The Pre Toni came out before the actual Ideal Toni doll was
issued. Both dolls are made from the
same molds. Ideal issued the so-called Pre Toni about 1945-46. They are made
of hard plastic just like the Toni's except they have mohair wigs and were not
called Toni's. As a matter of fact in
all my research I have never seen a name for these dolls. Collectors have called them Pre Toni's. The Pre Toni has a lighter softer almost
creamy complexion and is very beautiful.
They are very hard to find and are very expensive. They come in the same sizes as the
Toni's. I have two Pre-Toni’s in my
collection of Toni’s. One Pre-Toni is
seventeen inches, so is a larger doll.
She has beautiful green eyes and an auburn mohair wig.
The other Pre Toni was on ebay about five years ago. I did not recognize her as a Pre Toni. She had a horrible haircut, was naked and dirty. But, something just appealed to me about her. I put the listing on watch and forgot about her. Several weeks later I was again on ebay and she had been relisted several times. I made a minimum bid and to my surprise won her.
I knew as soon as I opened the box I had a Pre Toni. She is the fourteen inch P-90 size. She has a dark blonde mohair wig that was given a bad haircut by
a previous owner. I have not replaced
the wig as I want her to be as original as possible. I trimmed her hair to even it up a little. It is still a bad haircut so she wears a hat.
The dress on the
seventeen inch Pre-Toni is made from one of the Toni Lady patterns with
no alterations. These patters are made
in all the Toni Sizes. The dress on the
fourteen inch Pre-Toni is one I crocheted.
When the Gillette Company makers of the Toni Home Permanent approached Ideal about making a doll that could be given a Toni Home Permanent, Morris Mitchtom the owner of Ideal chose the doll I call the pre Toni. The only change that was made is the skin color was made a little darker and I suspect a different paint was used to better withstand the permanent wave solution that came with the doll. A nylon wig was put on them that could withstand the rigors of being wet and given the Toni Home Permanent. This is why almost all of the original Toni dolls have had a hair cut. When you went to the beauty shop to get a perm, you were given a hair cut. So the little girls gave them a haircut. All of my Toni's are original Toni's and have all been played with dolls and have had to be restored.
This is a picture of some of my Toni's .
