Here are two 1955 Godey’s Little Lady dolls in their original clothes. They are 7 in. with china head and limbs and cloth bodies. Their clothes reflect the style of Godey’s Ladies Books, pattern guides for ladies of the late 1800’s. Their creator was Ruth Gibbs.
I found these 1950’s plastic Nancy Ann Storybook dolls at a flea market. The two dolls in the center were already dressed but I made the yellow and blue outfits. A 4 in. doll was also part of the group, a size I was surprised to find.
Nancy Ann Abbott started the Nancy Ann Storybook Dolls in the 1940’s. The 5 in. and 7.5 in. dolls had a one-piece body of bisque with jointed arms and a glued on mohair wig. They could stand alone!
This collection of 10 in. cloth mask face dolls were given to me in the 1940’s. They are unmarked but I think Africa, Scotland, USA, and Romania are the lands represented.
In the early 1950’s, to compete with the popular Ginny by Vogue, Madame Alexander produced an 8 in. Wendy doll. This is a 1960’s Wendy in Sewing Basket, an F.A.O. Schwarz special. It came with a 7 in. hard plastic Wendy doll, sewing supplies, and pre-cut clothing with instructions.
In 1937 the 8 in. composition Vogue dolls, later to be known as Ginnys, were called Toddles. They were grouped into several different series. For instance, the Nursery Rhyme Series in the early 1940’s had a Bo-Peep. Little Red Riding Hood shown here is from the Fairy Tale Series. In 1951 when Toddles were made from plastic with sleep eyes, she had a tag on her arm reading, “Hi, I’m Ginny.”
Pinocchio, dating from the 1940’s, is 7 in. tall. He has a composition swivel head with wooden jointed body. He is marked “Pinocchio, DES. © BY WALT DISNEY, made by Ideal Novelty & Toy Co.” He was the star of the first movie I saw, a 1940 animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on the story, The Adventures of Pinocchio, by Carlo Collodi. Before taking his photo I had to re-string him and find a feather for his cap.
This 8 in. nurse doll from the 1940’s has a one-piece torso, movable arms, mohair wig, and painted face, marked on back, “Reliable – Made in Canada”. Her clothes are original and she is in excellent condition. It resembles the Chubby Kids dolls popular in the 1920’s.
This is a 1948 composition 12 in. Campbell Kid by Horsman. It was designed by Grace Drayton, known for her magazine drawings of Dolly Dingle. It was a gift from my mother following her trip to Canada. The smaller 5 in. Campbell Kids shown are by Fibre-Craft Materials Corp., 1995.
The Ginny dolls of Jennie Graves continued to be popular from the 1940’s into the 1950’s when hard plastic and later vinyl was preferred. This was the first hard plastic Ginny I got and it was a walker. They seemed to become cute and cuter over the years.
