Mystery French Doll Followup with Podcast Results

Photo of mystery doll is courtesy of Gimlet Media.

Back in June 2018, the post, Mystery French Doll Who Am I?, reached out to readers with a request to help the folks at Gimlet Media's The Nod identify a circa 1970s doll that was purchased in France.  Based on the former owner's description, the doll looked like the above sketch.

On the right is a doll made by the French company Gamma, a.k.a. Gamma Creations.  The doll on the left, which looks identical to the other, might be a Gamma clone.

According to the former owner of the mystery doll, of the dolls presented to her by The Nod as a result of their investigative endeavors, the two dolls shown above are most like the one she owned as a child.  Her doll, however, was not dressed as an Islander.

The Nod has published a 45-minute podcast that details their interesting doll sleuthing and the results.

A podcast app is required to listen to The Nod's episode about the mystery doll here or go to this URL:  https://www.gimletmedia.com/the-nod/the-nod-bureau-of-investigation#episode-player.

Podcast player options are located at the link and URL above.



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1950-'60s High-Heel Fashion Doll, a Miss Revlon Type

19-inch high-heel fashion doll arrived nude with hair in need of styling.

I buy 1950s-1960s high-heel fashion dolls for a friend, a now inactive doll collector, who admitted that the only dolls she buys now are for me. Because I know she likes the 14R and Miss Revlon-type high-heel fashion dolls from the 1950s through 1970s, I continue purchasing these for her for special-occasion gifts. She received this one as a birthday gift.

As illustrated in the above and additional photos that follow, this 19-inch doll arrived nude and needed her hair washed and styled before dressing and sending to her new home.

Additional Before Photos

Her tangled hair and nudity were her only issues.  She has intact eyelashes, clear eyes, and a sleep-eye mechanism that works well.

A look at her hair from the back illustrates the condition it was in upon arrival.

After Hair Washing

I wet the hair, massaged conditioner throughout, rinsed, and easily combed out the tangles.  I did not use any shampoo.

Still wet in this photo, the hair was allowed to air dry.

All Dressed Up and Ready to Go

This dress, handsewn by an eBay seller, was made to fit 20-inch Miss Revlon dolls. It was offered along with another dress in the same auction.  The black vintage high-heel shoes were sold by a different eBay seller.  She cleans up well, right?

Because she needed undies, I made a pair, the details of which are outlined in a previous post which can be read here.

The extra dress and a pair of red shoes shown above were sent with the doll as well as a faux pearl necklace, earrings, and bracelet to wear with either dress.

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This doll is almost identical to another that I purchased for my friend that was featured here.  The other doll is marked V20; this one is marked on the neck with only the number 20.  Based on the thinner plastic used for their bodies, 19-inch dolls marked "V20" or "20" are probably from the 1960s.

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Nia's New Hands

Nia Wilson (aka Fashionista #93), first seen here after receiving her articulated neo-Blythe body, has five pairs of new hands, shown above.

Nia holds up her original hands.

On the original hands, all fingers on her right hand are separated.  The long and ringer fingers are fused on her left hand, as she illustrates above.  The additional hands will provide more expressive hand gestures.  The pairs can also be mixed. In the first several photos, Nia models each pair as they were originally paired.

Nia's hands are slightly cupped in this photo and the next.

The slightly cupped hands

The thumb and index finger form a grip on the hands shown here and in the next photo.

Nia can easily hold items with the gripping hands.

Nia can make the thumbs-up gesture with these hands.

With the same hands shown in the photo above this one and with a turn of her wrists, Nia can gesture thumbs-down.

I don't quite know why she would need to, but Nia is doing a Spider-man gesture with this pair of hands.

Here is a close-up of the Spider-man gesture.

Except for the thumbs being tucked toward the palms, with this pair of hands, it looks as though Nia is ushering someone to their seat.

Usher hands (again).

Of the five pairs, I like the slightly cupped hands and the pair that grip.  In the final two photos, Nia has her original right hand and her left hand is slightly cupped.

Original and slightly cupped

The above set of four hands was available at the time I ordered the set of five.  The only hands of interest to me in this set are the peace-sign-gesturing hands.

Where to buy:
Aliexpress

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Panties for a 19-inch Miss Revlon-Type Doll

A 12-inch white balloon and an infant scratch mitten were used to make doll panties.

