Toni was sold by Ideal and was designed by reknowned doll sculpturer Bernard Lipfert (who also designed Dy-Dee Baby, Patsy, Shirley Temple, the Dionne babies and later, Pebbles and Bam-Bam.) She was introduced in 1949 and stayed in production until 1953.
Toni was designed as a promotion for Toni home permanents. Girls who had outgrown the baby doll stage now wanted to emulate their mothers, and Toni was born. Toni dolls fit the same category as Miss Revlon, Dy-Dee Baby, Betsy McCall and Miss Curity. They almost guaranteed a new generation of loyal consumers of the products that they represented.
Toni most commonly comes in a 14" size, but ranges in size up to 22.5 inches tall. Her home permanent kit consisted of perm solution (made of sugar water), curlers, end papers, and a comb. Little girls could give their Tonis their own home permanents, even though the solution didn't work as well as Mom's. Extra curlers and accessories could be purchased.
Toni is made of high quality hard plastic and wears a nylon wig. Later Tonis have rooted hair. They have sleep eyes, "real" upper eyelashes, and single stroke eyebrows.
My Toni doll is a 19" doll, marked P-92 on the back of her neck, along with Ideal Doll Made in USA. She has a rare pair of oilskin roller skates and a matching coat and hat, which appear to be original. Her white cotton dress is a replacement, and alas, her rayon socks are lost somewhere in time.
Toni is a sweet doll and was meant to be played with. Her hair still curls and hasn't frizzed like many nylon-wigged dolls of her era. Her joints are held by large rubber doll bands, which makes her easy to repair.
Toni was sold by Ideal and was designed by reknowned doll sculpturer Bernard Lipfert (who also designed Dy-Dee Baby, Patsy, Shirley Temple, the Dionne babies and later, Pebbles and Bam-Bam.) She was introduced in 1949 and stayed in production until 1953.
Toni was designed as a promotion for Toni home permanents. Girls who had outgrown the baby doll stage now wanted to emulate their mothers, and Toni was born. Toni dolls fit the same category as Miss Revlon, Dy-Dee Baby, Betsy McCall and Miss Curity. They almost guaranteed a new generation of loyal consumers of the products that they represented.
Toni most commonly comes in a 14" size, but ranges in size up to 22.5 inches tall. Her home permanent kit consisted of perm solution (made of sugar water), curlers, end papers, and a comb. Little girls could give their Tonis their own home permanents, even though the solution didn't work as well as Mom's. Extra curlers and accessories could be purchased.
Toni is made of high quality hard plastic and wears a nylon wig. Later Tonis have rooted hair. They have sleep eyes, "real" upper eyelashes, and single stroke eyebrows.
My Toni doll is a 19" doll, marked P-92 on the back of her neck, along with Ideal Doll Made in USA. She has a rare pair of oilskin roller skates and a matching coat and hat, which appear to be original. Her white cotton dress is a replacement, and alas, her rayon socks are lost somewhere in time.
Toni is a sweet doll and was meant to be played with. Her hair still curls and hasn't frizzed like many nylon-wigged dolls of her era. Her joints are held by large rubber doll bands, which makes her easy to repair.
In 1950's United States, there was a boom of dolls created that were a result of products geared towards grown women. These included Toni (who came with her own "permanent wave" kit,) Miss Revlon, and various other "makeup" or glamour dolls that came with their own hair styling or makeup kits.
Doll manufacturers are smart. They know that little girls like to emulate their mothers. There are few little girls that haven't watched their mother put on lipstick or do their hair. So, in 1956 Ideal licensed the Revlon name and created a fashion doll for little girls, with a name that they and their mothers (or aunts or grandmothers) would recognise.
Miss Revlon came in various sizes, from 15 to 20 inches tall. Some dolls have jointed elbows (like Madame Alexander's Cissy.) Most dolls have light brown hair, but some can be found with dark brown or very blonde hair. A modified version was introduced toward the end of Miss Revlon's popularity, and this doll was a pixie faced doll. She had pink hair, was called Pink Fairy, wore a fairy dress and only comes in the 18 inch size. Miss Revlon has a "high heel foot" and wears dresses and costumes that were representative of the high fashion of their day (including real fur wraps). Some dolls have pierced ears. Hair can either be short or long and worn in a pony tail. Dolls have sleep eyes. They are marked Ideal, followed by VT and the size of the doll, and are made of high quality vinyl and hard plastic.
