Friday, January 2, 2015

African Dancer Janay

African Dancer Janay, Integrity Toys 1995

The year of copyright for this multiarticulated original Janay by Integrity Toys is 1995.  African Dancer Janay, offered wearing outfits in a variety of colors and in at least two styles, is one of the few and possibly only articulated vintage Janay dolls.  After learning this, I added "African Dancer Janay" to my saved eBay searches.  I have attempted to win this doll more than once on eBay without success or the bid near the end of the auction was more than I wanted to pay; therefore, I did not attempt to win.

In a recent manual eBay search (after removing most of my saved searches) I found two listings for African Dancer Janay offered by the same seller.  The costumes were different styles, an orange leotard and multicolored skirt and green multicolored pants and top.   I attempted to win the one in orange but was outbid.  I searched eBay to see if there were other listings and found and purchased the one in pink leotard and multicolored skirt in a buy it now with free shipping.

Shortly after the auction ended for the doll in orange, the seller contacted me with a second chance to purchase a duplicate of the sold doll.  I declined the offer since the only difference in the one I won and the offered doll was the color of the fashion.  The seller shared his plan to relist the doll after January 1st, in case anyone is interested.

African Dancer Janay has black rooted hair pulled up into a high ponytail with braided ends.  The braids are adorned with gold tone shells.  A necklace, bracelet, and anklet of plastic strung beads adorns her neck and left wrist and ankle.  She wears goldtone earrings.  She is jointed at the elbows, knees, and ankles.  Her eyes are painted brown.  White packaged sneakers are attached to the box liner as well as her cardboard punch-out drum.

I opened the box to retrieve a shell that had fallen from one of her braids and was surprised to find a 14-page Integrity Toys booklet.  The cover and first two pages feature African American fashion dolls, Janay and Jordan.  A selection of playline dolls appears on the next few pages followed by their Latina fashion doll, Alyssa.  Additional playline dolls are next. Their Asian fashion doll, Jade, is on the final page.  Scans of the entire booklet follow:









African Dancer Janay wearng an outfit identical to my doll's can be seen and described here. 
dbg

Posted by at
Labels: ,

23 comments:

  1. jSarieJanuary 2, 2015 at 8:05 AM

    Gorgeous doll, but honestly I think I'm just as impressed by the booklet - that's a great bonus to find in any box. I love seeing old promotional material like that, so this is fabulous!

    Thanks for scanning all of those pages!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Black Doll EnthusiastJanuary 2, 2015 at 3:13 PM

      The booklet was a pleasant surprise for me, jSarie. I knew others would appreciate it, which is why I took the time to scan each and every page.

      dbg

      Delete
  2. Smaller PlacesJanuary 2, 2015 at 8:18 AM

    A brochure! That's really the icing on an already very fine cake... I will be back to admire it on a larger screen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Black Doll EnthusiastJanuary 2, 2015 at 3:13 PM

      Agreed! That booklet/brochure is definitely the icing and cherry on top.

      Enjoy it when you can.

      dbg

      Delete
  3. Ms. LeoJanuary 2, 2015 at 9:25 AM

    I purchased this doll when she first came out. She was my first IT doll. To me, this was the first line of dolls that had great face painting other than Barbie. I like the booklet too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Black Doll EnthusiastJanuary 2, 2015 at 3:15 PM

      Hello Ms. Leo,

      IT has been in the business of producing dolls for over 20 years. They have definitely involved from playline only to high-end fashion dolls. African Dancer Janay is part of their history. The booklet that accompanies the doll is too.

      dbg

      Delete
  4. Petite Plangonophile au chocolatJanuary 2, 2015 at 2:50 PM

    Hi! I just want to say that I have been visiting your blog for a certain time and I decided to jump in today and leave a comment. hat you have been doing for years is really inspiring. Thanks a lot.
    This dancing doll is really pretty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Black Doll EnthusiastJanuary 2, 2015 at 3:16 PM