The following photos illustrate the use of two unconventional items to make panties for a circa 1960s Miss Revlon-type or 14R, high-heel fashion doll.

Doll panties can be expensive, particularly for vintage dolls.  I was in the market for a pair for a doll that arrived nude.  After finding a dress, shoes, and jewelry for the said doll, I searched several online sites for a pair of panties to cover her bare bottom.  These ranged in price from $6.99 to around $17 per pair!  A bra and panty set was priced around $13.  Shipping would be extra for all.

As frugal as I am about some things, I decided initially to try to make a pair using a headband, which I am sure would have worked, but while shopping at a dollar store for the headband, which I did purchase, I thought about using a balloon and purchased a package of white 12-inch balloons.  While looking for magnets, to use for another project, I passed infant items and spotted a package of two pairs of infant scratch mittens that looked exactly like a pair of tiny panties without leg holes.  I grabbed a package and hurried home to begin testing my ideas.

Trimming the Balloon and Scratch Mittens

The balloon panties were simple to make.  One inch, slightly curved inward, was cut from the bottom sides of the balloon leaving a 7/8-inch space for the crotch.  Then the stem of the balloon was cut away.

For the mitten panties, a 3-inch curve was cut from both sides leaving about 2-7/8 inches for the crotch.

The Balloon Panties

The balloon panties are modeled from the front, back, and sides in the above photos.  The fit is snug and works well for the desired coverage.  If using this method for doll panties, always buy white balloons because the dye in colored balloons might fade onto the doll's body.

Panties Made from Infant Scratch Mittens

Because the edges of the leg hole openings are raw and would be prone to unravel, I hand sewed lace to the edges.  See the next photo and caption.

Using approximately 5 inches of  7/16-inch-wide lace, the lace was sewn to the leg hole openings of the scratch mitten panties.  I also added a reinforcing stitch to the edges underneath the lace.  I used regular lace, but stretch lace would work better.

The combined front and back views of the scratch mitten panties illustrate the success of this repurposing task.  Because the doll wearing them was gift for a friend, I used this pair for it.

I hope this helps others who may be faced with the dilemma of finding reasonably priced undies for vintage or contemporary dolls.


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Love of Dolls Helps Girl 10 Save Baby

NBC12 - WWBT - Richmond, VA News On Your Side

Read the full story here.

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Roddy Black Fashion Doll, Who Am I?

Circa 1960s unknown 24-inch black vinyl and plastic doll by Roddy

Described by her current owner as a 24-inch doll marked Roddy on the neck, beyond this neither he nor I know more about this gorgeous, circa 1960s fashion doll.

We both agree that her lovely face is very reminiscent of Cissy by Madame Alexander.  However, she is a few inches taller than Cissy and her joints are isolated to the usual five areas; neck, arm, and leg sockets.  She has brown sleep eyes and short black rooted hair that is curly.

This lovely black fashion doll has high-heel feet and very shapely legs as illustrated in the above photograph.

The dress, slip, undies, and shoes appear to be original.

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Roddy was a British doll company, described as follows in the book, British Dolls of the 1960s by Susan Brewer:

"Roddy
This trademark was used by D.G. Todd and Company, founded after the Second World War, and based in Southport, Lancashire [England], though Daniel Todd had been managing director of a Southport toy company since the 1930s. Famed in the 1950s for its comprehensive range of Roddy dolls, it continued well into the 1960s before changing its name in 1969... The Roddy dolls were sold in 14/15-inch and 19-inch sizes, and were usually marked on the back of the neck. They came with a variety of rooted hair styles, and some featured jointed waists and painted nails. Roddy teens wore a selection of in-vogue styles, with plenty of full skirts, duster coats and posh evening gowns; the early 1960s’ dolls had names such as Kym and Cindy, and, as with most of the various manufacturers’ ranges, included a beautiful Bride doll dressed in white satin with a net veil."

 — *Susan Brewer*, _British Dolls of the 1960s_, https://play.google.com/store/books/details?pcampaignid=books_inapp_quotesharing&id=Fv4sDwAAQBAJ

I viewed a sample of the above-named book prior to purchasing the eBook, wherein pictures of a Roddy doll like the doll in question were not found, unfortunately.  I also reached out to the author with a photo to request identification help, but have not received a response.  So I am reaching out to readers in hopes that someone knows the doll's name, the exact year she was made, and whether or not her clothing and shoes are original.

