A New Find At The Thrift Store

 I love my neighborhood thrift store.  I have found many good things there.  Tuesday afternoon my daughter and I were coming home from the dentist.  We saw our neighborhood thrift store was open.  They usually only open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday for about four hours, but during the holiday season there are open every day.  We stopped and went inside and immediately, my daughter called to me and showed me a doll she had found.  She was excited as she thought the doll was a  Ginny.  She was questioning as the saw Vogue 1975 on the back of the doll, but this doll did not look like the usual Ginny.  In all my research on the Ginny dolls in my previous doll study, I never found the info on a skinny Ginny made by Vogue, but plainly this doll is marked Vogue.  The picture shows her as my daughter purchased her. Another doll mystery to solve.
 A nice find at the local thrift store.

Antique Dolls And their Beautiful Trunks With Clothes

I love the antique dolls with the trunks of handmade clothing called a trousseau.  The detail of the sewing is just beautiful

The trunks are filled with the dolls trousseau.  These represent every woman's dream

I would love to own one of these, but alas, They sell for fabulous prices

Dolls and Trunks

Trunk Dolls. - This is an interesting phenomenon for collectors.
What collector does not love all the extra clothing and accessories
that came with these dolls? The lucky little girls that received
them also loved them. Dolls with trunks were made as far back as
have dolls been made. Women through the ages have lovingly taken
 small scraps and made clothing of their dreams for their dolls.
 Instead of a trunk, it could have been any
container of the time with extra clothing tucked inside. In the
1880's some of the French and German fashion dolls had trunk dolls
with extensive fashion dresses. These of course are highly sought by
collectors and have the price tag to match. In the 1930's this
became very popular again and remains so today. The most popular ones
of modern days are the Shirley Temple, Barbie and Gene trunks with
all the extras. Another example of this is the American Girl dolls
and their cases with all the extra fashions and accessories. What
little (or big girl) has not had or wished for one of these.
From time to time in this doll study I will include information on a
trunk doll.

Modern Dolls and Their Trunks With Clothes

Shirley Temple and her trunk with clothes

American Girl and her trunk

Barbie and Ken with their trunks and clothing

Bobby Ann, A Trunk Doll Made In 1935.

Bobby Ann



A close up of Bobby Ann made by the Regal Doll Corp of New Jersey.   Bobby Ann was a composition doll  that came with a cardboard trunk in the mid 1930;s.  There have been dolls with trunks of carefully beautifully handmade doll clothes being made for them as long as there have been dolls.
Bobby Ann is considered to be the first of the modern dolls to have a trunk.
 Bobby Anne is 12" tall and is an unmarked all
composition doll, jointed at the shoulders and hips. She has molded painted blonde hair, painted blue eyes and a closed mouth.
Bobby Anne's trunk or carrying case as they sometimes were called had
a rather unusual shape. Most trunks were rectangular, but this case
had the upper outside edges squared off. The trunk measures 13-1/2'
x 9 x 4'. In 1932, the Sears Roebuck catalogue reflecting popular
trends had a whole page devoted to trunk sets. They ranged in price
from .49 to 4.95. 12" seems to have been the most popular size. The
quality and size of the sets accounted for the difference in prices.
It is hard to identify the maker of many these trunk sets.
Bobby Anne is identified by a heart shaped tag, much like the one
used by Effanbee, that identifies her "Bobby Anne A Kiddy Pal Dolly.
She was made by The Regal Manufacturing Company of New York. They
made many medium priced dolls. "Kiddy Pal Dolly" was one of its
registered trademarks. She resembles the Effanbee doll Patsy very
much and was probably issued as a similar looking doll to capture
some of the Patsy market. What is unique about this doll trunk set
is the unusual shape of her trunk and that attracted the attention of
many buyers. Included in the truck with Bobby Anne were two dresses
with matching bonnets, pajamas, a coat and matching tam, shoes, socks
and a pair of roller skates.
There is also another doll that used the name Bobby Anne by Regal.
Her tag is rectangular shaped and instead of painted hair, she has a
short brown curly mohair wig over her painted hair and has blue tin
eyes instead of painted eyes. She was sold as an individual doll
with no trunk. 

