Doll Detective, Week of 12/30/2016

A couple weeks ago I promised to write a post showing my doll picks for the week each week if possible. After hosting the family Christmas and my son's surgery I barely got it in, but here it is! My son, in case you were wondering, is recovering comfortably. His surgery went well. His main problem is boredom, as he is not supposed to be walking around and has been spending his days on "bed rest" camped out on the couch. Luckily his girl friend (we are not allowed to refer to her as his "girlfriend"!) came over for a few hours yesterday to visit with him. This week's Doll Detective list is mostly all about Effanbee.

Effanbee has made a "Sweetie Pie" doll almost as long as they've been producing the "Baby Button Nose" dolls. Sweetie Pie dolls are fairly common, but the early composition ones are increasingly difficult to find, and they are just so adorable! You certainly want one in your collection. Any Sweetie Pie is hard to find in mint condition because these have always been play dolls, and their cuddly, almost life-sized bodies are irresistible to most little mommies. I found a really lovely old compo Sweetie Pie for you and I also have a more recent version for sale in my store. I restored mine specifically to resemble the original by rolling and pinning her hair into curls that resemble the old mohair and karakul wigs. If you prefer a more modern hairstyle you just have to unpin the curls and fluff with your fingers.

Amazingly rare is the Effanbee Daisy Baby doll. I have one of these in pieces up in my office and hope I can get to her this year. But here is a near mint Daisy Baby for you. This is the SECOND of these I've seen in my 16 years on eBay so if you're an Effanbee collector I urge you to check this one out.

Twinkie is an Effanbee baby doll made in the 1950s and 1960s. She isn't terribly rare but she's a wonderful classic drink and wet doll. Twinkie comes with rooted "real" hair and with molded hair and both versions are always popular. The one I found for you is pretty unusual because she is mint in her trunk and comes with a whole layette set! Another mid-century baby doll by Effanbee with a beautiful face and cuddly body is My Fair Baby, and this is one you don't see very often.

Another terrific find this week is a Lenci doll in amazing shape WITH her box! These early Lencis are almost never mint in their boxes because they are almost a century old! I have a near-mint Lenci from around 1939 in my shop, but mine isn't nearly as affordable as the one I found for you. If I had the money I would totally be buying this doll! Really my Doll Detective posts are just an excuse to "shop" without spending too much money!

If you like Lenci dolls you owe it to yourself to become familiar with Maggie Iacono dolls, like this Gretta. Maggie Iacono is one of my superheroes! This doll is beautiful and the jointing Maggie uses is ingenious!

Madame Alexander made the Polly dolls (the black version is named "Leslie" if I'm not mistaken)  with the Polly face mold for a really short time before the body style was used on the new Elise face molds instead. At first the Polly dolls used the Nancy Drew face on the Lissy straight leg bodies. They had a Velcro strip glued to their heads so you could change their wigs. Then Polly had a unique face mold, like the one I found for you, and then they were retired. So, when you get the chance to add a Polly to your collection I advise you to jump on it! Before Polly and the newer Elise dolls is the classic Elise, Cissy's "little sister". She's a favorite of mine.I love her beautiful, sweet face and flexing ankles. She's a BJD from the 1950s! A really rare version is the Elise made with the Kelly face. Other Madame dolls I found for you this week are an amazing compo Scarlett with a huge handmade wardrobe and a Sleeping Beauty face doll dressed in the Cissy Queen outfit. As far as I was aware the Sleeping Beauty face was used exclusively for Disney, so to find her dressed in the queen outfit was a surprise. The seller says this is a rare MA release. Both the doll and the outfit are quite rare, in any case.

So, here are my doll picks for the week. I HOPE to be back to you with more next week, but of course it could be a little more or less time until I get the chance to post. I hope you have an amazing New Year's Eve and a wonderful new year. Let's hope 2017 is the year all our wishes come true!