Please add a comment if you know this gorgeous black beauty's name or can provide information that can lead to uncovering additional information about her.  Thank you in advance.

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EEGEE's Walking Annette, a Makeover

The doll in the black velour top is Walking Annette by EEGEE

Walking Annette is a 32-inch doll by E. Goldberger.  The company is also known as or referred to as  EEGEE or simply EG.  Several versions of Walking Annette were made circa 1970s, possibly as early as the 1960s.  Later versions also exist.  I own two of the 1970s versions.  The first one I acquired was in played-with, nicely redressed condition upon arrival.  She was for sale in a local doll shop that one of my brothers happened to stop in during the late 1990s/early 2000s to see if there were any black dolls that would interest me.  There were and my first Walking Annette was one of the two or three dolls I received in a trade with the shop owner.  The shop owner received from me a couple of Home Shopping Network porcelain dolls from the late 1990s/early 2000s that I no longer desired, so I thought it was a fair trade.

I thought this pose was so precious and had to capture it in a photograph.

Recently, I took the first and the above photograph of my first Walking Annette because she and the doll behind her (1961 Coloured Nurse Walking Doll by Reliable Toy of Canada -- yes, that is her manufacturer's given name) had fallen into what I thought was a precious pose.  (Actually, someone might have bumped into them as they entered or left the doll room because they are near the entrance.  The bump probably caused the pose, but I'd like to think they created it themselves.)

After taking the above two photographs, I noticed how dusty Walking Annette's black velour top had become and how "fried" her hair looked (which is the way it was upon her arrival over two decades ago).  Other than brushing her "shag" hairstyle, I had done nothing more to it throughout the years.

The dusty top and fried hair led to washing her top and shampooing, conditioning, and setting her hair.  I wiped off her black and white saddle oxfords as well with a warm, soapy towel.  Photos of most of this are captured and captioned below.

Before Photographs

Walking Annette's hair was rooted by EEGEE in layers to create the 1970s popular "shag" hairstyle.

"Don't worry, anything will be better than the way your hair looks now," said the nurse doll to Walking Annette.

In the above "before" photographs, Walking Annette's top has been removed for washing.  These photos illustrate how dry and lack-luster her hair looked.  In the final photo, the nurse doll appears to reassure Walking Annette that everything will be okay, that I would take great care washing and styling her hair.

Washing and Deep Conditioning

In these two photos, Walking Annette's hair has been washed and conditioner applied.  I used liquid black soap to wash her hair, which created a nice lather and washed all the dirt out.  The rinse water was brown!  Next, I applied a generous amount of Herbal Essences Hello Hydration conditioner and left the conditioner in for several hours before rinsing.

Setting the Hair

With the hair still damp, I applied olive Eco Style Gel to small sections before rolling each with a combination of magnetic and rod rollers.  Because I wanted her bangs to lie flat, I did not roll that section, but the ends of the bangs were trimmed.  The rollers were left in over 24 hours to allow the hair to air dry and for the curls to set.

The Reset Hair

After the rollers were taken out, I gently combed each curl to reshape Walking Annette's original "shag" hairstyle as illustrated.  It is now nicely reshaped.

Back In Where She Fits In

Walking Annette was returned to her original place in the doll room, in between Patti Playpal and the walking nurse, who said to her, "I told you it would be okay.  Your hair looks so pretty and your top and shoes are no longer dusty or dirty.  Aren't you happy?"

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NRFB Walking Annette

My second Walking Annette is shown above in a photo from page 75 of my first book, The Definitive Guide to Collecting Black Dolls, which was published in 2003 (so the value shown was based on the 2002/2003 doll market.)  My doll remains in the never-removed-from-box state.  This version has a huge Afro hairstyle and was dressed in granny-style clothing, which was popular in the mid-1960s to 1970s.  All this version of Walking Annette needs to complete her granny look is a pair of round gold-rimmed rose-tinted glasses, which were frequently worn with granny-style clothes in the mid-1960s to 1970s.


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Thank you for following this blog, for reading the posts, and for your comments. If you are not already a subscriber, go to the homepage. If the right sidebar is not visible, scroll to the bottom and click "desktop view," locate and click "subscribe to posts." Optionally, also subscribe to comments. There is also an email subscription box for those who would like to receive posts by email.

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View the Doll Events page for updates. Check out my eBay listings here.