What is there about Christmas that brings out the child in us?? It doesn’t seem to matter how old we get, the Christmas holiday seems to bring back fond childhood memories. I can still remember what doll that I received on the Christmas mornings from age five to twelve! Several of the dolls mentioned in other articles are the ones that I had as a child. These dolls are the reason that I started collecting more than twenty years ago. Recently, I was looking through old photos and found a picture of me and my Howdy Doody marionette/puppet. I thought I would try to share that 1950 photo. I was five and couldn’t wait to watch the Howdy Doody Show. It was in the early 1950′s when TV was just beginning. All I wanted was a Howdy Doody puppet! I think my marionette was made by Peter Puppet Playthings. Maybe someone can verify that. I just know I loved him with his cute freckled face, cowboy outfit and boots, and strings that would always getting tangled. I hope this past Christmas has brought back wonderful memories for all of you. I would love to hear some of them. Let me take this time to wish all readers a very happy and healthy New Year!

My first article (found in the January 2007 archive) about the little rubber baby doll, Amosandra by the Sun Rubber Company, has inspired many readers to leave comments and wonderful stories about this very special doll. Many have said that she was their favorite doll, as she was mine also. I have enjoyed reading all the stories and can definitely feel the love that so many have for her! A reader was kind enough to send me these two photos, which I will cherish and I hope that all of you will appreciate the mint condition of the doll (please see the article about the rubber deterioration in May 2008 archive). It is truly rare to find a doll in the original box with the accessories. I hope you all enjoy the pics.

I wonder if anyone has ever seen this early Vogue Ginny Doll dress or has any information about what I feel is a very rare outfit. A slightly different version of the dress is pictured on page 90 of the 1998 edition of the Collector’s Encyclopedia of Vogue Dolls by Izen and Stover. The book dates the outfit to 1951, however, my dress has the 1952 tag. This outfit is a wonderful example of the fine quality and creativity of the Vogue Doll Company. The company was known as a cottage industry, employing many sewers who worked from their homes. They sent the finished dresses back to Vogue who then packaged them and distributed the wonderful outfits to stores. I would love to hear from anyone who might have a another special outfit or may have been one of the home sewers.

Mattel manufactured the first Barbie Doll in 1959. She was 11 1/2 inches tall and was designed with the very distinctive shapely body. The very early Barbies are highly collectible and command unbelievably high prices! Characteristics of the #1 Barbie (1959) are: vinyl solid body, very light complexion, white irises, pointed eyebrows, gold hoop earrings, soft ponytail, holes in her feet to fit the doll stand and a black and white striped bathing suit. #2 Barbie (1959-1960 only made for 3 months): same as above, but with no holes in feet and some wore little pearl earrings. #3 Barbie (1960): same as above, but with blue irises and softly curved eyebrows and no holes in feet. #4 Barbie (1960): same as #3 but with solid body of flesh-colored vinyl. #5 Barbie (1961): same as #4, but ponytail is a firmer Saran material. The marks on the butt indicate how early a ponytail Barbie is also. The very early bodies are marked with “TM” after the word “Barbie” while the later bodies are marked “R” after the word “Barbie”. Does anyone know if the braided ponytail on the doll pictured is the way she came from the factory? It looks too perfect to have been done by its original owner! I would love to know for sure!!

In 1951 the Ideal Doll Company manufactured a very cute 22″ doll named Saucy Walker. She became very popular because she walked and was able to stand by herself. This happy faced doll cried and had sleep eyes that were “flirty” (her eyes would move from side to side). Her wigs were braided and could be blonde, tosca, brunette and red. She was marked Ideal/W22 on her neck and back and was dressed in very sweet high quality untagged little girls school type dresses . Saucy could also be 16″ tall. This version of the Saucy Walker was available until 1955. Rare Black Saucy Walker and boy dolls have been seen.

