Ah, my old Jill doll. As a young girl, I did not have all that many dolls probably because the doll buyer (my Mom) was not a doll fancier. She loved stuffed animals. I had so many plush critters covering my bed that it was difficult to get into it at night.
I can remember three dolls....Betsy Wetsy, Ginny and this Jill doll. Girls from the 1950's will remember Betsy....feed it a bottle filled with water and it would wet the diaper and cry "real" tears! There was also another version by a different company--Tiny Tears.
Ginny was my favorite. I have none from my childhood, but have collected the old, hard plastic ones as an adult. Truth be told, I became somewhat obsessed with doll collecting as an adult. Perhaps that is another blog. I don't know if I was trying to make up for not having dolls as a child....or what....now I currently have hundreds of them in antique display cases around the house.
My Jill doll shows some wear. As a child, I was not too "easy" with my toys or dolls. They were played with, taken into the bathtub and I usually gave them a haircut or two ;-) Enough to make any collector cringe.
The necklace is original to the doll. I'm not certain if it was actually purchased with an outfit or if I custom made it from a broken piece of jewelry I already owned.
When I found Jill among boxes of my saved memorabilia, she was wearing a little dress that was handmade by my maternal grandmother, Martha Marie Frederick Stark aka Teek. Back in the day, Teek made most of my dresses and she would always make a smaller version for Ginny or Jill. Come to think of it, I need to get a photo of that little dress!
When I found Jill among boxes of my saved memorabilia, she was wearing a little dress that was handmade by my maternal grandmother, Martha Marie Frederick Stark aka Teek. Back in the day, Teek made most of my dresses and she would always make a smaller version for Ginny or Jill. Come to think of it, I need to get a photo of that little dress!
For this photograph Jill is appropriately attired in a late 1950's ensemble with strappy gold heels.
© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser
I think my doll avatar on FAG is a Betsey Wetsey?? But, no real hair! Love the dolls!
ReplyDeleteI collect dolls too! :) I had several Barbie's growing up and I did quite a lot of "haircutting" myself! I still have my Chatty Cathy doll, but I destroyed her talk box by giving her bath many years ago. My favorite "mothering" type doll was Baby Tender Love. She was very soft and you could bath her safely.
ReplyDeleteI love the Jill doll. I have never seen her before. I love those gold shoes! :)
I am not particularly a collector of anything, but my eldest daughter never throws anything away --- so you have reminded me that I have several "baby dolls" stuck in a drawer -- just waiting for me to sew a new baby wardrobe -- so said daughter can "collect"
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this piece on dolls -- brings back wonderful memories.
We had three daughters... lots and lots of dolls. My wife caught on a crafter-created doll collection kick a few years ago... we probably still have more than a dozen of them, correctly placed around the cabin. Bought a doll for our 2+year old grand-daughter on way to Austin, this morning... A Texas Longhorn cheerleader doll! Cute! Betsey Wetsey still holds fondest memories, most likely! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI had Tiny Tears. My dolls were also subjected to all sorts of indignities, and my grandmother also made clothes for my dolls. Those are some of my fondest memories.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh those are my dollies! What great rushes of memories I got when I opened your blog. I still have them too - just can't part with my babies. LOL - My brother would get a hold of my dolls and chew the fingers and toes off of them - for some reason he like to chew on that plastic they were made out of- I'd get so mad and cry - so most of my dolls have not fingers or toes - poor babies. Thanks for the memories!
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