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McCall magazine featured a Betsy
McCall one dimensional paper cut out doll with fashions and a story line
that began in 1951. It ran in their magazine from
1951 for 44 years until it's demise. The Ideal
Toy company produced the first three dimensional Betsy McCall doll in 1952-1953, she was 14"
tall, uses the Toni marked body, has a brunette saran wig or rooted
saran wig glued to her head hair, brown sleep eyes with real upper eye
lashes and
painted lower lashes, cute pug type nose and smiling closed mouth.
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1952-1953 Ideal Betsy McCall doll, 14"
tall
This is Ideal's Toni marked doll body, unsure if this was her original
outfit or one of her seven separate fashions available.
Marked Head; McCall Corp
Marked Back; Ideal Doll P90.
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1952-1953 Ideal Betsy McCall doll,
14" face close-up
Marked Head; McCall Corp
Marked Back; Ideal Doll P90.
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As with all
dolls over time, pressured by competition to keep
their product fresh and desirable, the doll under goes
various changes, thus in 1957 Betsy McCall was
produced as an 8" tall doll and made by the American Character
Doll company, doll is much more posable than the earlier Ideal doll
due to having bendable knees. Later still, would bring many other
size Betsy's onto the market, also from American Character Doll Company;
14", 20" with flirty eyes, 22" and the 29" playpal sized doll, and
Betsy's cousin's too; Sandy and Linda McCall. See below for more doll makers of Betsy
McCall dolls. |
1957 + American Character, Betsy
McCall doll, 8" tall
Betsy in her original camisole, socks and shoes,
hard plastic jointed body including jointed knees, vinyl head with
rooted light brown hair, brown sleep eyes, closed mouth.
Marked: McCall Corp on her back. This is
by far the most common sized doll (8" tall) and seems also the most prized by
collectors.
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1957 + American Character, Betsy
McCall doll face, 8" tall
Close up of her lovely face
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1958-1959
American Character, Betsy McCall doll, 14" tall
All plastic jointed body, vinyl head with rooted hair, sleep eyes with
real upper eye lashes, closed mouth.
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1959 American Character, Betsy McCall doll, 20" tall with flirty eyes,
all plastic jointed body, vinyl head with rooted hair, sleep eyes with
real upper eye lashes, closed mouth, marked;
McCall Corp. © 1958.
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1959-1960s American Character,
Sandy McCall doll 36" tall
1959-1960's
Sandy McCall, 36 or 38" tall with molded hair, Playpal
sized, he is Betsy McCall's cousin, made also by American Character, marked McCall
Corp. 19©59 on back of
his head, there is also a cousin Linda McCall
doll
who is Sandy's twin sister.
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1961 American
Character,
Betsy McCall doll, 29" tall
1961 Betsy McCall, 22, 29-30,
and 36" tall Playpal sized, all hard plastic with vinyl head, is fully jointed at the neck, shoulders, waist, hips,
thighs and wrists, has sleep eyes and rooted hair, maybe marked on
head: McCall 19©61 CORP.
Photo courtesy of Psychadurmont |
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1964 Uneeda Betsy McCall Doll 11 1/2" tall.
1964 Uneeda Betsy McCall, 11 1/2"
tall (teenage doll),
all vinyl jointed body, jointed at the neck, shoulders and hips, vinyl
head with page boy rooted light brown hair with bangs, sleep eyes with plastic upper
lashes, painted lower eye lashes, closed mouth. |
1971-1974 Horsman,
Beauty Parlor mannequin head
and neck only; (note; head was not sold with the Betsy
McCall name at this time), a vinyl head
with long rooted hair no bangs, painted facial features with feathered
brows, painted eyes with real upper eyelashes, painted lower lashes,
open smiling mouth with teeth,
This head mold is used for the later
sold 1975 Betsy McCall doll, described below. |
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1974 Horsman, Betsy McCall
Beauty Box doll, 13" tall.
1974 Horsman, Betsy McCall
Beauty Box doll, 13" tall, came with extra hair pieces and non-toxic
make-up. |
1975 Horsman Betsy McCall doll, 29-30" tall.
1975 Horsman Betsy McCall doll, 29-30" tall, Playpal type, uses the head mold from the above
1971 Horsman Beauty Parlor mannequin, thus the same facial
features with a plastic jointed teenage body, came wearing a white
ruffled eyelet blouse with black attached skirt, black and red beret
hat, red open toe sandals. Marked on head either;
B. M. C. Horsman 1971 or Horsman Dolls Inc. 19©74. |
Additional Betsy McCall dolls not shown;
Over the years it seems every doll company had a shot at
producing a Betsy McCall doll; 1986 the Rothschild Doll Co. of Massachusetts made 8" and
12" Betsy McCall 35th
anniversary dolls, the Tomy Doll Co. and Laramie
Doll Corp. made Betsy dolls and even today (2000's),
Betsy is being refreshed and re-introduced by the Robert
Tonner Doll Company.
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