American Character Doll Co.

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American Character Doll Company - Dolls 1919 -1968

American Character Doll Co., also known as The American Doll and Toy Corporation, Aceedeecee, ACDC, (1919-1968) made composition dolls and later hard plastic and vinyl. In 1923 "Petite" was the trademark used on their early mama & character dolls. Best known for the 1928 composition dolls; Campbell kids, Puggy and Sally dolls. Later noted dolls were the Tiny Tears and Betsy McCall dolls.

Their dolls were well made and had good quality costumes. American Character went out of business in 1968, some molds were sold to Ideal (Tiny Tears & Tressy dolls) so that the grow hair feature could be used in Ideal's Crissy family of dolls in the 1970's.

Here are some of American Character's dolls we have found;

1923-1930's Mama Dolls or Petite Babies dolls, 16-18" or 24" tall, composition and cloth body molded hair or wigged, with sleep eyes, open or closed mouth, marked: Amer. Char Doll Co, Petite, American Character, AC or Wonder Baby.

1930 Petite Doll, 24"

1926 Bottletot, 14" tall, Composition shoulder head, composition arms (her right hand is posed to hold a bottle) and cloth body with jointed cloth legs, blue tin sleep eyes, painted upper and lower lashes, painted molded hair, and an open mouth Marked on back: "Petite Wonder Baby America's Dolls", tagged romper, marked: BOTTLETOT Reg US Pat A PETITE BABY.

There are also dolls named Happy Tot, Marvel Tot & Toddle Tot.

1920's Bottletot, 14"

1928 Campbell Kid, 12" tall, all composition, molded short painted hair, painted side glancing eyes, designed by Grace Drayton, sometimes called Dolly Dingle after the paper dolls also designed by Grace Drayton. E. I Horsman was also making the Campbell Kids dolls from 1910-1948. Marked: A/Petite/Doll.

Photo is courtesy of Jane.

1929 Campbell Kid, Girl 12"

1928 Puggy, 12" tall, all composition, has a frowning face, smaller eyes and shorter molded hair than the others in the line, this is the boy doll in the Campbell Kids line, marked: A/Petite/Doll or Pudgy.

Photo on right is courtesy of Chris.

1928 Puggy, 12"

1930's Smiling Sally, 15" tall, all composition, wigged, sleep eyes, original clothing & tag. Unsure how marked possibly Petite/Sally.

1920's Smiling Sally, 15"

1930 Sally, 12 - 19" tall, Patsy type, all composition, or cloth body with composition shoulder plate and composition limbs, molded hair with painted eyes or wigged with sleep eyes, some are unmarked others may be marked Petite or Sally/a/Petite/Doll.

1930 Sally, 16"

1930 Sally Joy, 18 - 24" tall, composition with cloth body, brown sleep eyes, slight open smiling mouth, wigged, came with an extensive wardrobe. Marked: 18" - Petite/Sally or 24" - Petite/Amer. Character Doll Co.

Photo courtesy of Flozdolz.

1930 Sally Joy, 18"

1935 Carol Ann Beery, 13 1/2 or 16" tall, (used the Sally mold), all composition, had a braid that wrapped around the back crown of the head, was based on the child actress of the same name, daughter of actor Wallace Beery. Marked: Petite/Sally.

1935 Carol Ann Berry, 13 1/2"

1936-1938 Sally Jane or Paratex Girl, 15, 17, 19 & 22" tall, (Shirley Temple look-a-like), all paratex rubber and composition jointed body, curly human hair wig, sleep hazel eyes, open smiling mouth with six upper teeth, dimples, wore an organdy dress. Doll is unmarked. Note: Not entirely certain that this is the Sally Jane doll, however the doll is made of the all paratex rubber and composition body

Photo courtesy of NativeLady.

1936 Sally Jane

1937-1949 Toodles, made of life like rubber composition paratex head and limbs, oil cloth stuffed body, mama crier & was a drink wet doll with a rubber tube inside the body, or all paratex. Has molded hair, sleep eyes, open mouth with no teeth showing, wore a sheer baby gown and had a glass bottle with nipple. Doll is unmarked.

Photo N/A

1937-1949 Toodles

1942 Little Love, 15" tall, composition head and hands and lower legs with cloth body, painted hair, blue sleep eyes, crier. Marked on head: Am Char. Doll

1942 Little Love, 15"

1950-1955 Tiny Tears, 11 1/2, 13 1/2, 16 or 20" tall, drink wet baby doll, rubber body with hard plastic head, molded painted hair or with a caracul wig. Marked: American Character Doll/Pat.

