Doll-A-Day 2023 #111: Pee Wees

  Hey! I posted that post so fast yesterday that I forgot to tell you: I went inside the house Wednesday! I actually got it together to go inside the back door, into the kitchen at least. Ken was talking to me from the doorway, and I heard my boys meow. I had to go in and see them. I got a cuddle with both Joey and Jimmy, and Ken said he heard movement in another part of the basement when he was down there with them earlier. That means Ark is still okay. (That and the fact that Ken is still finding cat food in the water bowl. Ark likes to dunk.) I couldn't help it, and I cried when I hugged the boys. Ken wanted to know why I was crying. I'm not sure myself. Relief that they're okay?

Today's doll is a group of dolls. They're Pee Wees.

The kid third from left at the top is probably a clone doll, that just says Made in Hong Kong on his back. He's a cheaper, shiny plastic. He could just be a later PeeWee though.

They were made by Uneeda.

And they made LOTS of them! There were several series, including PeeWees From Around the World, which were dolls in National costumes.

The Pee Wees were small dolls, about 3 1/2" tall, so a little kid could carry one...or more, around in their pockets.

He doesn't say PeeWee anywhere on him, but he says U.D. Co., for Uneeda Doll Company or Corporation. 

Some of the PeeWees say PeeWee on their backs, or the bottoms of their feet.

Like this girl. She's an early one, because she's wearing a felt dress. Not all of the early ones wore felt, but the later ones didn't. 

She's marked 1965.

 

Although there were Baby Pee Wees, they were pretty much the same size.

Baby Pee Wee on the left, regular Pee Wee on the right. Some of the clothing the Pee Wees came in is so simple, that you might think it was something a kid made for the doll. Case in point: this red haired baby. That's an original outfit. He may have also had a bib. This is the only one I'm keeping, because it reminds me of toddler Fuzzy.

The Baby PeeWees actually say Baby PeeWee on their backs.

This poor grubby baby is second from left at the bottom in the group picture above. I washed these guys to clean off the water stink from the fire, but didn't scrub them. So this babe still needs a going over.

  The regular Pee Wee, (as opposed to the babies), bodies are similar to troll dolls, with non moveable arms and legs that are all one piece with the torso. They could turn their heads though.

The babies have moveable heads, arms, and legs. Their legs are curved baby legs too, unlike the straight legs on regular PeeWees.

  Pee Wees had a very long life. They were made in various forms, from 1965 to the early 1980's! I say in various forms, because I believe the molds changed a bit over time. They also made different types of PeeWees. You may have seen my Posin Pee Wee doll HERE.

They were popular enough that there were loads of them made, and even nearly identical competitors.

I can't remember now who these two were made by, and they have gone to storage now! They were possibly Remco, because I know it was a name brand, and they bear a great resemblance to Heidi. You can see mine HERE.

There were even clone fashions made. Like these, by Shillman.

I found these in a junk store years ago. They were a bit dirty, but they didn't look this bad. Some of this happened when the fire fighters got water everywhere. The packages were wet when Ken brought them here for me to take care of. Apparently the fire hose had a leak, because they flooded our downstairs bathroom when they brought it in the house. (For some reason they didn't use the cherry picker bucket thing, and instead dragged the hose all the way through the house and upstairs, instead of just going through the window of the room where the fire was. Why?

  This guy may be a clone. I didn't wash this one because the clothes are glued on, and I was afraid the felt clothes would shrink or do something weird. 

  Some of the actual PeeWee merchandise that was made to go with the dolls, included clothing, a tote, a house style tote, and an actual house.

  There were all kinds of series' of  PeeWees, including Hee Wees, male 'little hero' dolls, supposedly marketed to boys.

There were also fairly rare 80's dolls called PeeWee Plumpees, which were also 3 1/2 inches tall, and described as 'a chubby little pocket pal'.

Uneeda had earlier made larger dolls called Plumpees, that were rotund babies too, but these were the size of regular PeeWees.
  That's it for today. See you again tomorrow.

Doll-A-Day 2023 #109 Petite Princess Kids

   We're going to the house today. I need to mow the grass again, and Ken says the lilacs are blooming. So I'm going to cut some for vases so I can still enjoy them here.

   Today's dolls are ones that I got, if I am recalling correctly, in a lot at a doll show last year. 