Bleuette Cheryl Celebrates Thanksgiving

 Its nice to sit by the fireplace on a chilly Thanksgiving night and reflect all GOD's blessings that he showers on us.  We have a free nation in which we can freely and openly worship.  We have an abundance of food, good medical care, nice homes.  All our needs are abundantly met by our loving heavenly father.  We may have wants that he has not granted to us, but he has blessed all our needs. 





 As Bleuette Cheryl and I celebrate Thanksgiving with our family and eat very good and delicious food, we pause and give Thanks. 
Bleuette Cheryl has on the new dress that was just made for her with the beautiful fabric from fellow Bleuette Maman and blogger Loretta.  The color of the fabric just suits her red hair. 







As we begin the holiday season, Cheryl and I want to wish each and everyone a Happy and Abundantly Blessed  Thanksgiving as we celebrate and give thanks to GOD for our blessings.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

A New Dress For Thanksgiving

 There is a blog that I frequently read by a lady that is also a big fan of Bleuette.  Being also a big fan of Bleuette, I enjoy her blog alot.  Posted on her blog one day was a give a away to the first person to post on her blog.  Since I frequently post on her blog, I wrote a post.  Loretta notified me some time later she was sending me a gift.  Shortly a nice package arrived with this fat quarter of fall fabric and some cute fall shapes and a nice card. 

I immediately cut out the dress and as I was working on it, I had to go with my daughter and I was to sit in the car and wait for her.  Since I had decided to hand sew the dress, I took the cut out pieces of fabric and my pincushion and my little stork scissors and a spool of thread with me in a small tote bag.  When we arrived back home, I left the tote bag in the car.   Well you guessed it, the tote bag went missing.  The other day getting some groceries out of the car and I spotted the tote bag under the back seat (it is a three seat van).  How it got there I have no idea.  Well I have now been able to finish the dress, all but buttons etc.  I will post pictures of my doll wearing the dress in a few days.  Thank you Loretta for the nice gift. 
Here is a link to her blog.
http://bleumanoir.blogspot.com/

Ginny

A beautiful eight inch doll that has been a favorite of little girls and collectors now for several generations.  I have tried to do a full study of this little doll.  I hope you will take time and read all nine articles on Ginny.  Ginny has been quite a success story and is well loved by many.  I hope you learn a lot about her in the study,

Vogue's Ginny

 GINNY

The Beginning (From The Vogue Web Site) Ginny’s roots actually extend back to 1922, when a resourceful young woman, Jennie Adler Graves, established Ye Olde Vogue Doll Shoppe in her home in Somerville, Massachusetts. The story is that a "friend", who knew of Jennie Grave's skill in sewing children's clothes, asked her to dress some dolls for a charity event. Unbeknownst to Jennie, the "friend" was selling the dolls instead of giving them to charity! Thus inspired, Jennie Graves began dressing and selling imported German dolls to Jordan Marsh, a well-known Boston department store. THE BEST OF TIMES PART I Success followed success until 1948, when a sales dip in her line of existing dolls inspired Mrs. Graves to introduce an 8" plastic doll, the forerunner to Ginny. Storeowners and consumers alike loved the new doll, and in 1951, Ginny was officially born, named after Jennie's daughter Virginia. From a point in 1949 where a 15,000 square foot warehouse was needed and Vogue employed 50 regular workers plus from 100 to 200 home sewers and did a sales volume of $239,000 a year, Vogue grew to a point in 1953 where annual volume reached $2,113,904. Ginny’s success was assured. Ginny was so popular that many tried to emulate her, and an entire group of 8" dolls appeared on the market in anticipation of securing some of the Vogue business and Ginny fans. By 1957, Ginny had reached over five million dollars per year in sales, and was a beloved fixture in most American households. Mrs. Graves decided to retire in 1960, and her daughter Virginia and son in law Edwin Nelson continued to lead the company until Mrs. Virginia Carlson's retirement in 1966. The company was then run entirely by Mr. Nelson until 1972 when the Vogue name was sold to Tonka Corporation. TRANSITION YEARS Between 1972 and 1995 Ginny had a succession of owners. 1972-1977 Tonka Corporation 1977-1982 Lesney Products Corporation 1984-1986 Meritus Industries 1986-1995 R.Dakin and Company The transitional years were difficult for Ginny, as her care was transferred from one company to another. Each company, in its own way, added significantly to Ginny’s history. THE BEST OF TIMES PART II In 1995 Ginny was reunited with The Vogue Doll Company name. The NEW Vogue Doll Company pledged to restore Ginny to her deserved place in the modern doll era, and has worked diligently since 1995 to achieve those ends. President Linda Smith has stated "Ginny, that engaging little girl of the 1950's does indeed have a place in the 21st century. Her well-loved image, love of fashion, and fun attitude are shining through, and there is much more to come! We hope you will share Ginny, The Best Of Times Part II with us." The Vogue Doll Company would like to thank Carol Stover and Judith Izen, authors of Collector's Encyclopedia of Vogue Dolls, from which much of the above historical information was taken.