1956-1958 Tiny Tears (same sizes as above), now has saran rooted hair on a skull cap. The 13 1/2" size also came as a black Tiny Tears doll.

1959-1961 Tiny Tears (same sizes as above), has a hard plastic head with a soft vinyl body molded hair with a saran rooted skull cap.

1962-1968 17, 20 or 21" tall, all vinyl body with accessories. Marked: Am. Char., American Character, and sometimes with the patent #2675644.

Ideal purchased the rights to Tiny Tears in 1968, they had been licensing the tears feature for their Betsy Wetsy doll for a long time. They reintroduced the doll in 1982-1985 in both a vinyl & bisque version.

1950 Tiny Tears, 20" with caracul wig

Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Ricky Jr. baby doll ad, 1953 photo on left.

1952 I Love Lucy Baby, 14 & 16" tall, hard plastic head and rubber body, drink wet baby doll, unmarked. Wore a long pink bathrobe, bonnet & panties.

1953 Ricky, 21" tall, all vinyl doll with molded hair and sleep eyes. Wore a yellow sun outfit with name embroidery on waist.

1954 Ricky, 17 & 21" tall, all vinyl with rooted hair, wore shorts with suspenders in a hen print, white shirt with name embroidered and sandals.

1955 Ricky, 13 & 17" tall, all vinyl with bendable legs that have wires, molded hair, sleep eyes. Wore corduroy pants with name embroidery on front & a striped shirt.

1955-56 Ricky Arnaz Jr., 12 tall, all vinyl, straight legs, drink wet baby doll, wore white corduroy pants with name embroidery on front. All dolls except the first are marked on head: AMER. CHAR. DOLL.

1953 Ricky Arnaz Jr., 21"

1954 Ricky Arnaz Jr., 21"

Photo courtesy of Robin of Vintagelane.com

1954 I Love Lucy doll - based on the Tracy Collini character played by Lucille Ball-Arnez, cloth body doll 26" tall, with painted mask face, reddish orange yarn hair showing beneath her kerchief, big blue eyes, wearing her red and white striped blouse with apron that has the "I Love Lucy - Desi" printed on it, with two heart shaped pockets and red peddle pusher pant, missing her head scarf. Doll is unmarked.

This was the first Lucy-Desi doll made as a special promotional give away, at cinema's featuring the movie "The Long, Long Trailer" 1954 - lucky trivia fans who named the most movies Lucy had starred in, were given this doll. VHTF

1954 I Love Lucy Doll

Lucille Ball, 26"

1952-1955 Chuckles, 18-19, 22 or 26" tall, here you can see the molded head on left with the oilcloth stuffed body shown on right with rooted hair, vinyl head and partial vinyl limbs, open smiling mouth with upper teeth, sleep eyes, molded painted hair (as shown on left) or with a saran wig glued over the molded hair or had rooted hair (shown below). Marked: Amer Char. Doll.

Photo on right is courtesy of Vintageonlyplease.

1950's Chuckles, 18"

1952-1961 Chuckles, several sizes, oilcloth baby bodies, vinyl head and partial limbs, open smiling mouth with upper teeth, sleep eyes, molded painted hair or with a saran wig glued over the molded hair or had rooted hair (shown on right). Marked: Amer Char. Doll.

American Character used the Chuckles name on several dolls, the earliest was an all composition doll in the 1930's.

1953 Chuckles, 19"

1953 Toodles, baby doll, 14, 21, 23, 25 or 30" tall, multi-jointed including the elbows and knees, rooted or molded hair, sleep eyes, open mouth, the older toddler doll has teeth & open mouth. Toodles can kneel, sit, play and assume 1,000 different positions. Some rare early dolls are marked Toodles, others were marked: AM, Amer-9, American Char., or unmarked.

1956 Toodles, hard rubber baby doll, 18 1/2" tall.

1958 Toodles, toddler doll, 24" or 30" tall, vinyl and hard plastic, chubby multi jointed toddler body, rooted hair, sleep eyes, open mouth with nurser hole.

1958 Toodles, 21" tall

1953-1961 Sweet Sue, 14, 15, 18-21, 24 & 31" tall, hard plastic early dolls, later have vinyl heads & arms, pre-teen type, some were head turning walkers, most fully jointed, early hard plastic head dolls have a wig cap, later the vinyl heads are rooted, sleep eyes, closed mouth, the Sue Sophisticate had flex ankles and the other Sweet Sues had jointed upper arms.

Both Sweet Sue and Toni are often found in beautiful gowns of silk, satin or chiffon, were also featured as bride dolls, and there was a Groom version with a lambs wool wig dressed in a Tuxedo. Marked: American Character Doll, Am. Char. Doll, Amer Char., A.C. or all sizes can be unmarked.

