I Enjoyed Reading: Baby Dolls Don't Eat, Cry, or Grow up and Sass!

Formerly owned by Ms. Etta Houston, this is Effanbee's 1970s Educational Doll that uses the Dydee sculpt.

In a March 2012, blog post, I shared links to the catalog of dolls from the collection of Ms. Etta Houston that were to be auctioned by Kim's Korner.  The date of the auction was March 17, 2012, which took place in Richmond, Texas, but absentee bids were allowed.  Except for the author of Male Doll World, I am not sure how many people placed and won absentee bids.

I never met Ms. Houston, but I own dolls from her collection.

Ms. Houston's daughter, Barbara, recently shared her mother's collector's profile with Sherry Howard of MyAuctionFinds.com.  It is a long, but interesting read that I thoroughly enjoyed and could relate to as a doll lover on several points. 

Here's the link to Baby Dolls Don't Eat, Cry, or Grow up and Sass!

If interested, read more about Effanbee's Educational Doll (the one featured above) here.

Here is the link to my post announcing the Kim's Korner auction of Ms. Houston's dolls. The post contains a link to the photo gallery of Ms. Houston's dolls that were up for auction.

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Throwback Thursday: Topsy Removed From eBay Search

For the next few weeks or for as long as I see fit, I will blog about a vintage or older doll in a Throwback Thursday post. This is the first.

Nancy Ann Storybook Topsy, hard plastic version, circa 1948-1950

In February 2012, I received the above hard plastic Nancy Ann Storybook  (NASB) Topsy, a circa 1948-1950 replica of the company's original 1930s bisque version of the same doll.  As described in my original post about this doll, she represents the character, Topsy, from Harriet Beecher Stowe's book, Uncle Tom's Cabin: Or, Life Among the Lowly, which was written/published when American slavery was still in full force. 

Except for medium used, the hard plastic Topsy is almost identical to the bisque version.  Unlike the bisque version, the hard plastic doll's neck is jointed and the legs are jointed at the hips.  The bisque version has frozen legs and an unjointed neck.

After receiving the hard plastic doll as a gift, I set out to find the original bisque version.  An eBay search  revealed other NASB Topsy dolls but not the one I wanted.  So I saved the search in order to be notified of new listings.

Circa 1930s and 1948-50 Nancy Ann Storybook Topsy dolls are almost identical.

With patience and persistence, I finally found the bisque doll at a price I was willing to pay.  Prior to finding her, there had been other eBay listings that either began or ended too high for me.  This little girl showed up in a low, buy it now auction with free shipping.  After reading the description and determining that the doll was in fact bisque, I completed the buy it now and the payment.

NASB Topsy dolls made of bisque (far left) and hard plastic (middle and far right)

The twins are joined by my original hard plastic Topsy made during the late 1940s-1950s after the head sculpt was changed and sleep eyes were added.  My dear friend knew that I wanted a bisque Topsy that uses the original sculpt, which is what she thought she was purchasing when I received the twin to my newly acquired bisque doll.

Now that I have the one I've long desired, "bisque Nancy Ann Storybook Topsy" and "black Nancy Ann Storybook doll" have been removed from my saved eBay searches. 


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Stop, Drop, and Debox with Update!

Texas A&M deboxed and using box as backdrop

After reading Fiery Dragon Lady's comment to my Texas A&M Finally! post regarding her Ken's uneven arm seams, I immediately deboxed my doll to conduct a thorough examination.


I had heard of another collector who received a doll with a similar arm issue.  I had hoped my doll did not exhibit any flaws...

...but he does, on both arms.  The outer seam of his left arm is the worst, but there is visible separation on the inner seams of both arms as illustrated in the photos taken without the aid of flash.

Above, Top-Bottom:  The inside seams of the upper portion of Ken's right inner and outer arm have seam separations as illustrated above.

The seam of his left upper arm is also separated.

This is such poor craftsmanship!

Fiery Dragon Lady's comment mentioned her doll's flocked hair is flaking off.  My doll's hair is not flaking, but there is a flocking rub or flattening caused by pressure when his head was against the box lining.  See below:

Smooth area of Ken's hair

This makes him look like he is in the early stages of tinea capitis (ringworm).  Poor guy.

These flaws are not bad enough for me to return him to Wal-Mart for a refund, particularly now since he is sold out at their dot com site, but I am not happy they exist.  Had I been scalped by an eBay seller, like Fiery Dragon Lady indicated she was, I would upset. 

If you have not already deboxed your Texas A&M Ken, you might want to do so and conduct your own thorough examination.  I hope your doll is flawless.

~~~~~~~~~

Update on 10/02/2013 @1:15 p.m. CST

I called Mattel to complain about this doll's seam separations illustrated above. (I didn't mention the hair rub because I have managed to lift most of the hair up by rubbing it from the bottom to the top of the affected area.) 

After verifying my ID and that I had never called to file a complaint on a Mattel product, I provided the product ID number and answered a couple of questions re: the doll.  The customer service agent wanted to know where the doll was purchased and how long I have had it.  He checked for available stock to replace the doll.  Since no dolls were available, he offered and I accepted a voucher for the amount I paid through Walmart.com including applicable taxes.  The voucher, which will arrive within 7 days, is good at any major retail store that sell Mattel products:  Walmart, Target, Toys R Us, etc.  It cannot be used online.  I do not have to return the doll to Mattel, but was instructed to keep it until the voucher arrives in the event I plan to discard it.

With that taken care of, I asked him to please ensure that the company is informed of these major flaws because they are not isolated to my doll.  I let him know that several other collectors' dolls have similar seam separations, "nips" in the vinyl and other vinyl flaws, uneven seams, protruding ankle pegs, and shedding hair.  These flaws, I informed, have been noted on both versions of the doll (AA and white).  He made a note of these issues, whether it will help or not, remains to be seen. 



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