Today's doll is the last of the dolls being offered by the original owner. But guys, this one is not up for grabs. I mentioned how I thought she would have a good chance of finding a home, because I thought she was beautiful from the first pictures the lady sent, before I even knew what kind of doll she was. I said that if I were in a position to take her, she's the one I would have taken. Her sweet owner sent me back an email saying she would be glad to hang on to the doll until I can take her. Now that's a nice lady. Besty will be coming to me when I am able to take her.
So, let's take a look at the beautiful little girl in question. She's the famous Betsy Wetsy.
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| She has big blue sleep eyes. |
The first Betsy Wetsy was made by Ideal in 1934. She was named after the daughter of the head of the company, Abraham Katz. I guess that makes her Betsy Wetsy Katz. This particualr Betsy is from the 1950's. A new version of Betsy was sold by Ideal in the 1980's, but wasn't very popular. Little girls had moved on to 'simply outrageous' dolls like Jem by then.
Betsy was extremely popular in her heyday though. One company she was not popular with was Effanbee. They had introduced the Dy Dee baby doll the previous year. Both dolls were drink and wet dolls, who 'peed' out whatever liquid their little mothers chose to feed them through their 'bottle' mouths. Effanbee brought a lawsuit, but the judge basically declared that everybody drinks and pees, and you can't copyright it.
Her owner measured her at 16 inches tall.
She's marked Ideal Toy Corp and BW15 and BW 15X. As with some of the other dolls, I think her puffy hair put an inch on her, because I'm guessing the '15' in her markings is a reference to her size.
Over the years and years she was produced, Betsy came in several sizes, and with either molded hair, a karakul wig, or rooted hair. (The method for 'harvesting' karakul lamb pelts is horrifying, and I don't recommend you Google it.) This version has rooted hair.
This girl has some original clothes with her too, including an outfit with her name on it.
You can watch a commercial for this version of Betsy HERE.
That's the doll for today. Please see the previous four posts and consider adopting one of this lady's childhood dolls. She just wants to find good homes for them, and they are absolutely free.
Betsy Wetsy is AWESOME!!! I had no idea Effanbee had such a fit over her, though.
ReplyDeleteI like this version way more than the one with the karakul wig, especially now I have read how they obtain the hair!
DeleteAw, Betsy is my favorite! I actually had the 1980's Betsy. Mine had the cutest yellow dress and bonnet. I do look around to see if I can find her again. I like the judge's comment.
ReplyDeleteMine too. I sort of like the other baby too, but it could just be the footies!
Deletehttps://www.ebay.com/itm/385294337076?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160811114145%26meid%3D8477613212f3405cbc68d34df7f55979%26pid%3D100667%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D385294337076%26itm%3D385294337076%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2351460%26brand%3DIdeal&_trksid=p2351460.c100667.m2042 I found my doll! It was like an organza dress. She is pretty reasonable, but with Mom gone, I have to be a lot more careful with money. I thought you might like to see her though.
ReplyDeleteShe comes with all her stuff too! Maybe you could tell your son Mother's Day is coming up in a few months!
DeleteFound one in box, paid a bit more than I should have, but she's on her way. Although I did tell the seller she could send her without the box! https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ZL8AAOSwUGNk4rzf/s-l1600.jpg
ReplyDeleteI hope you got a reduced shipping rate for losing the box.
DeleteI wish, I guess not everyone is as honest as we are. I always give the extra back if shipping turns out cheaper.
DeleteWe do too, unless it's only a dollar or something. But we always try to figure the cheapest shipping for them, and it usually turns out to be right, or within a dollar or so.
DeleteYou and I are the we I was talking about. :)
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