Ginny Pictures

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Ginny - Tonka Corporation Era

The Tonka Corporation bought the rights to Ginny from Vogue.  Ginny always having been made in America was now manufactured in Hong Kong to keep prices down.  The quality of the dolls produced at this time varied for a few were well made, but most were of poor quality with poorly made clothing.

The largest line produced at this time were the "Dolls From Far Away" Series  The dolls looked much like the Ginny's made in the USA.  The first doll made under this new line of dolls was called "New Spain".  There had been a previous doll made by Vogue called "Spain"..

Lesney's Mid Seventies Skinny Ginny

 In the mid seventies, the Lesney Corp purchased the right to produce the Ginny doll.  In order to bring new interest to Ginny they completely restyled her and changed her chubby body to a slim one.
there were many variations of hair color and styles and collectors like to have one of each.
Some of the popular dolls of the era were school girl dress (pictured), basic jogging Ginny, and Sasoon Ginny.
Lesney also introduced the International Bride series and another Far Way Lands Series.


inteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Lesney's Chubby Ginny if the 70's

 Along with the redesigned "Skinny ginny's" of the mid 70's, Lesney also introduced a chubbier ginny in costumes similar to the Vogue Ginny's.They were costumed to represent the various countries and had painted eyes.  They are often referred to by collectors as the "Lesney Chubby Ginny".  Although the costumes and outfits are not of the quality of the Vogue clothing, they are cute dolls.

Lesney Corporation Ginny Of The 80's

 By the beginning of the 1980's designer jeans had become a very hot item.  Lesney Corporation in order to keep up with the fashion times introduced a painted eye skinny Ginny wearing designer jeans.  She was called:
OOLaLa! Sassoon Ginny.  Other designer clothing could be bought for her as well.

Meritus Ginny;s 1984 - 1986

A Meritus Porcelain Ginny

Meritus produced Ginny's from 1984 to 1986.  they issued the, "Encore Collection", a recreation ofo the 1953 Coronation Queen, and the "Ovation Collection and the Meritus Porcelain Ginny's.  These Ginny's are of high quality and have satiny complexions and are beautiful dolls.  They are jointed at the knees and ankles.  In 1986   a series was released called "Famous Pairs".  Included were a Bride and Groom, Mr & Mrs
Claus , Hansel and Gretel, and Jack & Jill. 

Dakin Ginny's 1986 - 1995

 In 1986 Dakin purchased the right to produce Ginny.  They issued dolls in vinyl, hard plastic, and procelain  special edition Ginny's and are of high quality.  The picture shown here is a Dakin  porcelain special issue called, "Glad".  The Dakin special issue Ginny's were issued in lots of 2500 dolls each and are very sought after by collectors.

The Many Faces Of Ginny Through the Years

~*~ The Many Faces of Ginny ~*~
1947-PE Compo	1950-PE HP Red Strung	1950-PE Peach # Strung	1951-Transitional Root Beer	1952-Transitional
1951-52 Trans. Tri-Colored Eye	1953-PL Strg	1954-PLW	1955-MLW	1956-MLW Pale#
1957-BKW	1960-Wee Imp	1960-62 BKW	1961-62 Freckles#	1962 Rare Blue Eyed Freckles#
1963-VHP	1966-USA	1972-HongKong	1976 Lesney#	1977 Lesney#
1981-Sassoon	1982-Int'l/Brides#	1984-Mertitus	1984-Porcelain Meritus	1984 - Porcelain Dakin LE#
~*~				~*~
	1988-DakinVinyl#	1993-Dakin-HP	Vogue (1995-Current)

Photo taken from Kaylee's Corner  Website on Ginny