I have a Miss Revlon and a Little Miss Revlon doll in my collection. Little Miss Revlon was introduced in 1958. She is a smaller version of Miss Revlon, and stands at about 10.5 inches tall. Little Miss Revlon is all vinyl and has a twisty waist. Both dolls have girlish faces on a teen body.
My Miss Revlon is a 20 inch doll. She wears an original Miss Revlon dress and replacement shoes. She is the shorter haired version and does not have pierced ears. My Little Miss Revlon also wears an original dress. Her vinyl has darkened slightly, but she fortunately is not plagued with a bad case of green ear, which is the case with so many pierced ear dolls of the 1950's.
Miss Revlon was sadly knocked off her pedestal by the introduction of Barbie in 1959. Barbie was more adult-like compared to the childlike Miss Revlon, and so a new era of dolls began. For some of us, however, the old era never really passed away.
In 1950's United States, there was a boom of dolls created that were a result of products geared towards grown women. These included Toni (who came with her own "permanent wave" kit,) Miss Revlon, and various other "makeup" or glamour dolls that came with their own hair styling or makeup kits.
Doll manufacturers are smart. They know that little girls like to emulate their mothers. There are few little girls that haven't watched their mother put on lipstick or do their hair. So, in 1956 Ideal licensed the Revlon name and created a fashion doll for little girls, with a name that they and their mothers (or aunts or grandmothers) would recognise.
Miss Revlon came in various sizes, from 15 to 20 inches tall. Some dolls have jointed elbows (like Madame Alexander's Cissy.) Most dolls have light brown hair, but some can be found with dark brown or very blonde hair. A modified version was introduced toward the end of Miss Revlon's popularity, and this doll was a pixie faced doll. She had pink hair, was called Pink Fairy, wore a fairy dress and only comes in the 18 inch size. Miss Revlon has a "high heel foot" and wears dresses and costumes that were representative of the high fashion of their day (including real fur wraps). Some dolls have pierced ears. Hair can either be short or long and worn in a pony tail. Dolls have sleep eyes. They are marked Ideal, followed by VT and the size of the doll, and are made of high quality vinyl and hard plastic.
I have a Miss Revlon and a Little Miss Revlon doll in my collection. Little Miss Revlon was introduced in 1958. She is a smaller version of Miss Revlon, and stands at about 10.5 inches tall. Little Miss Revlon is all vinyl and has a twisty waist. Both dolls have girlish faces on a teen body.
My Miss Revlon is a 20 inch doll. She wears an original Miss Revlon dress and replacement shoes. She is the shorter haired version and does not have pierced ears. My Little Miss Revlon also wears an original dress. Her vinyl has darkened slightly, but she fortunately is not plagued with a bad case of green ear, which is the case with so many pierced ear dolls of the 1950's.
Miss Revlon was sadly knocked off her pedestal by the introduction of Barbie in 1959. Barbie was more adult-like compared to the childlike Miss Revlon, and so a new era of dolls began. For some of us, however, the old era never really passed away.
Much has been written about this doll who is sculpted to look like her namesake who made her cinematic debut at the tender age of four. In her day, Shirley Temple's face was more recognizable than the president of the United States. From Japan, to the United States and around the world, this little girl gave us all something in common to enjoy.
Shirley Temple dolls were first made of composition material and were manufactured in the United States by the Ideal Novelty & Toy Company from 1934 - 1939. Ideal was the only company licensed to make the official Shirley Temple doll, although there were plenty of imitators. One particularly collectible Shirley was made in Japan and has painted features. They came in 6", 7" and 8" sizes. The Ideal dolls came in 11" to 27" sizes (with a 16" size made by the Reliable doll company of Canada.) The Ideal dolls are the ones that collectors are most familiar with: curly mohair wig, toothy smile, hazel sleep eyes (some eyes were flirty) and of course, Shirley's famous dimples.
Shirley came dressed in copies of outfits that she wore in her films, with the first dolls issued with the dress that Shirley wore in Baby Take a Bow. She came wearing her genuine Shirley Temple doll pin, rayon socks and oil cloth shoes.