The whole tray of stuff was $5! There were loads of things. These little dolls were in it. I didn't realize for a while, but they are dolls from the Petite Princess line.

They are so cute!

  Petite Princess was a collection of dollhouse dolls, furniture, and dollhouses, by Ideal. It was made from 1964 to 1969. That would have been just my childhood era when I could have gotten a dollhouse...But I didn't. The family included a Mom, Dad, sister, and brother. The parents are 5 1/2 inches tall, but the kids are 3 3/4 inches tall.

  These guys are bendy, so they're posable.

They can sit.

 They have real cloth clothes, which aren't removable.

Her dress is sort of flocked velveteen, but this one is loosing it's flocking.

The kids have painted on shoes, but the Mom and Dad have real removable plastic shoes.

Hers used to be Mary Jane shoes.

  The little girl, like the Mom, has 'real' hair, while the boy and the Dad only have painted on hair.

Her hair is braided.

 She even has teensy tiny hair ribbons, and while I was photographing them one fell off! I found it, but I don't know if I can ever get it back on her.

  There were a few different Petite Princess dollhouse options. One was a vinyl covered cardboard case, like the old 60's doll cases, only much larger, that opened, with the lid becoming a courtyard.  That was sold in the middle of the line's run.

Reminds me of the house from The Money Pit. I got one of these at Salvation Army once. I don't have it any more.

Another was a huge dollhouse made of heavy cardboard. The other was a series called 'Petite Princess Fantasy Room'. 

You may have seen these pictures before, when I originally posted them in a doll show post.

There were several different rooms available, and they could be put together.

  Apart from the houses, the Petite Princess furniture was really nice. The original full set consisted of 30 pieces. Some of it was so realistic.  The chaise lounge and the beds and some of the chairs were covered in satin. 

As you can see, there were also chairs in brocade fabric.

The chaise and bed had tiny satin bolster pillows. There was furniture inset with red velveteen and trimmed in gold.

This was some schnazzy stuff. Supposedly it was hand decorated.

The living room furniture included tables with faux marble tops and a fireplace with a faux marble front and hearth. There was a grand piano with a 'mural' inside the lid, a grandfather clock with 'murals', and a real brass planter. 

 These Petite people had some cash. And the real people who bought the stuff had to have some cash too. Those sets weren't cheap for those days.

  There were later sets, called Princess Patti, which may be the ones that included the yellow kitchen appliances. (I guess rich people don't need a kitchen.)  

And there's our girl. She's Princess Patti.

  The yellow kitchen china cupboard had a Formica looking shelf and a little bowl of fruit and some plates. The fridge opened to real moving shelves and tiny crisper drawers. 

I think the house pictured is the cardboard one.

  I've had some of the Petite Princess furniture, and the problem with it, at least now days, is that a lot of the white furniture tends to be melted in places, or broken. It wasn't heavy duty plastic. Sometimes the glue has started to go brown and show, or come unstuck on the satin furniture. The murals, which are just paper stickers, have sometimes started to fall off the piano and the grandfather clock. The red velveteen can get gluey brown looking places too. So if you get any Petite Princess furniture, make sure what condition it's in before you buy.

  There's a page with lots of information about Petite Princess, which you can find HERE.

  Those are today's doll. More to come tomorrow.

Doll-A-Day 23 #84: Little Dollhouse Boy

   We had quite a scare last night. A tornado was sighted and supposedly heading our way. The sirens were going off.  It got VERY windy, which Emma and I both agreed was keeping us calmer, since there is always supposed to be calm right before a tornado. But I was worried about Ken, as it was just at the time that he would be driving here from work. But he arrived shortly after the tornado warning expired. That was a relief. Even without a tornado, heavy winds can be dangerous. But all turned out well here.

  Today's doll is a small fellow. He's a rubber dollhouse boy.

He looks a little scared. The tornado warning is over buddy.

His felt pants are in shreds. I think they were supposed to have straps. The poor guy's shirt is stapled to him!

  He's only about 2 and half inches tall, with painted hair and facial features, as well as painted on shoes. 

He has no markings, and I have no idea who he was made by. As you can see, his clothes are stapled to him in the back too.

He can't turn his head, but his arms and legs are very bendy, so he can run away from tornados!

My guess would be that he was made in Germany, but if anybody knows the maker, please leave a comment.

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