What I Got at the Doll Show

   Okay. I'm finally getting around to showing you what I bought at the doll show the other week. I was really good. I spent little money, and bought little things. They were some of my favourite little things though. 

  Let's start with these mystery dolls.

  When I picked them up I assumed they were Baps dolls. And you know I love Baps dolls. Then I noticed that their feet were different from Baps dolls' feet. The dealer explained that they belonged to her friend, who collects Baps dolls, and that they were Baps knockoffs. Then the friend showed up and confirmed that she had about 100 Baps dolls, and that these weren't Baps, but Baps wanna be's. The dealer had already knocked their price down before I got there, and knocked it down again for me. I thought they looked so much like Baps dolls, and anyway, they would be interesting as Baps knock off dolls.  So I bought them. But after looking up Baps dolls after the show, I think the dealer and her friend may have been wrong. I think they are Baps. The unusual lags and feet are just like those on Baps puppet dolls. The difference seems to be that the puppet ones have a rod in their feet, so these guys, if they were Baps puppets, should at least have a hole in their feet where the rod was. There are no holes though. 

  The other thing that makes me think they are Baps, is that on the bottoms of their feet it says, 'Made in US zone Germany', just like Baps puppets of the same era.

  The closest characters I can find are for the kids. They look like they are probably Hansel and Gretel. The Hansel and Gretel I found online are very similar, including Hansel carrying a bag like this, and Gretel wearing a head scarf and her arm was bent just like this doll's, only there should be a felt purse/bag hanging from it. I can't find a doll,or puppet that matches the lady though.

  The first thing I bought were these Caco dolls.

  The mom is about 5 inches tall.

  She's going to need her leg rewrapped. I can do that.

  They both have the lead feet but she has plastic hands. The lead feet means they are older. Her plastic hands tell me she's not as old as the kid though. Even my Caco dolls Kay and Jeffrey have plastic hands and feet, so they are younger than both of these.

  The little guy looks to be a boy, even though he's dressed in pink with blue trim.

  He looks small next to the mom, but he is probably the same size as Kay, or maybe bigger. He's way bigger than Jeffrey.

  He's really cute, but the hooded snowsuit look will limit how he can be used in stories, and in the dollhouse.  

  I found this little suitcase. It has to have come with a Bob Hope or a Bing Crosby doll, because it's covered with 'Road' movie travel stickers. I can't find the doll it might have come wth anywhere online though.

  It was only $3, and it had some stuff in it.

  For 50 cents I got a nice silk hanky. It is very thin, and would make a great curtain for a dollhouse.

  The Caco dolls were cheap. The Baps dolls were pretty cheap. And the last cheap doll I got, which would normally have cost me more, was this Tiny Town doll.

    You might have seen my other Tiny Town dolls. I only have a couple, which I got by accidental cheap prices, (I think it was accidental at the doll show at least. My first one was an Ebay purchase, and they didn't know what it was.)

  This one is a Scots doll, with all the traditional accoutrements.

  The faces were hand painted on these dolls. They are known for being painted by the same lady who painted the Nancy Ann Storybook dols.

  She has lead feet.

  The dealer made me a good deal because she said these dolls don't sell for what they used to. They still seem to sell for a good price online though. 

  And that's all I bought! I'm so proud of me! There were some things I was tempted by, but they were big, and I didn't need to spend the money. Ken will okay anything because he says he, 'wants you to be happy'. So I had to rein myself in. Yay me! And I still got three of my favourite types of dolls.

  Next time we'll see some yard sale finds. See you then! 

Doll-A-Day 2023 #313: New Caco Girl!

   Today we're looking at the last doll I got at the miniature show. She's a Caco!

She's very cute, and totally different from my other Caco girls. She's my first brunette.

I like the fabric her dress is made of. And look at that tiny rick rack trim.

  She's the same size as Kay. Speaking of Kay, normally this girl would make her debut in the dollhouse, but that can't happen right now. I can't really pull out the other dolls right now either. So some day she'll get to meet Kay, and Jeffrey, and the gang.

  Like all Caco dolls she has cloth wrapped legs and arms.

She's not super old, because she has plastic hands and feet, and not lead ones.

  Like the Erna Meyer dolls, this sweet girl only cost $5.

   I think she will be called Sue.

  That's the doll for today. Happy Thanksgiving for tomorrow, and we'll see another doll then.