      Thank you for your visits and for leaving a comment today, Thammie the Doll Maker. I hope you will continue to visit and enjoy the posts.

      dbg

      Delete
    2. Black Doll EnthusiastJanuary 2, 2015 at 3:19 PM

      I have a Paola Reina doll like the one you are using as your thumbnail image. I think she has great facial features. My doll wears a fancy dress. I should redress her in something more comfortable.

      dbg

      Delete
  5. MuffJanuary 2, 2015 at 4:23 PM

    Loved seeing the brochures! I saw this doll at the thrift store but I don't recall if she was articulated or not. I know I looked at her for a long while and saw Integrity on her back but now I cant remember if I got her or not. She did have some melted rubber bands in her hair so maybe I didn't.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Black Doll EnthusiastJanuary 2, 2015 at 8:56 PM

      Hi Muff,

      I only had to replace one of my doll's rubber bands. One shell has fallen to the bottom of the box, so I replaced it with a clear band.

      I enjoyed viewing the brochure. It took me back to the 1990s when I was delighted to see their multicultural toddler dolls on the shelves of Toys R Us.

      dbg

      Delete
  6. Georgia GirlJanuary 2, 2015 at 5:51 PM

    I had never seen this Janay before. I also enjoyed the booklet. Thanks for sharing. Now, I want to go back and revisit each of the doll faces. I believe I have one of the baby doll size ones in the light pink dress. I hope that I didn't give her away. Very nice post Debbie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Black Doll EnthusiastJanuary 2, 2015 at 8:57 PM

      I'm glad you enjoyed this post, GG.

      I hope you didn't give your baby doll away. I almost regret not adding any of their babies to my collection.

      dbg

      Delete
  7. D7anaJanuary 2, 2015 at 9:46 PM

    Happy New Year! You're off to a great start!

    Congrats on getting her. She's cute AND poseable. Booklet is a fantastic find, too. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Black Doll EnthusiastJanuary 2, 2015 at 9:48 PM

      Thanks, D7ana!

      But my doll purchases are supposed to be slowing down.

      dbg

      Delete
  8. AnonymousJanuary 3, 2015 at 10:31 AM

    She's lovely, and the booklet is awesome, great pictures and such booklets become real treasures after a few years!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Black Doll EnthusiastJanuary 3, 2015 at 12:57 PM

      Thank you, Night Owl! The booklets are extra special. I loved flipping through the pages of the Barbie and Skipper booklets/brochures that came with my childhood dolls. They gave me things to wish (ask) for. :-)

      dbg

      Delete
  9. VanessaJanuary 3, 2015 at 1:33 PM

    I hadn't seen this Janay before. She's nice. Oh and little Nia is just too adorable. Thanks for scanning the booklet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Black Doll EnthusiastJanuary 3, 2015 at 2:30 PM

      I went to eBay this morning looking for Nia, Vanessa, but I spelled her name incorrectly. Now that you've reincited my desire to own her, I am off to eBay to look again.

      dbg

      Delete
  10. RoxanneRoxanneJanuary 4, 2015 at 7:51 PM

    I had never seen this Janay before! I'm so tempted to add her to "the list", but I too am trying to cut back on my doll buying. I will resist for now, but she is on the "unofficial list" (if I see her for a good price, I will most likely buy her).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Black Doll EnthusiastJanuary 6, 2015 at 5:51 PM

      Hi Roxanne,

      There is one on eBay now in a rare, yellow fashion. The price is a bit higher than I paid for mine but not much.

      dbg

      Delete
  11. DeMariJanuary 11, 2015 at 12:02 AM

    DBG, Thanks for sharing the booklet. Those toddler dolls are adorable!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Black Doll EnthusiastJanuary 11, 2015 at 10:45 AM

      You're welcome, DeMari! I agree about the toddlers - I have since added one to the doll family.

      dbg

      Delete

Your comments are appreciated. To eliminate spam, all comments are being moderated and will be published upon approval. Thank you!

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)