Two Doll Shows in One Week! Am I Lucky or Crazy?

   I have been to two doll shows in the space of a week! I went to the first one on my own last Sunday, and would have skipped the second one entirely except that my sister wanted to go again. We went last year, and my sister, who has no interest in dolls really, enjoyed it so much that she wanted to go again! So we went Saturday, and I probably did better at the second one as far as finding good stuff. This post is going to focus on the first show, where I took pictures. I didn't take any at the second show, just because I didn't think that show lends itself as well to interesting photographs. So the post on that show will focus on what I bought there. (I did buy something I've been wanting at the first show, but I'm saving that for a special post involving some other dolls. The few other things I bought will be dribbled out as I get them photographed.)

  Before I start, to update you briefly on my leg, it still hurts. I'm still limping a bit and if I'm on my feet too much the leg and my back really start to get out of control pain-wise. So I'm trying to not overdo, and I think the leg is continuing to improve little by little.

  Now, on to the show...

It was held in Strongsville Ohio, up near Cleveland. It's about an hour and a half drive for me.

  My pictures loaded totally backward from the order I took them. The first dolls  I'm showing you were some of the last I looked at. This dealer had some very interesting and very expensive dolls. A lot of them were cloth or cloth faced, and they had great personality. I loved the 'modern major general' looking guy with the red feathers, and the wonderful girl in the red skirt.  

I've left this for a week, and now I forget where the girl was made. Czechoslovakia maybe?

The two googly eyed dolls are great.

This guy was the dealer's favourite and not for sale. She called him Good Time Charlie, and likes to imagine he's 'been out on a bender'. For those not familiar with the term, it means he's been out on a drinking spree.

The two gentlemen in the back were former museum pieces, created by an artist named Helmut Krauhs. Their prices were over $2000.

Sorry I photographed her paper badly! In too much of a hurry.

These were more of the dealer's gems. I love the cat and the girl in the chair.

These dolls are more Jammi Originals, like the girl in the chair, and the kids below.

I thought it was clever that the dealer had made use of a bakery stand to display all these small dolls.

These two French characters seem to be under the scrutiny of the gendarme.

These people look a little like potatoes.

These guys had such great faces. Their tag says they are Japanese dolls.

   Moving on to other dealers, I saw this Tearie Dearie, just like the one I got for Christmas in 1965. You can see her in my post on Christmas HERE.

  One dealer was promoting her own handmade resin ball jointed dolls.  

She designs them all and makes them using a 3D resin printer, (not the type that uses filament.) She sells them as finished dolls, and as kits for making your own.

The dolls are available in several sizes, and you can mix and match the body parts to create your own customized doll.

There were also anthropomorphic dolls.

The dolls range in size from larger, 12" or so dolls...

...to 8 or 9 inch dolls...

...to this little 4 or 5 inch doll that fit in the palm of my hand...

She had made a lot of Legend of Zelda characters, at her son's request!

...to the very tiny doll about 3 inches tall that you saw above in the picture with the unfinished dolls.

  She has a brand new website, so new that there isn't anything for sale on it yet. But she said you can order from her if you see anything here you are interested in, or want to buy a kit. 

Her website, mysfitdolls.com

Or you can contact her by email at mymysfits@gmail.com

And on to the rest of the show.

Such pretty girls.

A couple of nurses.

Must be a children's hospital. I think that's Deanna Durbin on the far right. Does anybody recognize the girl next to her?

I think that's Deanna, next to Deanna.

Two fellows that look to be Skippy, next to their girlfriend Patsy, or at least someone who looks like her. You can see my repro Skippy HERE.

This kid is Judy Splinters. I walked up just as the dealer was telling her story.

She was based on a ventriloquist dummy from a kid's show called "Judy Splinters". The show started in Los Angeles in 1947 as a regional show, moved to Chicago in 1949, and finally to New York, where it aired until 1950. It was even a summer replacement show, (Remember those?), for "Kukla, Fran, and Ollie". During it's run the show was nominated for a prime time Emmy award for Most Popular Television Program. Judy's performer was only 19 when the show started.

According to IMDB the show was only nominated for one Emmy, the one I mentioned above. This paper the dealer had says Shirley Dinsdale, the ventriloquist won the very first Emmy for "Outstanding Television Personality" in 1949. This is verified by other information on the web. It also says the award went to Shirley and Judy.

