Keep any "diseased" dolls away from hard plastic dolls that do not have this problem. The breakdown of the plastic feeds a bacterium and, like human diseases, can be transmitted from doll to doll. Wash your hands thoroughly after treating and handling a doll with hard plastic disease.

5) This process, from what I have read, does not usually work for plastic Pedigree dolls, as their plastic is of a different composition, but if you have tried something that works, please let us know.

Beautiful dolls, like my Nanette, deserve to be saved from being stinky!

Celebrity doll - Shirley Temple

2009-08-15T00:47:00.000-07:00

Much has been written about this doll who is sculpted to look like her namesake who made her cinematic debut at the tender age of four. In her day, Shirley Temple's face was more recognizable than the president of the United States. From Japan, to the United States and around the world, this little girl gave us all something in common to enjoy.

Shirley Temple dolls were first made of composition material and were manufactured in the United States by the Ideal Novelty & Toy Company from 1934 - 1939. Ideal was the only company licensed to make the official Shirley Temple doll, although there were plenty of imitators. One particularly collectible Shirley was made in Japan and has painted features. They came in 6", 7" and 8" sizes. The Ideal dolls came in 11" to 27" sizes (with a 16" size made by the Reliable doll company of Canada.) The Ideal dolls are the ones that collectors are most familiar with: curly mohair wig, toothy smile, hazel sleep eyes (some eyes were flirty) and of course, Shirley's famous dimples.

Shirley came dressed in copies of outfits that she wore in her films, with the first dolls issued with the dress that Shirley wore in Baby Take a Bow. She came wearing her genuine Shirley Temple doll pin, rayon socks and oil cloth shoes.

In 1935 and 1936, a baby Shirley Temple was manufactured. They came with a composition head with shoulder plate, legs, and arms, and a cloth stuffed body. These dolls are much more rare, and are worth more to collectors, of course.

Shirley Temple dolls disappeared for a while in the 1940s as Shirley became a young woman, but some time in the early 1950s, there was a resurgence in interest in Shirley Temple dolls, as little girls who knew Shirley in the 1930s, became mothers of little girls, themselves. Shirley Temple could now be seen on television and once again, little girls wanted a Shirley Temple doll. This time however, the dolls were made of vinyl and could be purchased from a 12" size, all the way up to a 36" size. Ideal was licensed to make the dolls all the way up through the early 1980s. The most contemporary Shirley Temple dolls are made of porcelain by Danbury Mint.

Shirley Temple has been so popular through the ages, that one can also buy Shirley Temple paper dolls, books, sheet music, accessories, purses, clothing, figurines and art plates (to name a few). No other little girl has so thoroughly captured the hearts of millions over almost a century.

My Shirley Temple dolls are the Ideal dolls. One is a 27" composition doll with flirty eyes, which dates her to around 1937. I also own a 12" vinyl doll from 1957 dressed in her Stand Up and Cheer dress. Sadly, neither doll has her original pin and I don't believe the compo Shirley's Swiss dotted dress is original to her. Both dolls are marked Ideal and either Shirley Temple (compo) or ST (vinyl). I love both my Shirley Temple dolls, but in my opinion, the old composition dolls capture the look of Shirley's face the best.

Check out this old home movie from the 1930s of a little girl getting a Shirley Temple doll for Christmas. So sweet!

Monica Doll Studio

2009-08-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

Monica Doll Studio was in operation in Hollywood, CA from 1941 to 1952. The dolls were designed by Mrs Hansi Share, who wanted to market a doll with rooted hair so that children could brush and style it. Glued wigs did not allow for much play by children, so Mrs Share designed a doll with human hair that was rooted into a cement-like composite material.

Monica was the first of these dolls, and three more dolls were created for the line: Veronica, Rosalind, and Joan. The dolls are made of composition and range in size from 15 - 24 inches tall. The tallest dolls may have been made with hard stuffed cloth bodies. Their eyes are painted with great detail and they come in dresses and gowns appropriate for the time period. The dolls are unmarked, but it's hard to mistake them for anything else, as they were the only dolls manufactured at this time, with rooted hair. Their face sculptures and paint are also very recognizable and distinctive.

From 1948 to 1952, Monica Doll Studio made a hard plastic doll with rooted hair. Her name is Marion.

Monica Doll Studio dolls do occasionally come up for sale, and it's difficult to find one without balding (due to hair breakage) and composition crazing - but keep looking. These dolls are unique and have beautiful faces. Truly a doll for the golden age of Hollywood.