During the 1940′s and the 1950′s, Georgene Novelties created many cloth dolls. They are most noted for their famous and very collectible Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dolls. Another one of my favorite Georgene Dolls is the comic strip character “Little Lulu”. These dolls were cloth with a painted mask face. These very cute dolls were 13-14″ tall and were manufactured between 1944 and 1961. Lulu had a partial “stringy” yarn wig adorned with a red bow. She was dressed in a removable red cotton dress decorated with white rick rack, white collar and panties. Some dolls were dressed in a cowgirl outfit which are highly collectible today. During this time, comic books were very popular among young readers. Other comic strip characters manufactured at the same time were Alvin, Nancy, Sluggo and Tubby. MIB dolls are a wonderful find for the boxes alone are very collectible among comic strip buffs.

The year 1955 brought a few changes to The Vogue Ginny Doll. The walking body remained the same, but her eyelashes were no longer painted on. They were now stiff, molded plastic. The new doll was often seen with lighter cheek color and sometimes hardly any at all. Ginny had lots of new outfits. Outfit series included: Kinder Crowd, Ginny Gym Kids, Merry Moppets, Tiny Miss, Fun Time, And Away We Go, Bridal Trousseau, and the collectible very Bon Bons. In 1956 Vogue kept most series and added Play Time, Formals and Debs. Some of these gowns are highly sought after today. It was a period of growth for Ginny, even though many feel that she lacked the beauty of the earlier dolls.

The Effanbee Doll Company first produced their famous Dy-dee Baby doll in the 1930′s. The doll continued to be produced into the 1950′s with various changes. The first doll (Mold 1) had molded ears, hair and almond-shaped sleep eyes with human hair or mohair eyelashes. The head was made of very hard rubber which almost looked like composition or hard plastic and the body was a softer rubber. She was one of the many dolls designed by the famous New York doll sculpter Bernard Lipfert. In the 1940′s the company added rubber applied ears and some dolls came with caracul wigs. (Mold 2). The eyes were rounder and larger. Later they became drink and wet dolls with two holes near the eyes for tears. (Mold 3 pictured). There was a unique system (a rubber plug in her backside) that kept her dry for many minutes after she was fed. Hard plastic heads replaced the hard rubber in the 1950′s. The doll was marketed as “The Almost Human Doll”. Dy-Dee had numerous outfits and came with many accessories (bottles, pacifier, rattles, furniture and carriages). These dolls came in different sizes: 11″, 13″, 15″ and the very lifelike 20″ and were marked “Effanbee Dy-Dee Baby” with patent numbers on the back. There were also many sewing patterns for their little mothers or “grandmothers” to make their own wonderful clothes. The Dy-Dee Baby doll was the first doll of its kind to be joined later by Ideal’s Betsy Wetsy, American Character’s Tiny Tears and many other generic drink and wet dolls. I think Dy-Dee Baby is truly an exquisite doll!

The bent knee walker (BKW) Ginny Doll was created in 1957. Now she could walk and also sit down with her knees bent. She still had a large wardrobe with a few of her outfits matching Jill and Ginnette. Many of her outfits and accessories could be bought separately. Her wig could be blonde, brunette or red and come in a flip, a ponytail or in braids. Although Ginny was still a very popular doll, many feel that this new version of Ginny did not have the same high quality of the earlier ones. The facial coloring of the dolls was not so vibrant and her wigs could not be restyled as well as before. She did have many wonderful outfits with the beautiful 1957 formal gowns being highly sought after today.

Klumpe dolls were manufactured in Barcelona, Spain from 1952 to the 1970′s. They were caricature figures that were made of felt over a wire armature with painted mask faces and dressed in very realistic costumes. The figures represented professionals, historical characters, comtemporary folks performing different tasks, hobbyists, and most commonly Spanish dancers and bull fighters. The figures were about 10-11″ tall and originally had two sewn on cardboard tags. These dolls have wonderfully whimsical expressions on their faces and really do bring a smile to your face. I have read that the Effanbee Doll Co. imported these dolls in the early 1950′s. Prices for dolls in very nice condition have risen considerably in the last few years.