Miss Ginny, 15 in. 1974 by Vogue, is a grownup version of the 1950s 8 in. Ginny doll. The little doll was so popular, it continued to be made into the 1970s. There was a 16 in. Miss Ginny in 1962 and later 12 and 15 in. sizes. These three are in their original outfits.
This is Magic Hair Crissy, 18 in., 1977 by Ideal. She no longer was made with the the growing hair feature but came with five hairpieces instead. Her figure was changed to that of an adult fashion model.
In 1970 Crissy came dressed in an aqua satin belted mini-dress and aqua Mary Jane shoes.
Jenny Jones, 9 in., and Baby John, 2.5 in., came with a complete nursery set. It dates to 1973 and was made by Kenner. Baby John is a drink ‘n wet doll, perhaps the smallest ever.
Here are two 8 in. Alexanderkins by Mme. Alexander. The doll on the right is tagged Netherlands (1973) and the other is tagged Jamaica (1986-1988).
There was year when our family of six got involved with a certain “character.” The word “doll” is not quite appropriate. He was a 15 in. white-bearded elf named Stroodle that I made from a pattern by Rainie Crawford.
When our oldest son left home and the USA as an exchange student, his brothers wanted to keep in touch. They created tape cassettes of a make believe morning radio show, “Breakfast with Stroodle.” Our middle son had the role of the obnoxious announcer while our youngest son created the inimitable voice of Stroodle himself. A funny and improbable solution to everyday problems was the premise of the show. Stroodle would describe one of these complaints with the words, “don’t you just hate it when ….” followed by “well, have I got a surprise for you ‘’ followed by a long-winded ridiculous solution. Occasionally I played the part of the excitable, disoriented Mrs. Mudge. Daughter Elaine would break into the show with insulting remarks like, “He’s not a radio host, he’s a stuffed animal!” The character played by their Dad was always looking for a reason why he might “in a minute” remove his belt and administer a sound spanking. There were no more shows recorded after our oldest son returned home but we never forgot the fun we had.
Some of the items surrounding Stroodle are his St. Pat’s hat, gold coins, assorted tools, and photos of fans and relatives. His collection of eight Heinz pickle pins is impressive, even for a Pittsburgher!
These 7.5 in. wooden dolls were made in Poland during the 1970’s or earlier. They have elastic strung joints, flax hair, painted features, and molded painted shoes. A gold tag on the shoe reads “Made in Poland.” Their clothing is sewn on, not to be removed.
My daughter Elaine and her brothers are shown in this 1972 picture. They remember the trolls and their original cave.
The doll on the left is a 1978 Golden Anniversary edition of the Gerber Baby made by the Atlanta Novelty Co. It is 18 in. and came with a skirt and bib over its red and white cotton stuffed body. The smaller 12 in. Gerber, 1988, was also made by the same company. It has a one-piece soft vinyl body and, like the larger doll, has rolling “flirty“ eyes.
