Doll Purchases in Review 8

eBay doll purchases from August 15, 2021, through December 22, 2021

There appears to have been a lull in my eBay doll and doll-related purchases after August 15, 2021, as indicated by the dates of the above purchases.

1950s Athena-marked, Fata, Milano-tagged Hard Plastic Flirty-Eyed Doll

The August 15, 2021, purchase of the above 1950s hard plastic doll made in Italy was refunded because it arrived without pupils. The seller issued a refund for that reason and allowed me to keep it. I fabricated eyes for the doll as documented in a blog post here.

19-inch vintage Heidi Ott doll

Because of its realistic facial sculpt, this doll by Heidi Ott had been on my doll wishlist for a while until this one was found. As I documented here, I was horrified and disgusted after the doll arrived.

I needed black leggings for an outfit creation for one of my dolls and found a pair on eBay in this auction that ended on October 28, 2021.

Girly Fashion Doll Kayla is the doll that needed black leggings as described here.

Play Wonder Layla is an 18-inch doll by Madame Alexander.

I was contacted through this blog by a woman who lived outside the U.S. and desired but could not bid on the above auction for Play Wonder Layla by Madame Alexander. The eBay seller only shipped to U.S. addresses. I could sense from our email communication that this woman truly desired the doll and needed my help in acquiring it. After we agreed upon the details of my bidding and winning on her behalf, I did, in fact, win this auction and shipped the doll to her after the U.S. seller shipped it to me. All was well that ended well after an extended wait for the eBay seller to ship the doll to me and for the buyer to confirm receipt of the doll. 

Links to Previous Posts in This Series About Past Doll Purchases

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

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Mystery French (?) Doll Followup #3

Illustration of an unknown doll purchased in Paris, France in approximately 1976—a doll that could have been made in Italy, Belgium, or another country in close proximity to France

Readers are referred to two previous blog posts written in an attempt to help a Nod Bureau of Investigation (NBI) reporter help a woman identify her childhood doll (based on the illustration above).

The first post about this doll was published on June 1, 2018, where I solicited help from blog readers to help with the doll's ID. That post can be read here. 

Then, in August 2018, I published a follow-up post that included a link to a podcast interview of the woman who was seeking the doll's ID. That post can be read here.

Last week, I saw an eBay auction for a male doll that looks quite similar to the illustration of the mystery doll. I emailed the NBI reporter to share the link to the auction hoping the reporter could share it with the woman. My email to the reporter remains unanswered. With the eBay seller's permission (oldmancotton), I am publishing two of the auction photos in hopes that the woman will find this blog post and can determine if the doll in the auction is like the one she owned as a child.

Oldmancotton, an eBay seller offered this doll on eBay.

Full-length view of eBay seller, oldmancotton's doll.

Oldmancotton, the seller, identifies the doll as "Vintage 1950s Brev doll Italy." The doll might have been made later than 1950 and there might have been a female counterpart.  The illustrated doll and the actual doll look too similar not to be the same. Additionally, Brev usually is the abbreviation for brevetatto, which means patent in Italian.  

I hope the woman sees this post or the eBay auction before it ends.

dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Mystery French Doll Who Am I?

Who is this unknown doll, purchased in Paris, France in approximately 1976?

Help is needed in identifying a doll that was purchased in Paris, France in approximately 1976.  The above image is an artist's rendition based on a description provided by the former owner.  Additional information, which hopefully might help lead to the doll's identification, is shared below:

Height: Estimated 5 to 6 inches/13 to 15 cm. Taller than Strawberry Shortcake but shorter than Barbie.
Physique: Proportions are childlike. More like a toddler than a baby or adult doll. Chubby, kind of cherubic.
Where bought: Paris, France at a doll store. Bought brand new. Unsure where manufactured. Bought in the late 1970s, likely around 1976.
Material: Unsure of what material the doll was made of, but the former owner thinks it was plastic but a softer kind of plastic [vinyl or rubber, maybe]. It had a firm (not soft or cloth) body. Its legs and arms moved, but not at the joints (knees or elbows). It was hardy (former owner played with it pretty nonstop for two to three years).
Hair: Short, black curly hair with big roller curls… (2-3 inches in diameter but sitting close to the head).
Mouth: Very neutral/closed mouth with red lips.
Eyes: Hazel eyes with some orange-ish [amber]. Says material for eyes was kind of translucent - light would get into the pupils. Stiff eyelashes that were not separated. Had "sleepy eyes" that closed when she laid down.  She thinks the eyes could be plastic.
Skin color: As pictured in the drawing.  Described as "somewhere between Angela Bassett and...probably Angela Bassett slashTaraji P. Henson."
Clothes: The outfit she came in (pictured) was likely a blue schoolgirl dress with a Peter Pan collar. Thinks it was blue but could've been pink. Puffy sleeves. White panties underneath.
Additional important details: Former owner called the doll Zoe (or "Zoey"), but she doesn't know if that was the name of the doll or whether she gave it that name. She thinks it also came with a trunk, with tiny hangers and one change of clothes. The trunk had a bar inside so you could hang up the clothes.

Note that while the doll was purchased in Paris, France, it was not necessarily made there. The former owner says some of the dolls from Unica Company look similar to Zoe.   This Pinterest board is devoted to Unica dolls, a Belgium doll company.

Below are additional photos of dolls that look similar.

Doll on left looks similar to the mystery doll.

In the photo of these two dolls, the doll on the left looks similar but former owner's doll was better dressed and had a more neutral facial expression.

Doll in blue looks similar to Zoe

The former owner thinks the above doll in the blue dress is super similar but she says Zoe had a more neutral face, not as cheerful.  [The doll in blue looks like a doll made in Italy.  So, Italy, France, Belgium or another country in close proximity to France could be the country of origin of the doll's manufacturer.]

This link to the 1974 doll offerings in a French catalog shows a blonde doll in a group of dolls labeled 1.  That doll is 17 cm, slightly taller than the mystery doll.  The same sculpt and body appear to have been used in 1976 for a dark-skinned doll dressed in islander attire.  Could this be the doll that might have also been dressed in a blue schoolgirl-type dress?

If you know the identity of this doll (name, manufacturer) or have suggestions that would help in identifying it, please post a comment below.  If you have questions about the doll, please contact Kate by email at katepm@gimletmedia.com.

Thank you!

dbg
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