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Ideal Novelty and Toy
Company began in 1902-1982, and originally produced teddy bears, in
the 1930's they made Shirley Temple, Judy Garland and Deanna Durbin
dolls as well as supplied to other doll manufacturers. They were
first in their industry to make hard plastic dolls after World War
II. Their dolls are made of; wood, cloth, composition, hard
plastic (Patent #2252077), vinyl and magic skin and are considered to be very good
quality. Ideal Toy Co. was acquired by the CBS Toy Co.
in 1982 which later went out of business.
Here's some of the
dolls we have found made by Ideal in the 1950's:
Items
pictured here are for reference only - not for sale.
| 1950 Blessed Event or Kiss
Me doll, 19 or 21" tall, baby doll with crying face,
molded hair, oilcloth stuffed body, vinyl lower limbs and
head, came wearing a cotton pajamas and blanket, marked: 3/Ideal
Doll/Patent Pending. |
1950's Blessed Event,
19" |
| 1950-1955 Boopsie,
8" tall, all plastic jointed body with molded painted
hair, painted side glancing eyes, came wearing a cotton diaper
closed with a safety pin, marled: Ideal (within a
circle) Pat. Pend. |
1950-1955
Boopsie, 8" |
 1950 Judy Splinters,
18, 20 or 36" tall, vinyl head and cloth body, ventriloquist doll, yarn
pigtail hair, painted
eyes, wide smiling closed mouth, marked: Ideal Doll. From
TV show by Shirley Dinsdale. |
1950 Judy Splinters,
18" |
 1950's Plassie, 17,
19 or 22" tall, hard plastic head, and limbs, stuffed cloth body
with crier, molded
hair, sleep
eyes with lashes either brown or blue with a closed mouth, was
a reissue of the 1942 dolls, marked on head: P-50/Ideal/Made in U.S.A.
or Ideal Doll/Made In U.S.A. 3 2252077.
Photo courtesy
of Anne and is of the 1942 doll.
|
1950's
Plassie, 21-22" |
| 1950 Tickle Toes,
15,
19 or 24" tall, crier baby doll, hard plastic head, stuffed latex
arms and legs, cloth body, molded hair under mohair wig, open
mouth (some have a tongue) and glassene sleep eyes,
marked: 16/Ideal Doll/Made in USA or P2000/Ideal
Doll. |
1950 Tickle
Toes, 19" |
| 1951-1954
Baby Mine, 16 or 22" tall, all composition ball
jointed body, glued on wig, sleep eyes, open mouth with teeth,
marked: IDEAL within a diamond/USA.
1951-1954 Baby Mine, or
Thrift Kit doll, 11" all hard plastic fully
jointed body, blue side glancing sleep eyes, four painted
upper lashes, molded painted hair, marked on back: Ideal
Doll.
Originally sold wearing a white
cloth diaper held on with a safety pin, came packaged in red
and white acetate window box. She was referred to
as the Thrift Kit doll because at that time you could purchase
a Bucilla Thrift Kit to sew outfits for this doll. Some of the
outfits offered were a Cowboy, Little Nurse, Roller Skating
Dress, or Sailor Boy
Photo courtesy
of Nancie Sergent - Thank you Nancie!
|
1951-1954 Baby Mine, 11"
|
| 1951-1953 Bonnie
Braids doll, 11 1/2" and
14" tall, vinyl head, hard
plastic jointed body, walker, daughter of Dick Tracy and Tess
Trueheart officially born on May 4, 1951 in the back seat of a
taxi cab on the way to the hospital. Character from the Dick Tracy comic book
series, marked on
head: 1951/Chicago Tribune/Ideal Doll. |
1951
Bonnie
Braids, 14" |
| 1951-1955 Lolly
or Tiny Girl,
9" tall, head turning walker, sleep eyes, molded, rooted or wig hair,
marked Ideal Doll 9, little sister to the Saucy Walker doll.
Reliable also made a similar
Lolly doll sold in Canada. See the Reliable page for her
photo.
|
Lolly,
9" |
| 1951-1955 Snookie, 10"
tall, hard plastic or latex head with molded hair, magic skin
body, has painted side glancing eyes, came dressed in a diaper
and robe (photo is not in original clothing) marked Ideal
Doll.
