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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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
Thank you for following my posts, for reading, and for your comments.

Follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black
View the Doll Events page for updates. Check out my eBay listings here.

Needs Help Finding a Childhood Doll

I offered to post this query from a young woman seeking to find her childhood doll.  In her initial email, she wrote:

I'm sorry for troubling you, and I hope this isn't too bothersome, but I've been trying to find the brand name of a doll I had when I was a little girl, back around 1997-1999-ish (though she may have been older than that, but she was in good condition when I had her). I don't know many doll collectors, but I was recommended to your blog.

To the best of my recollection she had a soft body and feet made of cloth, but wasn't especially floppy; her body was white (the color white, not the race) with different-colored shapes like triangles, squares, and circles all over. (It's been suggested to me that she was supposed to have actual clothes to go over that, but I don't remember her ever having any; I might have gotten her second hand.) She was black, of course, with a plastic head and I think plastic hands, curly hair that I'm pretty sure was in puffy pigtails, and a small roundish nose. I am pretty sure there was also a white variant (really they were just palette swaps of each other) with blond hair, but I never owned it; I think I just saw that one at a Goodwill somewhere, also when I was very young.

If that's not enough to go on I can try drawing a diagram, but my art skills leave much to be desired, haha.

Again, sorry if this is in any way a bother!

I shared the doll's description with other collectors and like me, no one could identify her childhood doll. The following drawing was shared in a subsequent email, which might help others recognize the doll by its distinct cloth body.

About the drawing she wrote: I've taken a shot at drawing it. I was super lazy with the eyes because I don't remember if it had irises or not. I also am not entirely sure if the feet were green or not. 

Readers, if you know the manufacturer of this doll or the doll's name, please post a comment.  Thanks in advance.  

dbg

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Who Am I? The Netherlands Doll Find

I received the following inquiry with images seeking help identifying the doll head shown.  I could not identify the head and asked permission to share the images here. 

Dear Debbie Garrett,

I saw your website about your black doll collection. I am from The Netherlands and I bought the head of black doll on a market without a body. It’s made of paper [mache]. I looked for more information about this doll, but I can’t find anything. Do you [know] more about this doll? Can you can give information about this doll?

...find photos in the attachment.

Best regards,

[MT]

Vlaardingen

The Netherlands

If you know the identification of this mystery doll or can offer leads in this regard, please post that information in a comment.  Thanks in advance!

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