Doll-A-Day 2023 #225: Caco Toddler

   Some of you may be familiar with my dollhouse dolls, and my love for Caco dolls. Well, a while back my sister and I were at a toy show, and I bought a whole tray of stuff for $5. I really only wanted a few things out of it, especially today's doll. But the whole tray was $5, so I took it. So here he is:

He's a Caco doll. Or is he a she?

Caco dolls are made in Germany, as you can see.

I suppose it could be a girl, as it's dressed in pink and seems to have a furry collar.

Whichever it is, it's quite small. I was excited to find it, especially for less than $5. (Remember, I got everything for $5.)

I had been wanting a little brother for Jeffrey and Kay, but Caco dolls don't come cheap. This little guy is perfect, except for one thing: He's still in his package! I want to play with him, but I can't help thinking that he's still in package and I could get by with a used one That there is something to be said for collecting things in their package, and I should leave him that way for someone who collects that kind. I could play with one that isn't so perfect, and this guy would probably sell for enough to buy a used one and have money left over.

  This one is the perfect size to be maybe a four year old, next to Jeffrey and Kay. And this one looks like one that age, not like the last guy who looks like a shrunken Jeffrey. This kid is the same size as the shrunken Jeffrey, but looks young enough to be that size. I really wanted a brother for Jeffrey and Kay, so if I were to open this one, maybe it will be Amanda's little sister. 

Jeffrey compared, Jeffrey approved.

  So I'm torn. I really want to open this kid, but I'd feel a bit evil doing it. What do you think? Is it wrong to open something that has made it so far unopened? For the record, this is a later Caco, not the originals with the lead hands and feet. This one has plastic hands and feet, and is maybe 1960's or '70's. Maybe even later, for all I know. Leave a comment and tell me what you think. I know you are are going to tell me to open her.

  See you tomorrow.  

Doll-A-Day 2023 #203: Tiny Caco Boy

   Today's doll is another Caco kid. I can tell that from looking at him.

But this little guy is really a little guy. He may look like he'd make a good friend for Jeffrey, but Jeffrey towers over him.

Jeffrey: What are you doing here? Kid: I have no idea.

Being smaller than Jeffrey is one thing, but I think of Jeffrey as maybe 7 or 8 years old. So with him being so tiny, he should look more like a toddler. But he just looks like Jeffrey, only smaller.

If Jeffrey is 7 or 8, Kay and Moe are 8 or 9, and the new girl, Amanda, is 9 or 10, the new kid, let's call him Barney, has got to be about 3 or less. He should be chubbier and more babyish looking.

He only stands two inches high. He must have been made for some other, smaller, scale dollhouse. Mustn't he?

Despite his size, he's older than everyone else. I can tell that because Jeffrey, Kay, Moe, and Amanda all have plastic hands and feet, like the later Caco dolls, while Barney has metal, probably lead, hands and feet.

He has the same thread wrapped arms and legs, and I think his head is plastic, like their heads.

 Like Jeffrey, he has lots of molded detail in his hair.

His mouth paint is a little wonky. It gives him an attitude.

  He definitely needs a clean up. I could strip him and make him new clothes, That wouldn't help his dirty arms and legs though. Maybe I could pretend he plays in the mud a lot. He's a grubby little fellow.

  I thought he could be Amanda's baby brother. I got him at the same time, at the miniature show where I got the other dollhouse people you've seen in the last few months. 

What do you think? I think he looks too much like Jeffrey to be her brother.

  And what's in the yellow shoebox? 

There's a variety of stuff brought from the house for clean up and dealing with, from a cat magnet who lost his ear, (and his magnet), from the metal cupboard on the landing, to a Christmas ornament rescued from Fuzz's room and one from the landing, to a keyring one of the kids made for me, to one of my dad's watches, to several rolls of film from Ivy's childhood that have never gotten developed! I was asking about those, since I knew they were in this yellow shoebox, on a shelf on the first landing. Ken couldn't find them, so, typically, they were in plain sight on the stairs on the other side. (We have two flights leading to the first landing, one on either side.) Two rolls of film had already shown up in stuff retrieved from the house. I'm hoping this is all of them now. This time they are getting sent out for development, and I hope they are still viable. They had gone undeveloped because they were at the tail end of the film era and finding places to get them developed were getting harder to find. Even harder were places that gave negatives with the prints, which Ken insisted on. He's so old!

  See you tomorrow!