In front we have a 6 in. well dressed celluloid Dutch doll, a 7 in. plastic Spanish doll, and an 8 in. French Can-Can dancer. In back we have an 8.5 in. compo Finnish Martha doll, an 8 in. plastic doll from Florence, and a 7.5 in. couple with bead head and leather hands. from Sofia, Bulgaria.
Five of my 1940’s ethnic dolls are displayed here. In the back we have a 7 in. Dutch compo doll, an 8 in. stockinette doll marked “Soviet Union Vovonej girl,” and a 8.5 in. Mexican all cloth girl doll. In the front we have 5 in. and 4.5 in. dolls from China. Their bodies are constructed from padded wire. The heads, hands, and feet are made of clay. The feet have unique embedded wires that protrude in the back to help them stand.
During the 1930’s, 1940’s and later, many dolls dressed in regional costumes were available as souvenirs and many were unmarked. Shown here in the back row is a 6.5 in. bullfighter from Spain, an 8 in. Palace Guard from England, and a 6.5 in. Breton man from France. In front is a 5 in. hazelnut-head witch doll from Salem, Mass. The miniature House of Seven Gables was the title of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s famous book concerning the witch trials.
This vinyl doll from the 1950’s is marked 14R Manco. I added a wig and dressed her as Josephine Bonaparte.
Here we have an 18 in. Uneeda Dollykin, 1956-1967, rigid vinyl body doll. She is wearing a dress with panniers, which was fashionable in the 17th and 18th centuries.
This unmarked 17 in. vinyl doll with swiveled waist and jointed ankles may have been originally clothed as a ballerina. I made her outfit.
This vinyl doll is marked Horsman 82. She is a Cindy with jointed elbows and bendable legs. I made her tutu.
This attractive 18 in. vinyl doll, wearing a ring on her finger, is marked Ideal VT–18. She is a Miss Revlon doll. I made the 1950’s style dress.
Cindy, 18 in., 1950’s, by Horsman, has a stuffed vinyl body. Some consider it a poor man’s Mme. Alexander Cissy. I made the entire outfit, including the purse
The 3 in. bendable vinyl claymation figures,by Prema Toy Co., date from the late 1950’s. The ones shown include Blockhead (orange), Gumby (green), Pokey (orange), Minga (rose), Prickle (yellow), and Goo (blue). In the background we have 5 in. Snoopy (1958) and 2 in. Woodstock (1965), both by United Feature Synd., Knickerbocker Toy Co. Woodstock is a fictional character in Charles M. Schulz‘s comic strip Peanuts. He is Snoopy‘s closest friend and, after Snoopy, the most recognized non-human in the strip. Snoopy is soft vinyl with jointed neck, arms, and legs whereas Woodstock is hard vinyl. They came with a kit of sports accessories, such as the tennis rackets etc shown.
