My favorite Doll

In 2016 my husband and I were getting older.  We had lived in the same home for over 50 yars.  His health had failed and I also was having problms.  Our daughter called and told us the house next door to her was for sale and we needed to buy it.  We did buy it and moved to Ohio that fall.  I had a very large doll collection and the new house was much smaller.  So I gave away and over half of my doll collection and all of my doll making equipment.  

Many of my remaining dolls have remained in their packing boxes.  On Tuesday my Son in law at my requet brought me a large box of dolls from storage.  In the box was almost, but not all of my collection of Toni'.  When I opened the box it was as if an old friend had come to visit.  The dolls were all in good shape.  Some of their wigs were flat and needed brushing and recurling.  Only one doll had clouded eyes.  Also, their dresses were a little wrinkled.  

 Toni is one of my favorite dolls.  The last doll I received for Christmas as a child was a Toni.  The Toni I am referring to is  the Ideal Toni doll.  There was another Toni released I think about 1959 that was smaller at 10 inches.  The one I received for Christmas in 1949 was an Ideal P-90, 14 inch platinum green eyed blond.  She was dressed in the blue chambray dress with a Velaro and was trimmed  with a tape embroidered with red and white flowers.  I named my Toni, Yevonne, after actress Yevonne DeCarlo.  I kept my doll for many years carefully packing her away in an old trunk with many of my dolls and other toys I had loved.  Unfortunately the trunk was stored in the garage and the roof sprung a leak.  By the time the leak was found the trunk and my dolls were destroyed.  I have through my adult years bought many basket case Tonis and restored them in memory of my childhood Toni.   

The doll in the picture is a Pre Toni.  These dolls came out before the Toni you could give a home permanent.  The Pre Toni's used the Toni molds, but were composition, not hard plastic and had mohair wigs..  Being composition gives their face paint a softer and more beautiful look.  When looking at a Pre Toni and a Toni side by side, it is easy to see the subtle difference.

When the Gillette Company, makers oof Toni home permanents approached the Ideal Doll and Toy Company about making a doll that could be given one of their home permanents they had the perfect doll.  Only the materials needed to be changed.  The dolls were named "Toni" after the "Toni home Permanent kit.  The head and body were changed to hard plastic to with stand the water and other liquids and the wigs were made of nylon.  The girls loved Toni as she was the hit of the 48/49 season.  I also fell in love with her when I saw a doll display in a department store window.  I was nine years old and saw a display of Toni's in the window.  I fell in love.