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M. I. Hummel Dolls

These 12 in. vinyl M. I. Hummel dolls were made by Goebel in Germany, 1960-1972. My daughter found them second hand without shoes and socks. The girl, Little Shopper, is missing her original basket and apron. Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel was a Franciscan Nun, born 1909 in Bavaria. She had artistic talent and attended Munich Academy of Art. Franz Goebel made an agreement to manufacture figurines adapted from her drawings of happy children. She died in 1946 but the figurines continued to be made followed by dolls in 1949.

M. I. Hummel dolls

Bonne Nuit Doll

Bonne Nuit DollFrench artist Raymond Peynet made simple line drawings of young Parisian lovers in post-war France. His art work was very popular and this fashion doll was based on it. Technigom in Paris made the 8 in. bendable latex foam doll from 1962 to 1968, following Pegnet’s designs. The subjects ranged from Romeo and Juliet to Brigitte. Bardot. Here is Bonne Nuit with booklet and two small dishes with his drawings.

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Stroodle

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.

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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!

Daruma Dolls

Wooden DollThe 3.5 in. dolls with roly-poly bodies and plastic faces are Daruma dolls from Japan. Rather than wooden bodies, theirs are lightweight plastic balls covered with brocade fabric. The large 7.5 in. wooden doll from Japan does not have a nodding head but one that turns on an inserted dowel.