Ginger's Giant Family

Today I finished another Ginger doll, probably by Cosmopolitan. I say "probably" because Ginger dolls were widely copied throughout their production. More than that, Cosmopolitan actually sold unmarked Ginger dolls to almost all their competitors to dress and sell under their own names. I wrote a little in my last Ginger post about Admiration's Carol Sue, but besides her there was also A&H's Julie, Active's Mindy Type 2 and their Judy, Midwestern's Mary Jean, as well as a Fortune Pam with the Ginger body, and even the "Muffie-pants" Ginger marketed by Nancy Ann Storybook Company. This was simply Ginger wearing Muffie's panties. Some of them were called Muffie and others were called Sally.

Most of these clone dolls use the really round-eyed Type 4 Ginger, but some use the early Ginger with smaller eyes. The doll shown here is a "Type 4" Ginger, named for the fourth variety of molds Cosmopolitan used for Ginger. Aspiring doll makers could even purchase a "Make UR Own" Ginger doll and assemble and dress the doll themselves. This no doubt explains the wide variety of quality levels at which you find Ginger dolls today.

I learned all of this because I finally got my hands on a copy of the Carol Stover Small Dolls of the 40s and 50s book. It was pricey, but I have been trying to acquire one for a while since it shows the wide variety of knock-off and premium dolls available. More girls were able to obtain a knock off doll more easily than a real Ginny or Alexander-kins doll, so more of them are still around now.

So anyway, this doll looks like Ginger but the quality of her plastic isn't as good as what I'm used to seeing with Ginger dolls. Her wig is really nice and thick and long, though, and most of the Ginger clone dolls don't seem to come in a long haired option, so she probably is a Ginger. Just be aware she could possibly be a clone. Julie seems most likely.

The jacket is from the Kellogg's Baby Ginger shown here.

Ginger came to me in the same 1955 Ginny trunk as the Wendy-kins I wrote about in my Wendy-kins World Tour post. That trunk was full of tagged and untagged clothing, but none for Ginger except the yellow striped jacket that came with Kellogg's Baby Ginger premium doll of 1957. You got the doll with an outfit and accessories for $1 with a cereal box top. The jacket needed repair to the snap, which was pulling through.

I've had this little rust colored dress in my clothing box for a while. It has the flat snaps often used on Muffie dresses but no attached slip. It is very nicely made, with a diagonal windowpane organdy bodice. The snap had pulled through and needed repair, just like the jacket, and the bodice had torn away from the neck binding in front. I sewed a little yellow flower on the tear to repair and hide it and to tie in the yellow color of the jacket to the dress. I added yellow rayon socks and white shoes from my stash and gave Ginger pinkish-colored tricot panties from the Ginny trunk lot. These needed a ton of repair but now look presentable.

Ginger's walker shaft is broken, so her head no longer turns when you move her legs. It is affixed, but is rather wobbly now. One hand and foot have faint chew marks, and her eyes stick open. I cleaned her up and styled her beautiful auburn hair in curled pigtails tied with black satin ribbons.

Ginger isn't a new-looking doll, but she makes an adorable display doll. She would be a good play doll as well, since her walker already broke, so she's not a really valuable doll. She's for sale in my store, along with many other dolls. The Ginny and Muffie trunk sets I've been working on are coming soon as well, so please make sure to check: http://stores.ebay.com/atelier-mandaline.