Time For Another Doll Show

   I am getting so far behind with posts! I still have some doll show finds, some toy show finds, and an antique mall trip to show you dolls from! My sister and I have been busy lately too. We went to see the Pee Wee Herman bike, we went to the afore mentioned  toy show, we have a Q& A showing of Napoleon Dynamite this week. But last Saturday we went to a doll show. My sister, who still says she doesn't collect dolls, went home with three more this time! We'll see some stuff I saw at the show, and  I'll show you what I bought in the next post.

  This show is kind of weird. I know it's because they have twice as many dealers as fit in the room, but there is a whole doll show when you walk in, before you ever get to the table where you pay for your tickets. So we started looking as soon as we walked in. One of the first 'things'  we spotted was Mikelman. Some of you may remember his doll line, which included Candi, Charice, and Dominick. We chatted for a while about the aches and pains of getting old, since I was limping around with my bad leg. I'm not sure, but I think Michael is younger than I am. When I first met him, I know I was in my early 30's. We have changed a little bit!

  It's not a huge room, which explains why the dealer tables were puking out into the hall and beyond.

  I spotted this doll. She's a Japanese Skipper. You can tell because she has those black iris'. 

  I think the girl on the left is a convention doll. I may have photographed her before, because I do remember her, and I like her. I'm not sure about the couple on the right.

  Just a couple of Blythe's hanging around, watching Fashion Queen Barbie hawk some bracelets.

These girls have been on here before.

  This lady was interesting, if not attractive.

This is a Mimi doll, made by Remco in 1973. She sang when you used the records that went in a slot in her back. Someday I'll dig out the one we have and do a post on her. By the way, she sang "I Want to Teach the World to Sing", in many languages. The song was originally a Coke commercial, but was so popular, it became a real song, with the references to Coke removed and replaced by other lyrics. 

  I struggled to get a picture of this schnazzy Draculaura doll without interference from glare. You also get a view of her neighbouring doll, a Frankie Stein, I believe.

  Scarlett O'Hara?

  My sister and I both loved these Jar Lu and Ten Ping dolls. They were out of our price range though.

  This is a stern looking bunch. They're Poppy Parker dolls by Integrity Toys. The two on the right are convention dolls. I thought the one on the far right was the most interesting. She's called 'Stay Tuned', and she's in shades of grey. like she's in black and white.

  I was trying to take a picture of the little guy! The Silkstone is nice too though. A reader suggest that he is Riku, friend to Licca's sisters Miki and Maki. Thanks Annett!

  This is a pretty group/. There's a very stern looking Tammy's mom top left, several Shirley Temples, and some Madame Alexanders I think my favourites are the two Betsy McCalls: the girl in red, and the girl in blue and white plaid. 

  One the other end of the shelf there was an interesting old lady, and a Sasha doll.

  I like the bride Grace Kelly. It really looks like her.

   More Silkstone Barbies.

  Anna May Wong! If you haven't heard of Anna May Wong, look her up. She was the first Chinese American star, back in the 1920's and 30's, and she was pretty cool. She was honoured by having her likeness on a quarter in 2022, the first Asian American to do so.

Next to Anna May is Emmy winning producer, actress, and Transgender icon Laverne Cox, and designer Vera Wang.

  I know this Ken is a Day of the Dead doll, but he's creeping me out.

  Another version of Betsy McCall.

  Malibu Barbie shared a table with a lovely Mitzi doll in lace, and another Barbie clone.

Mitzi and friends were on the table below these girls. An African American Velvet doll, and a little girl in green by Berdine Creedy Designs.

These two little stuffed dolls are also by Berdine Creedy Designs. I like the tiny one.

  The little guy on the left is a Kish doll, but the girl in peach is another Berdine Creedy.

  The lady on the left is a Toni. The other two are competitors.

  Any of the dolls from this table can be bought from Lizsdollhouse. The information is below. She's also on Ebay as Lizdolling.

   Liz told us the amazing story of how she was legally blind since birth, but now has 20/20 vision, (other than needing reading glasses), because she was fitted with permanent lenses. I didn't even know they could do that! Apparently it's like having contact lenses surgically placed in your eyes. Wow. It's an expensive process though, and she said insurance doesn't pay for it. Typical. 

   Okay. That was the show. But what did I bring home? We'll see that next time.

What I Got at the Doll Show: My New Old Betsy McCall!

   You may have read my post on the recent doll show. (And if not, why not?!) I mentioned that I finally got a Betsy McCall with reddish hair. Well she had her photo shoot yesterday, so she's ready to be introduced.

  This Betsy is the 8 inch American Character doll, 'Tiny Betsy McCall. She's the most common to find, and the most preferred by collectors.

  When I bought her she was completely naked. Luckily I have been saving some clothes I thought might be Betsy McCall clothes. Turns out this dress is an actual Betsy dress. I'm more familiar with the red plaid version, but apparently the dress was made in various fabrics.

 

 I don't know about the hat, so if there are any Betsy experts out there who know for sure, let me know. It might be a Ginny hat.

  Betsy McCall began life in 1951, as a paper doll included in issues of McCalls magazine. 

 You can download Betsy McCall paper dolls for free HERE.

 

She has jointed knees.

But I have three Betsys now, and none of them can really sit down. Is that a thing? Or is it just my girls?

  She was included in the magazine for the next 44 years, until the magazine ceased publication in 1995.

She has greyish blue eyes.

The first three dimensional Betsy McCall doll was made in 1952. 

They're sleep eyes.

It was a 14 inch doll, made by Ideal.

Her lashes are hard plastic, with molded detail.

  The next Betsy doll made was today's girl. These 8 inch dolls were made by American Character, starting in 1957 or '58.

She also has painted lower lashes.

  American Character also produced 14 inch, 20 inch, 22 inch, and 29, and 36 inch versions of Betsy, some with flirty eyes. There were even cousins for Betsy. Linda, and a boy cousin, Linda's twin, named Sandy, were produced in 1959, as 36 inch Play Pal type dolls. Sandy is SO cute! I want one!

Her little face is blushy.

  Uneeda produced an 11 1/2 inch Betsy McCall in 1964. You may have seen mine HERE.

And she has the sweetest shy smile.

  In the mid 70's Horsman produced a couple of sizes of Betsy dolls.

Her hair is rooted to a skull cap, which is glued to her head.

The dealer said that, in her opinion, this doll is a golden blonde, but her hair does have quite a red tone to it.

Especially in the sunshine. What colour would you call it?

  In the 80's Rothschild made 8 and 12 inch 35th anniversary Betsy doll that looked similar to a vintage Ginny. Tomi and Larami also made Betsy dolls. Tonner brought Betsy back in the early 2000's, in a new version of the 8 inch American Character doll, that looked very much like the original, and a 14 inch doll that greatly resembled the 36 inch Sandy, with it's slightly alien eyes and watermelon smile. 

They also made a 14 inch Sandy doll, and a 29 inch Betsy as Alice doll. Good thing I didn't know about that at the time. At least she's so expensive now I don't even think about her. There was a 29 inch Little Orphan Annie produced using the Betsy sculpt for the 2004 Tonner convention. I don't like that one. In 2008 Tonner and Effanbee produced the Ultimate Tiny Betsy doll. She was an 8 inch Betsy that also had jointed elbows and wrists!

  You can see my other two Betsys HERE, and HERE. Now, just for the fun of it, and because she's so cute, I will leave you with more pictures of Betsy. See you soon!