My Monica Studio dolls are both 20 inches tall and are fully made of composition material. One has been re-dressed, and the other comes with her original gown. Both dolls have had to have crazing repair, but luckily, they have most of their hair, despite some breakage. The re-dressed doll, I am fairly certain, is Monica, but I'm not sure who the other one is. I may just call her Rosalind, after screen legend Rosalind Russell. Anyone see a resemblance?

Baby Hendren

2009-08-08T18:16:00.000-07:00

Baby dolls were made popular early in the 20th century. Before then, most dolls were lady or fashion dolls, or little girls in fancy dresses. Some time early in the 20th century, the husband and wife team of Paul and Georgene Averill designed and produced baby dolls for the mass market. They operated out of New York under several different names: Georgene Novelties, Madame Hendren, Paul Averill Inc. to name a few.

I purchased this doll that had been restored, only to find out, to my dismay, that the maker's marks had been sanded back to refinish the doll. The only way I can identify her for certain, is by her face mold, and by comparing her to other Baby Hendren dolls on the market. This is a lesson in what NOT to do when restoring or repairing dolls.

Baby Hendren dates from the 1920's, is approximately 22 inches tall and has her original tin sleep eyes with "real" lashes. She has a hard stuffed body, and composition head, arms, and legs. She's been redressed, and her outfit seems to suit her. She certainly captivated me with her charm, despite her lack of identifiable marks.

Winnie Walker

2009-08-06T22:48:00.000-07:00

Walking dolls have been around a long time. A walking fashion "lady" doll was manufactured in Paris in 1737. The dolls had pinned hips. This style of walking mechanism didn't change for a long time, and composition dolls made in the 1920s through the 1940s can still be found manufactured with the same basic mechanism.

As new materials for doll-making were developed, so were new walking mechanisms, and Madame Alexander came out with her version of a walking doll in the early 1950s. Her name is Winnie and she has a face identical to Cissy, Madame Alexander's fashion doll. Winnie Walker is made of hard plastic and her wig is glued to her head. Her younger sister, Binnie, is made of vinyl and has rooted hair.

My Winnie is 14 inches tall and wears her original dress, shoes, and wig. The walking mechanism works by pushing the doll from behind, while at the same time shifting her weight from foot to foot. As she "walks," her head rotates a half turn back and forth.

I remember when my sister and I had walking dolls. We had fun and gave them bratty personalities. A case of art imitating life?

Topsy

2009-08-02T00:50:00.000-07:00

Topsy was a character in Harriet Beecher Stowe's book, Uncle Tom's Cabin, so she is most likely the first character black doll sold to the mass market. Topsy, the character, was a ragamuffin slave girl who is transformed by the love of her young mistress.

Topsy dolls were hugely popular during the Great Depression and you're lucky if you can find one that is made of composition and is in good condition. Like their namesakes, these dolls usually show signs of being greatly loved and played with by little girls. It's rare to come across a Topsy that doesn't have "issues."

Topsy dolls are distinguished by their three topknots - one to each side of her head, and one on top. These are usually made of woven yarn, floss (like the Topsy shown here) or wool batting. Several doll companies made Topsy dolls. The Reliable doll company of Canada made a Topsy without the topknots, however.

My unmarked Topsy is 19 inches tall and is in beautiful unrestored condition. Her clothes, however, disintegrated a long time ago and she's been re-dressed. Topsy is one of my favorite dolls. If you can find a Topsy doll in good condition, you've got a lucky find indeed.

Madame Alexander's Margaret

2009-07-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

Madame Alexander was Madame Beatrice Alexander Behrman, the daughter of Russian immigrants. Her father owned one of the first doll hospitals in the United States, and it was this background that gave Madame Alexander her love of dolls and inspired her to start her own line.

The Madame Alexander doll company was founded in 1923 in New York City (where it still operates today.) The company can boast a series of firsts in the doll industry: the first doll based on a licensed character (Scarlett from Gone With the Wind); the first to create character dolls in honor of living people (Princess Elizabeth, the Dionne Quints, Shari Lewis, Coco Chanel). Madame Alexander was also the first to introduce the first mature figured fashion doll with haute couture outfits (Cissy, followed by Elise and Jacqueline to name a few).

In the late 1940's, Madame Alexander designed a face sculpt and christened it Margaret. Dolls were subsequently manufactured and named for child actor Margaret O'Brien. Margaret played "Tootie" in the film "Meet Me in St Louis," whose character buried dolls who had died from some imaginary fatal disease. A Margaret O'Brien doll seems a perfect match.