Their are also Pete &
Repete - Snookie twins that cooed when squeezed with one
piece magic skin bodies about 12" tall, marked: Ideal
Doll.
Ideal's hard plastic
Patent Number is 2252077 and various dolls may have
this in the marking as well.
|
1951
Snookie, 10" |
| 1951-1953
Sara Ann, 15, 21 & 24" tall, all hard
plastic, Toni look-a-like but Ideal did not have to pay the
Toni royalties, blonde or brunette saran wig, marks same as
the Toni dolls (15' - P-90, 21' - P93 or P3, 24' - P94 or P4), so without her box or tags there is almost no way to tell them
apart. The only difference we have been told, is
that Sara Ann has a saran wig (which is easier
to style) not a nylon wig, as worn
by Toni. Thanks to Ron
& Judy of Oregon for sharing this
tip. See also the 1940's Ideal page
for more on the Toni earlier dolls.
|
1951 Sara Ann,
15" |
| 1951-1953 Sara Lee,
17-18" tall, black doll, vinyl and cloth body, molded and painted
hair, brown sleep eyes, named after designer Sara Lee Creech, marked:
Ideal Doll. |
1951-1953 Sara
Lee, 17" |
|
Saucy
Walker 16" |
1951-1955 Saucy
Walker, 16" or 22" tall, all
hard plastic, walker type doll, pin jointed body, wig, sleep eyes,
open mouth with two teeth, also closed mouth, some are criers, and
some had bent knees, came in a black version too, marked: Ideal
Dolls/W16 or Ideal Dolls/ W22 based on the height.
Dolls came in various 1950's
style dresses.
In 1954 Ideal made
a 25" tall doll that was called Saucy Walker Big Sister.
Looks very similar to saucy but larger, was a mail-in
premium from the Chicago Daily Tribune. |
|
Saucy
Walker, 22" |
| 1951
Trilby, about 19" tall, three faced doll, squeaker,
vinyl face and limbs, stuffed cloth body, when you turned a
knob on top of head the face changed to sleeping, smiling or
crying, was dressed in a blue dress and bonnet with dark
blond curly hair attached to the bonnet, doll is unmarked. |
1951 Trilby,
19" |
| 1952-1954 Betsy McCall, 14"
tall, vinyl head, Toni body, the 1954 was a walker doll. |
1952-1954
Betsy McCall, 14" |
| 1952 Hugee Girl,
15" tall, one piece oil cloth body, vinyl head with molded short
curly hair, blue sleep eyes, open mouth, marked on neck:
IDEAL DOLL/BC 16. |
1952 Hugee Girl, 15" |
 |
1952-1954 Mary Hartline,
7 1/2, 16, 22 1/2" tall, hard plastic Toni body and markings (if
it is a V instead of the P it stands for Vinyl), blonde wig or
rooted hair, TV personality from the 1950's.
|
|
1952 Mary Hartline
16" tall. |
 1953 Miss Curity
Doll,
14" tall, hard plastic, wig, sleep eyes with black eyeliner,
nurses outfit and first aid kit, Advertising doll, used the Toni
body, marked: P-90 on head. |
1953
Miss
Curity Doll, 14" |
| 1953 Harriet Hubbard
Ayer, 7 1/2, 14, 16, 19 and 21" tall, soft vinyl head, hard
plastic Toni marked body, glued wig or rooted hair, head
marked: MK 16/IDEAL DOLL.
Photo is missing
the white sheer apron. |
1953
Harriet H. Ayer
16" |
| 1953-1956 Princess Mary, 14, 16, 19 or 21" tall, uses the Toni walker body and
markings. This doll uses the Ruth head mold as seen in
the next doll, some had pierced ears. |
1953-1956
Princess
Mary, 16" |
| 1953 Ruth,
16, 19 or 21" tall, uses the Toni walker body with V (according
to size see the Toni info. - V91, V92, V93) markings on head.
