Doll Records

Keeping records of your dolls helps should you need to sell the doll or 
if something should happen to you, then your family would know what
the doll is and be able to know an approximate value. Most family members are clueless
about our dolls. 
Even if your dolls have been acquired at thrift stores and yard sales, a record needs to be kept on the doll.

Dolls that are not valuable today, may soar in value in later years.  Look at the Cabbage Patch dolls.  they can be readily found in thrift stores and yard sales and some of them are easily worth twenty five to fifty dollars today.  The ones made by the  Xavier Roberts Baby Land Doll Hospital can easily be worth hundreds.  You need to know your dolls. If you have a collection of twenty five dolls and the average value is only twenty dollars each, you have a five hundred fifty dollar doll collection. 
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 How many of you have a written record
of the dolls you own? It is important to keep an up to date
inventory of all the dolls in your collection. You can keep your
doll inventory on your computer or it can be handwritten. There are
some doll inventory programs you can purchase or you can create your
own, however you keep your inventory, some of the same information
that should be included:
You should have a clear photo of your doll.
Assign a number to your doll and pin the number under the
clothing
Have a book with each doll listed and the dolls number listed that is attached to the doll.
List the name of the doll.
Date you acquired the doll.
Price paid.
Value if doll has been appraised and date of appraisal. You can get an appraisal at a doll show for a reasonable amount.
How and where you acquired the doll.
Artist/Manufacturer
Where made.
Name given by maker.
Edition Number/size
Age of doll
Any repairs or alterations made (new wig)
Accessories that were included with the doll (hat, bear, etc)
New or original clothing and shoes
Also list as part of your inventory any related items such as  doll furniture etc.

  

Antique Baby Silver

Antique Baby silver


Apostle spoons


Many collectors of baby dolls tend to collect items that can be used with their dolls.  Among items collected can be baby nursery silver.  Collectors of antique dolls like to display nursery silver with their dolls.  One of the most important events in life is the birth of a new baby.  Historically  an important event that follows is a dedication or christening.  These events are a time of celebration and gifts.  Families and friends come together to celebrate a new life and dedication to God.  Since 15th century Europe it has been the tradition to present the baby with gifts.  During this time silver apostle spoons were given.  The gift tradition continued to birthdays.  Among the baby silver gifts were rattles, cups, and dishes.  Lucky was the baby  that received all 12 apostle spoons and a 13th spoon representing Christ.  These spoons
 are sought by collectors for their dolls.


Silver Baby Cups.
Baby cups were often given to the new baby.  You could
find them made of pottery, porcelain, copper and pewter
with silver being the choice of wealthier families.  Today
 these cups are highly collectible and sell if in good 
condition for several hundred dollars.  Doll collectors
love to place a beautiful antique baby with these cups.

There were many other items for babies such as rattles, feeding spoons, bowls and small plates.  Still today you will see  new gifts for baby in silver.  For the little girls there are necklaces and earrings.
Baby silver is another possible addition to add interest to your doll collection.






      

The Mystery Doll Club

The Mystery Doll Club.
In doing research I come across all kinds of information on dolls,
but this is one of the most interesting ones to me. From 1958 until
1962 there was a club called the Mystery Doll Club. A company called
M & C Doll House sent out on an elegant letterhead an offer to send a
different doll every month for $4.00. Addresses for the company were
listed in Chicago, IL and Grand Rapids, MI. A small article appeared
in Hobbies magazine and advertisements appeared in Toy Trader
announcing that; "each month a mysterious and exciting new doll
would be presented. What is unique about The Mystery Doll Club"
is  the fact that it was one woman working at her kitchen table at
night. The lady, Margaret Cruikshank worked by day at Sylvestri Arts
making decorative items for store displays. All the leftover trims
and scraps were saved and at the end of the day Margaret would pick
through them and take her pickings home with her.
At night while her husband and sons slept, Margaret would design and
put together fabric and trims for a small plastic doll to be made by
the person buying the kit. She even designed the small patterns. For
anyone that did not sew the doll could be purchased already dressed
for a higher price.
Margaret started the club for people to be able to collect dolls in
national costumes. The subscriber did not know ahead of time what
doll was being sent. Margaret bought eight-inch naked dolls from
Standard Doll Company in New York and made the mohair wigs herself.
A lot of research went in to each costume. Every thing was hand made
by Margaret. Hat, boots and even bagpipes from Scotland were made
for the dolls. Margaret also advertised Wedding Dolls. The letter
sent to subscribers called them "Tiny duplicates of a lovely
young bride make a lovely wedding gift that will be cherished for life.
Also designed were dolls of the season a specific country and when
she ran out of countries she made a series of "Queens of the
Planets". Accompanying each doll was a note with information
about the country. If she needed a striped fabric, she simply took muslin
and made stripes with crayons. The mystery Doll Club was disbanded
in 1962.
A new career was opened for Margaret when a member of her doll club
showed her a tattered shoe. She took the shoe apart and made a
pattern and that began a doll shoe business that lasted for many
years. She has continued to dress elaborate 11-1/2 fashion dolls and
GI Joe's in various military outfits.
The interesting thing to me about the Mystery Doll Club is a woman
in this era of time using things she had access to and using her work
and talents to start a small business.
I went to Google to find more information.  Margaret Cruckshank
lived in Michigan. She was an avid doll collector. Her doll shoemaking
 business was called Petite Boots.
She was a member of The United Federation of Doll Clubs.
She lived to her mid ninities and died in 2007.