The Margaret mold was also used for many other characters. Margaret was used for Little Women characters, Wendy from Peter Pan, storybook characters like Alice in Wonderland, and The Faerie Queen. Not all Margaret dolls are Margaret O'Brien. Madame Alexander distinguished her character dolls by what costumes they wore, as opposed to how their faces and bodies were sculpted. If you own a Margaret doll and don't have her original clothes, there's no telling who she might be, although her wig style may help to identify her.

A later addition to the Margaret collection, is Princess Margaret Rose, Queen Elizabeth's late sister. She also has a Margaret face.

Madame Alexander dolls from this era may or may not be marked on their backs or backs of their heads - so it's important to be familiar with the face sculpt when you're looking for a doll to add to your collection. Quality materials and craftsmanship are the hallmarks of a Madame Alexander doll.

I have three Margaret dolls, and they are all just that bit different. One 18 inch hard plastic Margaret came to me dressed in lingerie, so I have no idea whom she was originally intended to represent. Another hard plastic Margaret, a 14 inch version, is Wendy from Peter Pan. She wears her original costume - that's the only way I know who she is. The third Margaret is Princess Margaret Rose, a porcelain doll. In my opinion, Margaret is the most appealing of all the Madame Alexander face sculpts, although I have several other types as well.

Terri Lee

2009-07-26T03:35:00.000-07:00

The Terri Lee Doll Company was founded in the 1940's, after its founder, Violet Lee Gradwohl, designed a doll for her daughter, not coincidentally also named Terri Lee. Terri Lee (the doll) was sculpted after the likeness of Violet's cousin's daughter. The dolls were at first made in composition (from 1946 - 1947), and then, in hard plastic, and tagged with the line "Born to love and be loved."

Terri Lee was probably one of the best dressed toddler dolls of her day, with, at one point, more than 500 outfits available. Violet, with no previous business experience, managed a joint marketing effort with the Brownies and Girl Scouts of America, and sold dolls wearing the uniforms of those organizations. There were also uniforms available for the Bluebirds and Camp Fire Girls (now rare and quite a find if you have one). Little girls and Terri Lee could "grow up" together in scouting organizations.

Violet Lee believed in diversity and along with the Terri Lee doll, produced a line of ethnic dolls all with the distinctive Terri Lee "look": Benji, Bonnie Lou and Patti Jo - Black dolls, and Nanook, an Eskimo doll. Later introductions included a brother, Jerri Lee; a baby doll, So-Sleepy; Connie Lynn; and Terri Lee's baby sister, Linda Lee.

Terri Lee began to lose popularity in the late 1950's with the introduction of fashion icon Barbie, and after two disastrous fires, the company closed its doors in 1962.

Not to be defeated, however, Terri Lee (the woman) retained rights to the doll, and she, along with her cousin Fritz, revived the Terri Lee name in the late 1990's and now manufacture a new line of Terri Lee dolls, only slightly changed from the original.

Hard plastic Terri Lee dolls are 16 inches tall. The composition Terri Lee is about 14 inches tall. The vintage dolls have painted eyes distinctive with silver paint used to create highlights, fly-away eyebrows and long outer lashes, and bodies jointed at the neck, shoulders and hips. Most Terri Lees available on the market are made of hard plastic, and the newer reproduction Terri Lees are made mostly of hard vinyl. Terri Lee was designed to be able to stand and pose on her own.

My composition Terri Lee has at some time had her face re-blushed and she has a new wig, but is in otherwise wonderful condition for such an old girl. She is marked Terri Lee Patent Pending on her back. My hard plastic Terri Lee is all original and is marked Terri Lee on her back. Her clothes are tagged Terri Lee. Her wig is original.

Due to Terri Lee's distinctive face sculpt, it's nearly impossible to mistake her for anyone else, unless of course, you come across an unmarked knockoff made by one of several companies in the mid 1950's to mid 1960's, when the Terri Lee company won litigation for copyright infringement and reclaimed their molds.

Patsy

2009-07-24T02:43:00.000-07:00

Back in the 1930's, Effanbee made Little Lady for older girls, but before that, in 1928, Effanbee came up with a hit with younger girls - Patsy.

The ever popular Patsy is a little girl doll with moulded hair and headband. She has a typical toddler body with a distended belly, bent right arm, a puckered closed mouth, painted eyes and chubby cheeks. Her hair is usually auburn but her eye color can vary. Some Patsys had "sleep" eyes. Patsy had quite a few "sisters," but Patsy herself is 14 inches tall. Effanbee patented Patsy as she was one of the first strung dolls able to stand and pose on her own.

Patsy became so popular that soon, rival doll manufacturers were following the Patsy craze. Sally, Peggy, Peaches, Chikie, Trixbe, Babs, Maizie, Judy ... all attempted to latch on to the Patsy phenomenon.