Some bodies are marked : P-19. |
1953
Ruth, 19" |
| 1953
Little Wingy, 13" tall, vinyl stuffed head, hard
plastic walker body, long saran wig, blue sleep eyes, closed
mouth, dimples. Face is coated with phosphorescent paint
so it "glows" in the dark. Character from the Dick Tracy
comic strip series. Marked on head: CPR 1953 Chicago
Tribune Ideal Doll, and on back Ideal/14.
|
1953
Little Wingy, 13" |
| 1953 Joan Palooka,
14" tall, magic skin body, jointed, yellow molded hair, blue
painted eyes, wore a pink dress with blue ribbons, comic strip
character doll, daughter of Joe Palooka & Ann Howe from the comic
strip by Hammond "Ham" Fisher. Marked on
head: ©1952/Ham Fisher/Ideal Doll.
1954 there was also a Little
Max doll, and orphan kid who was Joe Palooka's sidekick or
buddy produced by the Personality Doll Co.
See the Hard
Plastics Dolls 1950-70's page for the Little Max doll.
|
1953 Joan Palooka,
14" |
| 1954-1959 Baby Big Eyes,
20 or 23" tall, soft vinyl head, blue sleep eyes with lashes,
curly rooted saran wig, came in christening gown or pajamas, marked on
head: IDEAL DOLL/P6 or VS-18 or VS-20 |
1954
Baby Big
Eyes, 20"
|
1954-1956, 1959-1962 Betsy Wetsy,
11", 13 1/2", or 15" tall, soft rubber body, drink and
wet doll, rooted hair, blue sleep eyes, open drinker mouth, typically marked;
14 or 16/Ideal Doll/Made in USA or Made in
USA/Pat. No. 225207, Ideal Doll/VW-2 or WC-1-1 or VS22
or OBW-20 or ©1965/Ideal Toy Corp./TD14-W Pat. Pend.
All Betsy
Wetsy dolls have a Ideal marking.
|
1954
Betsy Wetsy |
| 1954-1957
Magic Lips, 24" tall, vinyl head with rooted hair,
sleep eyes open mouth with tongue & teeth, oilcloth torso
& upper limbs, vinyl lower limbs, crier in the tummy that when pressed the
doll moves her mouth & cries, marked: T-25.
Photo courtesy of Connectibles. |
1954-1957
Magic Lips, 24" |
| 1954-1956 Posie,
17" or 23" tall, hard plastic doll, very similar to the
Saucy walkers but this one has bendable knees, dolls ad
reads "Pretty Posie of a hundred life like poses".
Earliest doll had a hard plastic head with flirty blue sleep
eyes, later ones had a vinyl head non-flirty eyes and rooted
auburn hair. Dolls have the walking mechanism, blue
sleep eyes, closed mouth and crier. Marked on head:
Ideal VP-17 or VP-23. |
1954
Posie, 17" |
| 1955-1956 Bride doll,
14 or 19" tall, walker, vinyl head, hard plastic body, rooted
saran hair, dressed in bride gown, veil holding a bouquet of
flowers and plastic curlers, marked: 14" - Ideal
Doll/W90 or 19" - Ideal Doll/V92. |
1955 Bride doll,
19" |
| 1956-1957 Honeybunch,
14-15" tall, vinyl head with saran rooted hair, sleep eyes,
rooted lashes, one piece vinyl stuffed body, marked on
neck: VS 15-2, and on back marked: VS-14.
Not shown in original clothing.
|
1956
Honeybunch, 15" |
| 1956-1959 Miss Revlon
Dolls, 15", 18", 20" tall, vinyl
head and arms (some have jointed elbows), hard plastic
body, sleep eyes,
rooted hair in several colors & styles, pierced ears, high heeled feet. Marked:
Ideal 15N, VT-18, VT-20
according the the size of the doll.
|
1956
Miss Revlon
Doll, 18" |
| 1957
Miss Revlon, Pink Fairy, 18" tall, rooted pink
hair, same doll as the above mentioned, (vinyl head, sleep
eyes, flat feet) and has pink rooted hair with bangs, wears a pink satin & tulle tutu, has wings on
back attached to the tutu, and pink ballet
slippers, marked: VT-18. Don't think any of the
other Revlon sized dolls had pink hair.