 

Shirley Dinsdale poses with her dummy, and one of the dolls based on it. The doll the dealer was selling was about 20 inches tall. Apparently the doll came in 18, 20, and 36 inch sizes, and had a string in her back that could be used to move her head, (but not her mouth, as she didn't have a hinged chin like a ventriloquist dummy).

Here's Judy in the 1950 Sears catalog.

  The lady buying Judy was telling about an interesting doll she owned. It was a Pepsodent toothpaste premium called Miss Pepsodent. She was made in 1953. Her teeth are printed on a ball that rolls when she is laid down. When she is upright her teeth are white, and when she's 'sleeping' her teeth appear yellow, as the ball rolls to reveal the yellow painted teeth. (You can see some good pictures of a Miss Pepsodent doll HERE.)I had never heard of Judy Splinters or Miss Pepsodent, but they were both fun to learn about!

More beautiful dolls.

The world's most shocked nun.

Gorgeous dolls!

Some Shirley Temples.

A very pretty Mary Hoyer doll with blushy knees.

Old and new dolls mingling together.

This kid wasn't very big, but she was full of personality.

Most people would probably be drawn to the baby, but I loved the big cloth girl.

I always love the felt faced dolls.

This Where the Wild Things Are doll was handmade by the dealer.

Unfortunately she doesn't make dolls any more.

I would have loved t have brought home this big Betsy McCall. But not for $100.

 She was about 30" tall. Her clothes are all original.

What a beautiful girl!

These cute little characters were 10 or 12" tall.

                                             How cute are all these little felt guys?

This magnificent felt lady was $5, and maybe I should have bought her.

Patsys or Patsy types.

  So that's it for that show. Stay tuned for the dolls I got at the show we went to yesterday, coming soon.

Flea Market Girl: She Might Be Nanette, But You Can Call Her Kathy

   Well, it's been more than a couple of days, but I am finally getting up that post on my other doll from the last time my sister and I went to the flea market. 

She's unmarked, but I think I have a pretty good idea of what doll she might be. But we know who she was.

 I bought her from her original owner. The lady was 82, and she said she got the doll when she was about 10 years old. So, 1950.

  As we were leaving the lady's booth, my sister wondered what the doll's name was. She asked, and the lady said she had never given her a name. Her husband chuckled to himself and mumbled that that was the silliest thing he'd ever heard. "...all that time..."

My sister decided we should name the doll after the lady, so we asked her name. She was Kathy, so the doll became Kathy. After 72 years, she finally has a name.

Kathy, (The doll. Not the lady.), is about 14 inches tall, and is jointed at the neck, shoulders, and hips.

  She hasn't had any clean up done yet, so her face is a bit dirty. So is her dress, but I doubt it's original. It doesn't fit her very well.

She has bluey green sleep eyes with 'real' lashes.

   

Her mouth is painted a bit unevenly, which I think is a clue to what doll she is.

  Her hair is a wig, not rooted.

Some of the stitching shows. She definitely needs her hair reset.

  She's all hard plastic, and luckily doesn't smell. It's hard to tell from this photo, but her knees are very slightly blushed.

  Her poor little hands need a cleaning too. It appears she has been playing in the dirt.

  Her dress may not be original, but her undies probably are.

The hem in that dress makes me think it's homemade.

  But check out these shoes. They could use a cleaning too, but they're cute. And I think they're original.

 

  They sort of look hand painted, but I still think they came this way. I'll tell you why in a minute.

As I said, she's unmarked. There are some clues to who she might be though. She greatly resembles Sweet Sue, by American Character. You can see my two Sweet Sues, (Well, one positive Sweet Sue and one possible Sweet Sue.), by clicking on these links. But she also looks a lot like Nancy Lee or Nanette, both by Arranbee, (also known as R & B.) In fact, I found this doll, which is a slightly larger size, but has both the unevenly painted mouth and the same hand painted looking saddle shoes:

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/arranbee-nanette-19-doll-1952-1056-c-2914fc09b0