During World War 2, Effanbee made a special Patsy in time for Christmas, and Patsys were produced with magnets in their hands so that the little dolls could hold things - and parents could buy endless Patsy accessories. There were Patsy sticker books, Patsy paper dolls, and special Patsy newsletters and booklets. "Aunt Patsy," an Effanbee public relations wonder, traveled the country touting the joys of Patsy. There was also a Patsy Doll Club. No other doll enjoyed such marketing mania.

The last composition Patsys were manufactured in 1946, and these dolls are unmarked. Dolls made before 1946 are marked Effanbee Patsy Doll on their backs. Effanbee designed a wardrobe of clothes for Patsy, and little girls fastened them with safety pins. My Patsys long ago lost their original outfits and heart charm bracelets, but are wearing outfits that they might have come with, back when they were sold.

In the 1980's, Effanbee (now Tonner) revived Patsy and sold vinyl dolls that used the original Patsy mould. The latest Patsy type dolls have rooted Saran hair, but in my opinion, nothing beats the charm of the original composition doll.

Arranbee Nancy Lee

2009-07-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

One of Effanbee's major competitors was the R&B Doll Company (Arranbee). Arranbee came out with teen dolls about the same time that Effanbee came out with Little Lady. Arranbee's teen composition dolls were marketed as Debu'teen and Nancy Lee. Their bodies and faces are more slim than Effanbee's teen doll (more about Debu'teen in another post.)

Nancy Lee has an all composition body and came with fashionable costumes, the same as Little Lady. Nancy Lee has a slender teen body, mohair wig, sleep eyes, and closed mouth. My Nancy Lee is 18 inches tall, and when she came to me, her face paint was damaged. She has since been repaired and wears her original oil cloth shoes. She is dressed like Little Red Riding Hood in an original rayon dress and cape. The rayon dates her to the World War 2 era when rayon was a popular dressmaking material. She is marked R&B on the back of her head.

In the late 1930's, Arranbee manufactured a line of Nancy Lee dolls dressed as Southern Belles, due to the unending popularity of Gone With the Wind. These costumes rivaled those of Madame Alexander dolls and were made of taffeta and tulle.

Teen dolls of this era fascinate me. Unlike the smiling toothed baby dolls of the same era, teen dolls were neutral faced and had closed mouths. They were made to resemble more closely the fashion models of their day. They were the perfect doll for girls who had outgrown their baby dolls but weren't quite ready to stop playing with dolls altogether.

Effanbee Little Lady / Anne Shirley

2009-07-02T23:26:00.000-07:00

Before there was Barbie, there were teen dolls for older girls, and every major doll manufacturer had their own model of a teen doll.

F & B (Effanbee) doll company used a Dewees Cochran mold to make a doll modeled after a popular teen actress of the 1930's, Anne Shirley. Anne Shirley, whose real name was Dawn Evelyn Paris, played the popular heroine Anne of Green Gables on film in 1934. The film proved so successful with young audiences, that Dawn took the name Anne Shirley in real life and made it her own.

Effanbee's Little Lady doll, or sometimes Anne Shirley, doesn't strongly resemble the actress who had her name, but the name alone was enough to ensure sales. Effanbee offered Little Lady for 20 years, from 1939-1959. The one major difference that I have seen, between the dolls called Little Lady and Anne Shirley, is that Anne Shirley dolls often come with human hair wigs, while the Little Ladies have mohair wigs. During WW2, when materials were scarce, the dolls had floss wigs. The only good way to tell, is to check the maker's marks. Anne Shirley dolls are marked Anne Shirley on the back of their heads, while the Little Ladies are marked Effanbee USA.

Outfits for Effanbee's teen doll were grown-up and stylish. As you can see from my Little Lady doll, she is ready to go to her high school prom. Her dress, underwear, socks and shoes are original. She has a beautiful original full mohair wig and is marked Effanbee USA on the back of her head, and on her back. Her paint is original - she looks like she's been lovingly cared for over the decades.

Kewpie

2009-06-28T00:09:00.000-07:00

Kewpie is probably the longest lasting, most endearing doll of all time, but interestingly enough, Kewpie never started out as a doll. Kewpie was an illustration by Rose O'Neill in the Ladies Home Journal in the early 1900's. Kewpies (a play on the name Cupid), were helpful little angelic androgynous beings who assisted women in their daily lives. They assisted women in noble causes like women's suffrage and in battling injustice - things that were important to Rose O'Neill.