She does surface in online
Auctions occasionally, but would be considered quite rare and
commands a rather high price compared to other Revlon sized
dolls with other hair colors & outfits. |
1957
Ballerina, 18" |
| 1957 Crown Princess,
10 3/4" tall, vinyl head, flanged body construction, sleep eyes,
rooted hair, no pierced ears, high heel feet, came wearing lace bra
and panties and a small plastic crown. Unmarked doll,
very similar to the later produced Little Miss Revlon doll but the
head mold is different (larger) and this doll is slightly taller.
|
1957
Crown Princess, 10 3/4" |
| 1957 Patty Prays #7741,
about 20" tall, vinyl head and hands, cloth loosely stuffed body,
rooted hair, side glancing blue painted eyes, painted facial features, wears
cotton pajamas with matching cap with white pom-pom and has a
white ribbon with dolls name on it in blue, recites a bedtime prayer
when wound. |
1957
Patty Prays, 20" |
| 1958-1960 Little Miss
Revlon, 10 1/2" tall, vinyl head, strung body, jointed, sleep
eyes, rooted hair in several styles, pierced ears and high heel feet. Marked
on head: VT 10
1/2. |
1958
Little Miss
Revlon, 10 1/2" |
| 1958-1963
Shirley Temple, 12, 15, 17, & 19" tall, the
12" doll is the most commonly found doll, marked on head:
Ideal Doll/ST12, the ST = Shirley Temple + the
dolls size.
1959-1963 Shirley Temple, 26"
tall, all vinyl, rooted hair, same as the smaller sizes, this
doll is believed to have been used as a store display for the
real Shirley's public appearances to promote the doll.
Is very rare.
1962 the 12" size
was no longer available. 1963 Shirley was only
available in the 15" size. |
1958-1963
Shirley Temple, 12" |
| 1958-1961
Shirley Temple, 19" tall, also came as a walker
marked: Ideal Toy Corp/ST-19-R and the non-walker was
marked: Ideal Doll/ST-19-1 on head). The 17 &
19" tall sized dolls are a little harder to find, and
have flirty eyes. Separate wardrobes were sold for all
sizes except the 26" doll. There was a 19" light
brown or black Shirley too, but this one may never have been
produced.
Also a 36" life size -
you'll find that on the 1960's Ideal page. |
1958-1961
Shirley Temple, 19" |
| 1959-1962 Cream Puff Baby,
19, 21, 23 or 24" tall, all vinyl, rooted hair, blue eyes, dimpled
cheeks. |
1959
Cream Puff Baby |
| 1959 Playtex Dryper
Baby, 21 or 32" tall, all vinyl, molded or rooted hair, drink
wet coos doll, came with layette, clothes, disposable diapers, soap,
bottle, head marked: IDEAL DOLL/OB23-3. |
1959
Playtex Dryper
Baby, 21" |
| 1959-1961 Patti
Playpal, 35" tall, she is
the same size as a three year old child, marked on head:
Ideal Doll Toy Corp./G-35 or B-19-1. In 1982 they
issued a black Patti Playpal version. Later issue's do not have sleep
eyes.
Their were several hair styles
and colors issued, as well as several family members at
various ages, all made life sized.
Many other companies jumped on these large
sized Playpal type dolls with their own versions, as they were
so popular.
|
1959
Patti
Playpal, 35" |
| 1959 Bonnie Playpal, 24"
tall, Patti's three month old baby sister, all vinyl, sleep blue eyes, rooted blonde hair,
head marked: Ideal Doll/O.E.B. -24-3 or OEB/24-23.
Doll is not shown in original clothing. |
1959
Bonnie Playpal, 24" |
| 1959 Johnny Playpal, 24"
tall, Patti's three month old baby brother, all vinyl, blue sleep eyes, molded hair, head
marked: Ideal Doll/BB-24-3. |
1959
Johnny Playpal, 24" |
| 1959 Penny Playpal, 32"
tall, Patti's two year old sister, marked on head: Ideal
Doll/32-E-L. |
1959
Penny Playpal, 32" |
| 1959-1960
Suzy Playpal, 28" tall, Patti's one year old sister, plastic head, vinyl body,
short straight or curly saran rooted hair, usually found
wearing a dotted swiss dress, marked on head:
Ideal Doll O.E.B.-28-5 or -24-3. In 1960 her name was spelled
Suzie Playpal. |
1959 Suzy Playpal, 28" |
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