Q: I have wondered for years who this doll might be. She is porcelain with a cloth body. My husband purchased it several years ago from someone whose mother had passed away. Her clothes look original. She has a very expressive face. —Linda Ross, Williamston, S.C.
Doll size: 16 inches Condition: good 2008 value: $125
A: Your doll was made by Magge Head Kane, a noted early doll artist who worked prolifically for many decades. Her specialty was portrait artist dolls and dolls that depicted figures from history. Magge Head was also co-founded of NIADA, (National Institute of American Doll Artists) in 1963. The doll molds of her dolls were available for anyone who wanted to reproduce an original. In addition, several of her dolls were mass produced by companies like the Danbury Mint. I am not sure by looking at the photos whether your doll is the original created by the artist or one of the dolls created by someone who bought her doll mold. I am not an expert on Magge Head dolls, although many people love them and she did make her mark on the doll artist world.
American Doll and Toy Corp.
Name:Bubbles
Q: This is “Bubbles” by American Doll and Toy Corp. She is rubber, with blond hair and blue sleep eyes. She has her original pink outfit. I have seen only one other like her. —Joyce Cloud, Washington, Ill.
Doll size: 23 inches Condition: good 2009 value: $50
A:Your doll is not Bubbles but “Butterball,” a sweet doll made in 1961. She was made of magi-foam, which was flexible and lightweight. Butterball’s left hand was formed so she could hold a foam lollipop. Another completely different doll was issued with this name as well. Butterball was not made for long, even though she was adorable, lightweight and would appeal to most children. Production discontinued after a year, making her hard to find today. As a child I not only recall having Butterball, but also her doll accessory, a large vinyl doll case with her name on it.
Ideal
Name: Cinnamon
Q: In the 1970s, I was the mother of three small boys. I loved dolls but didn’t have the opportunity to share this with my children. But I earned extra money sewing doll clothes for my friends’ daughters. I bought this “Cinnamon” doll with growing hair to use as a model for the doll clothes because she was very popular at the time, and everyone wanted more clothes for her. I liked her so much I kept her, and she was never played with. She is marked “1971 Ideal Toy Corp. Gh-12 H-188.” —Carolyn Evans, Richmond, Va.
A:Because of her great production, Cinnamon is not a hard-to-find doll. However, it is somewhat difficult to find in un-played-with condition. You did not mention if you kept the box as well as her hair accessories; if so, the value is more than I listed. However, her pristine condition gives your doll her high value. The played-with Cinnamons bring low prices today.
Effanbee
Name: Little Lady/Anne Shirley
Q: This was my doll made by Effanbee in the late 1940s or early 1950s. It is all-composition, with brown yarn hair and blue eyes. She is all-original in her majorette outfit with a hat. She was a gift from my godmother after winning a baton twirling contest. —Arlene Quinn, Woodridge, Ill.
Doll size: 18 inches Condition: good, all original 2009 value: $250
A:Your majorette doll was advertised in the 1945 and 1946 Montgomery Ward catalog for $10.95, and a similar one was selling for $9.79 in 1948. The model for this doll was Little Lady/Anne Shirley. (The value of a dollar in 1948 had the buying power of $8.91 in 2008, so they were high end dolls for little girls.) Through the years, Effanbee has issued many dolls wearing majorette costumes. In fact, this doll was so pretty that the company actually reproduced her in vinyl a few years ago, complete with her majorette’s costume. Girls tended to kept her in her majorette’s costume, rather than redressing her in other clothing.
Ideal
Name: Miss Revlon
Q:This doll is a “Miss Revlon” by Ideal, marked “Ideal Doll VT-20.” I bought her from a collector. She is all-original, including her nylons and shoes, and has rooted blond hair and blue eyes that sleep.
—Karen Pilarski, South Bend, Ind.
Doll size: 20 inches Condition: very good 2008 value: $160
Ideal
A:Miss Revlon dolls were first made in 1956 as a licensed product by Ideal. They were named after the popular Revlon cosmetics, and the dolls were every bit the glamour girl. They had a womanly figure and shoes modeled for stylish high heels. The dolls were issued in sizes ranging from 18 inches to 23 inches tall and in dozens of stylish dresses and outfits. The dolls are valued by condition as well as rarity of the outfit. There was also a “Little Miss Revlon,” measuring about 10 ½ inches high. These dolls were so popular they spawned hundreds of imitations by smaller American companies. Your doll appears to be in very clean condition with full eyelashes and hair, so her value is on the higher side.