1953 Sweet Sue, 18"

in Cotillion gown

1952 Sweet Sue as Alice In Wonderland, 18" tall, Sweet Sue in a blue dress with white pinafore.

1952 Sweet Sue as Alice In Wonderland, 18"

1954 Sweet Sue as Annie Oakley, 15-25" tall, Sweet Sue in a Annie Oakley outfit of green denim culottes, matching bolero, satin blouse & scarf, felt hat, holster & 2 guns, cowboy boots.

1954 Sweet Sue in Annie Oakley outfit, 18"

1955-1956 Life Size Sweet Sue, 24 & 31" tall, vinyl head with rooted hair, sleep eyes, closed mouth, hard plastic jointed body at the neck, shoulders, vinyl arms with upper arm joint & hips.

Photo courtesy of Wildrose55.

1955-1956 Life Size Sweet Sue, 24"

1957 Sweet Sue Sophisticate, 14" tall, walker type, rooted vinyl head, sleep eyes, closed mouth, jointed hard plastic body, with high heel feet, some have flexible ankles, too. The 14" size is usually unmarked.

Shown is Sweet Sue Sophisticate Bride #148, all original including her veil.

Both photo's courtesy of Little Marz.

1957 Sweet Sue Sophisticate, 14"

1957 Sweet Sue Sophisticate, 20" tall, walker type, rooted vinyl head, sleep eyes, closed mouth, jointed plastic body, with high heel feet, some have flexible ankles, too. The 20" size is usually marked: American © Character.

1957 Sweet Sue Sophisticate 20" in High Society outfit

1954 Jimmy John, 19" tall, vinyl head with deeply molded painted hair with bangs, vinyl limbs, cloth body, sleep eyes, makes a cooing noise when the tummy is pressed, doll is marked: Am Char.

1954 Jimmy John, 19"

1957 Baby Sue, 17 or 23" tall, (there were 4 different faces used for this doll, 1 was hard plastic & the others were made of vinyl), all vinyl one piece baby body, vinyl head with rooted hair, legs have a wire so they can be posed, blue sleep eyes with real lashes, open mouth, wore a white nylon dress with pink & blue embroidery, bonnet, slip, panties, socks and white oilcloth shoes. Marked on head: Amer Char.

1957 Baby Sue, 17"

1958 Toni, 10 1/2" and 20" tall, fashion doll, high heel feet.

Like her associate Sweet Sue, these dolls came in beautiful 1950's style outfits.

The Toni in black taffeta jumper with embroidered white nylon blouse is called Cha Cha #A97 or High Society in 1960.

1958 Toni 10 1/2"

1957-1959 Betsy McCall, 8, 14, 20, 22, 30, 36" tall, or her brother Sandy McCall, 39" tall, Playpal sized, all hard plastic and vinyl, socket head, rooted hair (39" tall Sandy McCall has molded hair), sleep eyes with lashes, closed mouth, marked: McCall Corp in a circle, McCall 1958 or unmarked.

See the Betsy McCall page for more details and other manufacturers.

1957 Betsy McCall, 8"

1958-1959 Eloise, 21" tall, all cloth doll, yarn hair, painted cloth face with smirking, one side upturned mouth, cartoon character who lived at the Plaza Hotel, NYC.

1958 Eloise, 21"

1958 Pretty Baby, size ?, vinyl jointed body, vinyl head with short rooted hair, sleep eyes, wore a pink or white dress with a white sweater & a bonnet.

Photo N/A

1958 Pretty Baby,

1960 Whimsies, character dolls, 22" tall, one piece vinyl body, rooted hair, very large eyes, marked: Whimsies/1960/American Doll & Toy. Bashful Bride, Dixie the Pixie, Fanny (Angel), Hedda Get Bedda (with three faces), Hilda the Hillbilly, Lena the Cleaner, Miss Take, Monk, Polly the Lady Raggie, Simon, Strong Man, Suzie the Snoozie, Tillie the Talker, Wheeler Dealer, Zack the Sack, Zero the Hero (football player).

1960 Suzie the Snoozie, 22"

1961 Butterball, 19 or 23" tall, soft vinyl Magi-form body, vinyl head and limbs, rooted blonde hair, blue sleep eyes, has a slight protruding lower lip, came in several different outfits, there was also a 14" girl doll named "Butterball" in 1965. Marked: American Doll & Toy Co. 1961.

