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 2019 #207: British Guard

    I've been working on a couple of posts that have taken me some time. So,today we're going to take a quick look at this little guy.

He's another travel doll,but nothing like any of the ones we've seen so far. He's one of the few male travel dolls I have.

He measures about 6 inches tall.

He's a Scots guard I suppose,since he's wearing a kilt. He also has a matching sash.

The animal print fabric is supposed to be a sporran,a purse type item that holds all the things a guy would normally carry in his pockets. In fact, the word 'sporran' is Scots Gaelic for 'purse'.

The plaid ribbon is supposed to be the top of the knee socks that show above the white 'gaiters',which are sort of super tall spats,worn over the black boots.
The tall furry helmet worn by the British guards is called a busby. The black ones are traditionally made of bear skin. I'm not sure what a white one would be made of. Polar bear?

He has a staff or baton.

He's made of thin, hard plastic. He sort of resembles a Dress Me doll,and like them he has sleep eyes.

  That's the doll for today. See you tomorrow for another doll. Hopefully one of the posts I have had in the works will finally be finished!

Doll-A-Day 2019 #197: Roddy Scottish Girl

  Today's doll is this girl.

She is obviously supposed to be Scottish.

She's was made by Roddy, an English doll company.
 

She is probably from the 1950's.

She has some bagpipes.

Unlike most people,I love bagpipes. These are missing a valve,or whatever it is.

Apparently Roddy made a lot of Scottish dolls in the 50's,as is evidenced by THIS PHOTO from Flickr. A doll like mine is top,middle.
My doll is 13 inches tall.

She's made of hard plastic.

The hair is probably mohair.

Her hair is in two little bunches at the sides of her neck.

Her mouth has little teeth!

Her eyes are sleep eyes with 'real' lashes.
 

She's a 'walker'. When one leg is moved forward,the other leg moves back.

As the legs move the head turns side to side too.

 Her jacket is velvet.

Her shirt is only a shirt front. The lace cravat is very detailed and might be hand made.

The socks are just pieces of ribbon wrapped around her ankles,and the shoes are painted on.
 

She also has a velvet Tam O'Shanter,with a pom pom.

The trim on the hat matches her skirt, (and her bagpipes).

And the ribbon on the bagpipes matches the socks.

   The Roddy dolls were actually made by D.G. Todd and Co.. They began to make unmarked composition dolls in 1934. The dolls were called 'Roddy' dolls, after the owner of the company. During WWII the production of dolls stopped, but was taken up again in 1945. The hard plastic dolls began to be produced in 1948,and continued through the 1950's, when my doll was made. The first vinyl doll they produced was in the late 50's. The company was sold in the 1960's,and the dolls became 'Bluebell' doll. They were made from the same molds though, so were often still marked 'Roddy'.  The company was sold once again in 1974 to Denys Fisher Toys,which in turn was sold in the 1980's to Hasbro.

  That's today's doll. See you again tomorrow for another one.