Name: Little Lost Baby
Q: I bought this doll new from a small store in 1969. She has three faces and a tag which, says she is “Little Lost Baby” by Ideal from 1968
—Claire Arroya, New Bedford, Mass.
Doll size: 22 inches Condition: Played with 2009 value: $30
Ideal
A: Little Lost Baby was made by Ideal in 1968 as you can already see from the cloth label that is sewn into her body. There was a place for batteries which would maker her cry and coo. The head turned with a lever and the expressions were happy, sad and sleepy. She is a unique doll, not just because her three faces, but also because she was marketed in this pink snowsuit, which was actually sewn as part of her body and thus all of these dolls are found in their original “clothes.” As with all played-with dolls, soiled Little Lost Baby dolls are bringing much lower prices, around $10 to $15, while mint-in-box versions can bring 10 times that sum.
Name: Judy Splinters
Q:
I cannot find my doll in any books, but I am guessing she is a character doll of a star such as Judy Garland. She has a wonderful, whimsical facial expression with side-glancing eyes that are painted black and brown with whites showing. I believe she has her original dress on, but her shoes are replaced. I found this cutie at an antiques shop in Kellogg, Idaho.
—Connie Rifrfel, Newport, Wa.
Doll size: 21 inches Condition: Good 2009 value: $200
Bisque
A: This doll is “Judy Splinters” modeled after a ventriloquist puppet star of the most popular children’s television show—when the medium was still new to the world. The Ideal Doll and Toy Col., always looking for a great opportunity, manufactured the Judy Splinters doll in 1950. The doll came as 18 inches, 20 inches or 31 inches tall. The original cost was about $25, and the dolls were not on the market long, making them scarce. My value is just a rough estimate based on some similar dolls.
Name:Unknown
Q:
I got this doll through a silent auction at our local Amity. I was the first bidder at $10; a frenzy followed, and I had to bid several times to keep her finally at $108 with tax. I know she is original, but who is she? She is marked “IA Chin” on her shoulder plate and has an umbrella in a circle. She has a bisque head, a brown human-hair wig and cloth body; her clothes are well-made but slightly faded. Can you help me?
—Kim Pimm, Hamilton, Ontario
Doll size: 26 inches Condition: Good 2009 value: $35
Compo
A: Although this doll is striking, she is not an antique. She appears to be a fairly modern copy of an antique doll, or at least an interpretation of one. I remember these dolls flooding the market, especially gift and doll shops, during the early 1980s. These types were probably among the best porcelain dolls available at the time. However, since then the demand has been slow for these dolls on the collectors’ market because there are better methods of dollmaking and much more competition. You can feel comforted that your money went to a very worthwhile charity.
Name:Unknown
Q: Compo This doll is a composition fat baby with brown hair from the 1930s. She has paint peeling at the left side of the head; I bought her at a doll show for $5, and she is such a cutie. My aunt, who is 75 years old, said she had that doll when she was around 6 or 8 years old. It just does not look like this doll in the face though.
A:This is a typical American-made composition doll that was sold through major retailers such as Sears during the early 1930s. The manufacturer is unknown. The composition of average quality and has succumbed to the elements probably more than a higher quality doll would have. However, she is very sweet, and at $5 you made quite a buy.
Name:Unknown
Q: This is a large doll that is marked “Effanbee.” She has blue tin eyes and composition head, arms and legs. Her crier no longer works. She has an open mouth with two teeth.
—Marie A. Bray, Everett, Wash.
Doll size: 29 inches Condition: Good 2009 value: $150
Alexander
A: This is an interesting mama-type doll that was made by Effanbee. The mama-type dolls were chubby, cloth-bodied, life-sized babies that had a voice box in their bellies that either cried or wailed “mama.” Your exact doll model was pictured in a 1924 issue of Playthings magazine dressed in an organdy dress, large bonnet, shoes and socks. Her brown wig was full and set in curls.
Name:Pussycat
Q: This is “Pussycat,” a Madame Alexander doll that my husband paid $100 for several years ago. She is marked “Alexander 1979” and is all original. She still has the box and a letter from Madame Alexander titled, “To my young frinds.”
A: Your Pussycat is one of the classic dolls made by Madame Alexander. She was first released in 1965 and has been made ever since. Pussycat came in sizes ranging from 14 inches to 24 inches from 1966 to 1969. Capitalizing on the “Thumbelina” craze, she came in a movable version (when you wind her up, she wriggles). Throughout the years, Pussycat came in every type of baby dress imaginable. Your doll, still mint-in-box, has retained her value. Played-with versions garner as little as $10 or $20.
