Today's dolls are both repeats, and not. I showed you my childhood Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls a while back. (You can also read the history of Raggedy Ann and Andy there.)These dolls are the same era, but these dolls haven't been loved as mine have. They're still new.
They're still in their original boxes. And remember, I said these were the same era as my childhood dolls. And I'm 61 years old!
I can tell these are the same as my dolls, (except my Ann is musical, and this one isn't. This is the Ann I wanted, when I got the musical one because she was the only one we could find.), because I still have my Ann's tag, (just like this one), and because Ann's dress changed fabrics over the years and the changes of manufacturer. This one's dress has the same fabric as mine. These dolls are by Knickerbocker, just like mine.
Check out the J.C. Penney price sticker on Andy's box. He was originally $4.49! He was then marked down to $3.88, and finally to $2.25. Poor guy! I wonder of the reason they are still in their boxes is because somebody ended up buying them as potential gifts, since they were so cheap, and just never gave them to anybody. Andy's box is faded and Ann's isn't, so maybe they weren't purchased together, but I like to think they've been together all these years.
Look how beautiful and new they are.
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| Ann still has her handkerchief in her apron pocket. |
Not like mine!
They both have their tags, of course.
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| Just like my Ann's tag. The date is 1971. I would have been nine years old, so Knickerbocker must have stuck with this style of tag and clothes for a while. I got my Andy earlier, but I think I got my Ann for my eighth birthday. |
They both have a cardboard wedge between their legs which keeps them upright in their boxes, and not slumping. Hey! Why haven't their feet had blowouts like my dolls' feet?!
Look at little Andy. He's so cute. Don't tell Ann, but he was always my favourite.
Their boxes bill them as 'America's folk dolls'. It's very sad they have fallen out of favour and aren't popular any more. I guess everything has it's day. I just think the stuff that's popular today is cold and unloving. How cozy can a kid get with a Monster High doll? (Okay, even they aren't the 'in' things any more. But you know what I mean.)
I can't even remember where I got these dolls now. I was thinking a yard sale, but it would almost have to have been an auction. What is the likelihood of finding boxed dolls like this at a yard sale?
Those are today's dolls. See you again tomorrow for another one.
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I've thought the same thing about Monster High dolls (and Bratz and Barbie and all the others), that they're cold and stiff. They're good for games of make-believe, but when bedtime rolls around they're not so good for snuggling. I personally love rag dolls and I'd have one for my little kid in a heartbeat!
ReplyDeleteYes. Fashion dolls are very impersonal. But it seems even tiny kids play with them these days. Baby dolls and rag dolls have lost most of their popularity. Maybe that's why kids don't want kids any more. They haven't gone through the play of mothering a doll these days. Ivy loved my Ann, who was like new when Ivy took her into her care. You see what she looks like now! But that's fine. It shows she was loved, and everybody needs to be loved. I feel a bit sorry for this Ann and Andy, who have never known love.
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