In 1935 and 1936, a baby Shirley Temple was manufactured. They came with a composition head with shoulder plate, legs, and arms, and a cloth stuffed body. These dolls are much more rare, and are worth more to collectors, of course.
Shirley Temple dolls disappeared for a while in the 1940s as Shirley became a young woman, but some time in the early 1950s, there was a resurgence in interest in Shirley Temple dolls, as little girls who knew Shirley in the 1930s, became mothers of little girls, themselves. Shirley Temple could now be seen on television and once again, little girls wanted a Shirley Temple doll. This time however, the dolls were made of vinyl and could be purchased from a 12" size, all the way up to a 36" size. Ideal was licensed to make the dolls all the way up through the early 1980s. The most contemporary Shirley Temple dolls are made of porcelain by Danbury Mint.
Shirley Temple has been so popular through the ages, that one can also buy Shirley Temple paper dolls, books, sheet music, accessories, purses, clothing, figurines and art plates (to name a few). No other little girl has so thoroughly captured the hearts of millions over almost a century.
My Shirley Temple dolls are the Ideal dolls. One is a 27" composition doll with flirty eyes, which dates her to around 1937. I also own a 12" vinyl doll from 1957 dressed in her Stand Up and Cheer dress. Sadly, neither doll has her original pin and I don't believe the compo Shirley's Swiss dotted dress is original to her. Both dolls are markedIdeal and either Shirley Temple (compo) or ST (vinyl). I love both my Shirley Temple dolls, but in my opinion, the old composition dolls capture the look of Shirley's face the best.
Check out this old home movie from the 1930s of a little girl getting a Shirley Temple doll for Christmas. So sweet!
Much has been written about this doll who is sculpted to look like her namesake who made her cinematic debut at the tender age of four. In her day, Shirley Temple's face was more recognizable than the president of the United States. From Japan, to the United States and around the world, this little girl gave us all something in common to enjoy.
Shirley Temple dolls were first made of composition material and were manufactured in the United States by the Ideal Novelty & Toy Company from 1934 - 1939. Ideal was the only company licensed to make the official Shirley Temple doll, although there were plenty of imitators. One particularly collectible Shirley was made in Japan and has painted features. They came in 6", 7" and 8" sizes. The Ideal dolls came in 11" to 27" sizes (with a 16" size made by the Reliable doll company of Canada.) The Ideal dolls are the ones that collectors are most familiar with: curly mohair wig, toothy smile, hazel sleep eyes (some eyes were flirty) and of course, Shirley's famous dimples.
Shirley came dressed in copies of outfits that she wore in her films, with the first dolls issued with the dress that Shirley wore in Baby Take a Bow. She came wearing her genuine Shirley Temple doll pin, rayon socks and oil cloth shoes.
In 1935 and 1936, a baby Shirley Temple was manufactured. They came with a composition head with shoulder plate, legs, and arms, and a cloth stuffed body. These dolls are much more rare, and are worth more to collectors, of course.
Shirley Temple dolls disappeared for a while in the 1940s as Shirley became a young woman, but some time in the early 1950s, there was a resurgence in interest in Shirley Temple dolls, as little girls who knew Shirley in the 1930s, became mothers of little girls, themselves. Shirley Temple could now be seen on television and once again, little girls wanted a Shirley Temple doll. This time however, the dolls were made of vinyl and could be purchased from a 12" size, all the way up to a 36" size. Ideal was licensed to make the dolls all the way up through the early 1980s. The most contemporary Shirley Temple dolls are made of porcelain by Danbury Mint.
Shirley Temple has been so popular through the ages, that one can also buy Shirley Temple paper dolls, books, sheet music, accessories, purses, clothing, figurines and art plates (to name a few). No other little girl has so thoroughly captured the hearts of millions over almost a century.
My Shirley Temple dolls are the Ideal dolls. One is a 27" composition doll with flirty eyes, which dates her to around 1937. I also own a 12" vinyl doll from 1957 dressed in her Stand Up and Cheer dress. Sadly, neither doll has her original pin and I don't believe the compo Shirley's Swiss dotted dress is original to her. Both dolls are markedIdeal and either Shirley Temple (compo) or ST (vinyl). I love both my Shirley Temple dolls, but in my opinion, the old composition dolls capture the look of Shirley's face the best.
Check out this old home movie from the 1930s of a little girl getting a Shirley Temple doll for Christmas. So sweet!