  So it's highly probable that she's an Arranbee Nanette or Nancy Lee doll. I would love someone to take Kathy who can revive her to her full glory. I paid $10 for her, (After the lady said she'd take $8 instead of the $10 she was originally asking, she took my $10 and said, "Yeah, ten." and didn't give me any change. She was 82. I didn't bother to correct her.), and I would take $10 plus the cost of shipping her to you. I just felt I should rescue Kathy and let the lady know she would get a good home. I'm sure any of you willing to take Kathy on will take good care of her. I don't have the ability to do hair, and that's the main thing she needs done. A nice new (or old) dress and a clean up would help too. **Oh! I forgot to see if she's a walker! I know Nanette is a walker, but I'm not sure this girl is. I know her stringing seemed a little loose, so maybe she's not a walker. I'd check, but my leg is killing me after going to the rail road museum with Ken yesterday, and I'm not doing stairs today so I'll be good for tomorrow. Kathy is on the other floor of the house. I can check if anybody is interested in giving Kathy a home though.)**

A Whiney Tale and Flea Market Doll

   Just popping in to say I'm still around, and show you this little girl I got at the flea market a few weeks ago. The leg is still hurting. Sometimes it's not so bad. If I stay off of it, I have no pain. If I am on it too much I hurt pretty much from my waist to my toes. My back has gotten in on the act, probably because I walk funny from the knee pain. I feel like one leg is shorter than the other and it's throwing my back out. 

  There's a doll show this coming weekend, and another the next weekend. I'd skip the second one, because it was all just expensive fashion dolls and stuff I can't afford. But my sister liked going last year and wants to go again. I am looking forward to the first one though, as it's a good one. I don't know how the leg is going to behave though. It's a long drive there and back, and walking around the show will add to the wear and tear. Good thing I am my own boss and can take the next day off.

  Anyway, flea market doll! Here she is.

She's one of those little rubber/vinyl dolls that were really common when I was a kid. In fact, she reminds me very much of my little Jungle Legsly, which you might have seen in her Doll-A-Day post HERE.

Jungle Legsly.

In fact, she's almost exactly like Jungle Legsly, right down to the Mary Jane shoes. Jungle's weren't painted at all, but new girl's were painted all but the strap.

Kind of a slop job of painting.

  At about 5 inches she's bigger than Jungle, who is about 4 inches tall.

  She also has something Jungle doesn't have, and that's markings. This girl says Japan on her back.

  She has the standard jointing: neck, shoulders, and hips. So she can sit down, and turn her head.

She has side glance eyes, so she can look somewhat wary!

She does have a sweet face though.

Cute, but she desperately needs a cleaning. That's another thing I haven't gotten to yet. I do things on our Fun Days, Monday and Wednesday, try to catch up on things on Tuesdays and Thursdays, if I can still function without too much pain. I try to take it easy on Sundays to recover for Monday. It has been necessary to get out and go somewhere on Monday and Wednesday just to get out of the heat, since we don't have air conditioning. The last few days have been much cooler though. I took these pictures yesterday, and as you can see, it was very dark, and rained on and off. The weather is more like Fall. 

  We got up early Friday morning and went to a huge church sale in Columbus. We went a few years ago and they had some amazing stuff and the prices were really good. This time they didn't have very much interesting stuff and the prices weren't that great either. On the way home, since I haven't gone to hardly any yard sales this year I stopped at two or three, as well as a couple of Goodwills. By the time I got home I was hurting really badly. Ken wanted to cook out, so we ate outside, and we HAD to cut the watermelon we had before it started to rot on us. Ken went to work, and I cleared up the watermelon leftovers and got them in the fridge, and hauled myself upstairs. The pain had gotten worse and worse. I was in so much pain, including my back, that I was starting to get nauseous.  I ended up in so much pain that I wasn't sure I could take a shower and just go to bed. I managed to get the cat box cleaned and clean up after the food messes they had made, and get in the shower by 6 o'clock. Then I collapsed for the night.

  Her dress feels like it might be silk. Would that even make sense though? She was just a cheap doll. Of course, back in the olden days when I was a kid, doll clothes were sometimes made of silk.

Oh no! I can see into her soul through her mouth!

You might notice they didn't trim her fingers very well. They are molded round, but are cut square on the tips! 

  Her hair is a little thin, but it is in the original braids.

My sweet peas are blooming. And my tomato plants finally got some blooms on them! Of course, they'd better hurry up if they're going to grow any tomatoes.

And it's red.

  I do have another doll photographed to show you. That'll probably be in a couple of days. As for today, I'm pretty pain free, but I had to sit and lay around all day to get that way!