In 1909, Rose O'Neill patented the doll based on her illustrations, and in 1913, the first Kewpie dolls were sold. They were made in Germany of bisque or celluloid (the bisque dolls are often marked J. D. Kestner,) but soon afterwards, the Kewpie craze swept the world. Kewpies began to appear on everything from greeting cards, to tea towels, talcum powder dusters, post cards, piano toppers and food packaging, just to name a few. Kewpies became the staple of many a county fair as game prizes. Many a young man wanted to win a Kewpie doll for his lady love. Within a few short years, Kewpie became the most purchased doll on the market and is arguably the first mass-produced doll.

Kewpies were manufactured in all different sizes, qualities and materials because Rose O'Neill wanted to make sure that any parent of any child who wanted a Kewpie, could afford to buy one. The early dolls have blue wings on their backs - which makes it much easier for them to get around to do their good deeds! Their legs and necks are often "frozen," but their shoulders are articulated. Kewpies have a telltale watermelon rind grin, side glancing eyes, and starfish hands. Kewpies were made in America by the Cameo Doll Company. These composition dolls come with a red paper heart label on their chests, attesting to the world that they are the one and only Rose O'Neill Kewpie doll. Some dolls have Rose O'Neill's signature on the foot.

Later Kewpies were made of vinyl. Some of these do not have wings, and their legs are articulated. Most are made by the Cameo or F&B (Effanbee) Doll Company. Today, Charisma Dolls continues to manufacture Kewpies. Kewpies come with a variety of costumes, but in Rose O'Neill's illustrations, Kewpies did not wear clothes. Kewpies are also available made from a new type of composition, often called compo-esque or composition-esque.

I have an original 12" tall Cameo composition Kewpie with a red heart label and blue wings on its back. Its outfit is a later purchase, which I thought just suited this adorable cherub. I also have a 12" black Kewpie, made of porcelain, that was made in the 1970's. That Kewpie has white wings and is quite heavy. Kewpie 2 has been signed on her foot by her creator. I haven't dressed Kewpie 2 yet, but am debating on whether or not it should stay true to Rose O'Neill's illustrations and enjoy being a naturalist.

Kewpies are always collectable. It's amazing, after 100 years, we still love Kewpies! For the avid Kewpie fan, Rose O'Neill's home, Bonniebrook in Branson, Missouri has been preserved and is open to visitors.

Buddy Lee

2009-06-24T01:07:00.000-07:00

Buddy Lee started out as an advertising mascot back in the 1920's, for the Lee Jeans company. He was initially made of composition and was used to model Lee's line of clothing. After his debut in Lee's flagship store in Dayton, Ohio, Buddy became nationally distributed, and eventually became the second most popular doll of that time.

Buddy was available in several different outfits in addition to his traditional dungarees. He also came dressed as a cowboy, a Coca-Cola delivery man, Jiffy Steamer man, Phillips 66 gas station attendant, football player, John Deere man, and a railroad engineer. In 1949, Buddy was manufactured in hard plastic. Both the hard plastic and composition Buddys are sought by collectors.

Buddy suspiciously looks like he was modeled after the most popular doll of his day - Rose O'Neill's Kewpie doll. With his watermelon rind grin, round head, and side glancing eyes, maybe they are cousins.

The original Buddy Lee was discontinued in 1962; however, there are modern reproduction Buddy Lees available, made from the original mold and with new uniforms. They are made of a more modern form of composition, and, while maybe not as valuable as the originals, are still collectible and delightful to view.

Buddy had a revival in 2000, when he was brought back as a marketing mascot for Lee dungarees, proving that when you get something right, it never goes out of fashion.

My Buddy Lee is the hard plastic version from the 1950's. He wears his dungarees branded with the Lee / Sanfordized label, and a matching jacket and hat. His shoes are painted on. Around his neck is a red bandana. Buddy is all original and is marked Buddy Lee on his back. Buddy is only one of three "boy" dolls in my collection.

Check out this Buddy Lee Action Hero ad from the early 2000's:

Doll Land

2009-06-21T00:41:00.000-07:00

This blog is about my doll collection. I'm a grown woman with an obsession for old dolls. I guess you could psychoanalyse my love of old dolls, but it's plain to me that dolls are a connection with the past that is at once, human and fantasy.

Dolls tell us so many things. They give us a glimpse into the technology of their day. They come dressed with the fashion of their day. Sometimes they emphasise the pop culture of their day. Most of all, however, dolls remind me of what it was like to be young and without a care in the world.

I will be showcasing each of my dolls, most of which date from the 1920's - 1950's. I welcome comments, especially if you have a fascinating doll fact to share, or a doll story you wish to tell.

Please come and join me over the months, in my second childhood.