1961 Butterball, 23"

1961 Chuckles, 23" tall, all vinyl, toddler body, rooted hair, closed smiling mouth, doll shown is mint with her hang tag. This doll while still bearing the Chuckles name does not resemble the earlier baby type dolls with their open mouths, so I guess this was meant to show a slightly older (toddler) Chuckles.

1961 Chuckles, 23",

now with a toddler body

1961 Toodle-Loo, 17-18" tall, magic foam vinyl body, fully jointed, with rooted hair.

1961 Toodle-Loo, 18"

1962-64 Little Miss Echo, 30" tall, hard plastic and vinyl, rooted hair, blue sleep eyes, talker doll with battery operated tape recorder. She is shown mint in her box with wrist tag and original clothes; white chiffon party dress with velvet bodice and lace trimmed short sleeves and neckline, white socks and black mary jane shoes. She also came wearing a pink and white dress. Marked on neck: 19, on the battery lid is: Pat. Pend. and if you open the lid inside is: 1 A 1 93 0405.

I found one reference book that seems to indicate this dolls name was Talking Marie, but believe that is an error as we have found no such named American Character doll.

1962 Little Miss Echo, 30"

1963-1965 Sally Says, 19" tall, there were two versions, plastic and vinyl toddler doll with battery operated talker, short rooted curly hair, blue eyes, watermelon mouth and splayed fingers, came wearing a polka dot apron over yellow or white cotton A-line dress. Doll shown is not in original clothing.

1964-1965 Sally Says, 17-18" tall, 2nd version has a closed straight mouth and more generic face, shoulder length rooted blonde hair, blue eyes, also a talker battery operated came wearing a red, yellow or white cotton A-line dress lace trimmed collar, white attached sleeves, and lace panel insert on front of dress, or a blue or yellow dress with bow and heart embroidered yoke. Both dolls are marked Amer. Char Doll/19©63 on head.

1963 Sally Says #1, 17"

1963 Baby Says, 17" tall, uses the Sally Says and Baby Babbles face mold, but also reminds me of the Butterball face too, spoke 11 different phrases, battery operated. Came in three different outfits; checked dress, organdy party dress or a polka dot dress. Doll shown is not in her original clothing.

1963 Baby Says, 17"

1963 Baby Babbles, 23" tall, very similar to the Baby says doll, but has a stuffed cloth foam body with vinyl head and limbs, has a foam covered voice box that says phrases. Marked on head; Amer. Doll & Toy Corp.

1963 Baby Babbles, 23"

1963 Pre-Teen, grow hair, 14" tall, all vinyl, rooted hair with a button on dolls tummy that would allow the dolls hair to grow or retract, was only made in 1963, then was discontinued for the high heeled fashion doll Tressy.

1963 Pre-Teen, 14"

1963-67 Tressy, 11 1/2" tall, high heeled fashion teen doll.

1964 Magic Make-up Tressy, Mary Make-up & Black Magic Make Up, Mary was Tressy's friend and does not have grow hair, all are 11 1/2" tall.

See the Tressy page for more details on all these dolls.

1963-67 Tressy, 11 1/2"

1963 Popi, about 11" tall, the pop apart fashion doll that came with three separate wigs, doll has molded red or orangish hair, white painted on swimsuit.

1966 they issued a mannequin doll in a frame called Snip 'n Tuck with fabric & accessories for children to design & make their own clothing.

1963 Popi, 11"

1966 Pouty Penny or Freckles as I have seen this doll referred to 13, 20, or 22" tall, baby type doll, two faced; face changed to a happy or sad face, non-head turning walker, marked: Amer. Char. Inc. 19©66.

1966 Pouty Penny

1966 Suzie Two Steps, 20" tall, battery operated walker, vinyl head and arms, hard plastic body, short rooted blonde hair, blue eyes, has a straight mouth with the upper lip pursing a bit over the lower lip which is not seen, wore a pink jumper with white collar and short sleeves, white socks and white rubber shoes. Head marked: Amer. Char/19©66

Photo N/A

1966 Suzie Two Steps

1966 Tiny Whimsies, 7 1/2" tall; Lites Out with nightgown, I'm Yours a Bride, Fly with me a witch, Swing it a dancer, Love me in red pantsuit and I'm hooked Groom, to go with the bride.

Also Tiny Whimsies, 6" tall, Pixie, Swinger, Granny, Lites out, Minnie Mod, Jump'n, Go-Go.

1966 Lites Out, 7 1/2"

1966 Cartwright family, 8" tall, Ben, Hoss, and Little Joe, and Adam was used as the model for the outlaw figure (as his character had now left the show) from the TV show Bonanza, solid vinyl, jointed body, molded clothes, marked: C/American Character.

1966 Ben & Hoss Cartwright