Christmas Toys

Two P91 Ideal Toni's in their Christmas dresses with their toys from Santa.  The Toni dressed in green is a Pre-Toni and has an original mohair wig.  Santa has been for a visit.

Merry Christmas!

I want to wish everyone a very Merry and Blessed Christmas.

Two of my Bleuettes in their Christmas dresses with their dolls and Santa Claus.

A Tree To Decorate

This is a simple Christmas display that was put together using one of my P90 Ideal Toni's with her tree she is decorating.  Her dress was crocheted by me using some scrap yarn and a scrap of green ribbon that was just long enough to tie a bow.  The crochet pattern was one I found on line at one of the free pattern sites.  Toni is wearing a pair of shiney gold boots that I got from a doll I purchased some time ago.  The 12'' Christmas tree was purchased from Dollar tree.  The rest of the items were little odds and ends I already owned. 





Another P90 and P91 Toni in their Christmas dresses with their tree.

Restoring Doll Clothing

Restoring Doll Clothing.
 As all of you know that have read this
blog for any length of time I love to restore dolls. Restoring
the doll is important to do right, and just as important is restoring
the clothing. Always remember that trying to restore the clothing
can completely ruin it, if you choose the wrong method. If you
choose to try only do clothing that is ruined without restoration.
Restoration of clothing sometimes can be as simple as washing them or
soaking them for a while in a mild detergent. You can also place the
dry clothes in mesh bag or pillowcase and place in your dryer on a
cool setting and let the dryer remove the dust. But if the clothing
is very old and has been improperly displayed, it can be a challenge.
First, test the strength of the fabric to see if it is dry rotted.
Next, you must identify what the fabric and trims are made of. If
the trim is a different fiber, you may want to remove it and clean it
differently and reattach later. You would not want to wash most old
woolens. If you are not sure what the clothes are made of, try a
simple test on an obscure place and place a drop of water with a mild
detergent (Woolite, Perk or Dawn) on it. If it passes that test
carefully wash. If a garment is white or a light pastel color
chances are it is very dingy due to household air or smoke. Try a
light soak of Clorox made for gentle bleaching again in an obscure
place. If the garments pass that test, then proceed to soak them in
a very light solution of bleach and water. Only use this method on
white or light colored clothing and as a last resort and only for a
short period. Remember most of the time the doll is never going to
look completely new. To remove spots and rust stains there is a
product called whink. You can find it with the detergents in most
stores. It comes in powder and liquid form. I prefer the liquid.
Again test in an obscure place. I have never had this product bleach
the color, but there is always a first.
Another important thing to remember is that prior to the 1960's a lot
of colored fabrics were not colorfast. Prior to washing a garment
soak in a cold solution of white vinegar and water. This is often
enough to set the colors and they will not bleed together. Also any
metal fastener should be removed on old garments, as they were not
rustproof. If there are any studs or any other permanently
attached metal should be watched very closely to reduce the risk of
rust. If rust should appear, Whink will remove it. Also prior to
washing or soaking check carefully for small holes in the fiber as
they need to be watched to be sure they do not enlarge. Be very
cautious at each step as once fading or disintegration of fabric
occurs it is irreversible. The rule to follow is caution and less is
the best. If in doubt, do not proceed with any step and take the
clothing to a professional.
The fancier the dress, the more you need a professional to clean it.
I usually only clean cottons and cotton blends myself. I have
successfully cleaned some silky type gowns in perk.
After cleaning, you will usually need to press the garment as the
older fabrics had to be ironed. They were made before permanent
press came into being. Be sure the iron is on a cool setting and
take your time as the garments are tiny and require patience. Do not
start restoring doll clothing on your expensive dolls, but start on
less expensive dolls, so if you should have a disaster, not much is
lost. Just be cautious and test each step. The results can be very
rewarding.