Advertising Dolls Identified 1893+
Advertising dolls were meant to sell a product’s brand – brands that we may know today because of the character that was promoted to adults and children. From syrup, soup, gum, candy etc., some brands may be out of business long ago, but the logos and characters promoting the products are very desirable and collectible today.
Advertising Dolls Identified
1893-1923 Aunt Jemima (Miss Nancy Green), Uncle Mose, Diana and Wade advertising dolls for Aunt Jemima pancake, flour and syrup by the Davis Milling Company, also called Aunt Jemima Mills (bought in 1925 by Quaker Oats Company), black cloth rag, oilcloth or composition dolls, some are Mama criers, her slogan was; “I’se in town, honey”. Dolls shown ca. 1900s Aunt Jemima doll, Uncle Mose doll, 14″ all cloth dolls by Arnold Print Works.
1910 to present, Campbell Kids doll, created by artist Grace Gebbie Weiderseim Drayton, whose name never appeared on the drawings for the Campbell Soup Company, came in various sizes, materials and manufactured by various companies over the years. Shown; ca. 1910 Horsman Campbell Kid 10″ doll, composition flange head and hands, cloth body and limbs with striped stockings, molded painted hair, black painted side glancing eyes, closed mouth, doll mark EIH C 1910.
1914 Ideal Uneeda Kid doll, 11, 14-15 or 23-24″ tall, cloth stuffed body with composition head, molded hair, painted or sleep eyes, closed mouth, both were advertising dolls for National Biscuit Co made by Ideal. He wears beige rompers under his yellow fisherman coat and hat.
1916-1917 Ideal Zu-Zu Kid doll, 14-15″ tall an advertising doll for ginger snaps, she wore a printed yellow clown costume with brown stars and pompoms with a pointed cap. Both dolls are unmarked or marked Ideal inside a diamond USA.
1915+ Baker & Bennett Wrigley Spearmint Kid doll 12-13″ tall, composition with “Wrigley googly eyes”, voice box, spearmint gum advertising doll made by permission of the Wrigley Company, doll mark B B.
1920 American Ocarina Karo Princess doll, 10 1/4″ tall, all composition one piece body and head, (from their 1920 ad) “Made of lignum fiber, unbreakable and waterproof, exquisitely hand painted and enameled in beautiful soft colorings, comes packed in attractively covered boxes”. Karo Princess has a papoose face with long hair and a headband with a feather, painted eyes and lashes, closed mouth, bare arms outside her open green leaf corn cob body showing the yellow corn inside, painted white socks and black Mary Jane shoes peek out from her base, Karo syrup advertising doll, doll is unmarked and rare.
1920-1962 Buddy Lee doll, 12 1/2 – 13″ tall, all composition or hard plastic novelty doll, jointed at the neck and shoulders, stationary legs, painted air, face and molded black boots.
see HD Lee Company for mor photos and information, doll mark Buddy Lee inside a triangle.
1927 Curtis Candy Baby Ruth doll, 15″ tall, all composition non-bending figure on a base, painted blonde hair, facial features, open mouth, painted red long sleeve shirt with Curtiss N-R-C Candies on front, blue pants, Curtiss Baby Ruth Rich in Dextrose on base.
1928+ Cameo GE Hotpoint Man doll figure, 15″ tall, wood segmented character doll figure, composition head with a jointed wood body, painted facial features, red painted clothing, silver H and red pointed arrow on top of head, slits in hands to hold paper sales cards. Made by Cameo, Hotpoint Man is unmarked except for a Hotpoint paper label on chest and Cameo sticker on bottom of wood base. Advertising doll figure for Hotpoint a division of General Electric, GE.. Cameo also made the wood segmented Radio Corporation of America, RCA Radiotron advertising doll figure.
1940s Jolly Joan Restaurant Waitress doll, 12-15″ tall, all composition doll, 12″ doll has a one piece head and body, larger sizes are jointed at neck, shoulders and hips, large molded curly short brown painted hair with a blue painted hair bow, painted eyes or tin sleep eyes, closed mouth, doll is unmarked. Wore a blue and white gingham dress with a white ruffled neckline and an apron similar to those worn by the waitress’s at the Jolly Joan restaurant in Portland, Oregon, which was open from 1933 to the 1960s.
1945 Ideal Miss Curity doll, 18-22″ tall, all composition jointed body, wigged, sleep eyes, closed mouth, wears a nurse uniform, doll is unmarked. Curity is a trademark of the Kendall Company, doll was made bythe Ideal Novelty & Toy Company and Reliable Toy Company of Canada.
There is also a 1953 Ideal Miss Curity made of hard plastic, with the Toni body and markings, who is part of the Toni family of dolls.
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1946-1960s Eaton’s Beauty Dolls, were featured each year in their Fall and Winter catalog, some dolls were made by Reliable Toys of Canada and some Eaton Beauty dolls were made by: Kestner, Marseille, Cuno & Otto Dressel, Schoenau & Hoffmeister, Dominion Toy, S.F.B.J. and Dee & Cee. The Eaton Beauty Doll brand was only available in Canada. Photo is of a Reliable Toys of Canada Eaton doll in her original under clothes, socks and shoes, photo courtesy of Heather.
1948 Dan River Buttons cloth doll 17″ tall, has button eyes, black yarn hair, and as you can see she came in different dresses, the left ad shows a red and white check dress with buttons on placket and white apron, black shoes and white socks, at right doll has a blue and white stripe dress, doll is unmarked. The Dan River company, a maker of bedding and sheets.
1948 Royal Blue Stores advertising Susie-Q doll, 15″ tall, all composition fully jointed, black mohair wig with bangs and pigtails and blue and white plaid hair ribbons, single stroke black eyebrows, blue sleep eyes, open smiling mouth with white space indicating teeth, Susie- Q is wearing a solid blue school girl dress with a white collar and blue ric-rak trim, short sleeves with a white cuff, white waist tie and a blue and white plaid attached over skirt, white socks and black oilcloth tie shoes, doll is unmarked.
1949-1953 Ideal Toni Doll, 14-23″ tall, the Toni doll was introduced in 1949 as an advertising doll for the Gillette Toni Home Permanent, she is made of all hard plastic with a jointed body, the earliest dolls wore a nylon wig in various colors and styles, has sleep eyes usually in blue but other colors too, real upper eyelashes, painted lower lashes, small painted rosebud lips and was loved by many little girls and now big girls, too, doll marked P + 90-94 number. see the Ideal for more information.
Advertising Dolls Identified, not shown 1893+
1895+ Northwestern Consolidated Milling Company, a Farm Boy doll, 15 1/2″ tall, all cloth rag doll of flour sack lithographed fabric, then cutout and sewn, doll is unmarked, fabric has printed on chest; Ceresota Flour, Northwestern’s trademark since 1891. In 1986 Franklin Heirloom Mint made a Ceresota Flour Boy reproduction, has a porcelain head, hands, feet with a soft body doll.
1899-1900 American Rice Foods Manufacturing Company, Cook’s Flaked Rice advertising doll; Miss Flaked Rice doll, 25″ tall, muslin cloth printed wearing underwear, cut out, stuff and sew dolls, mail in premium doll, doll mark My name is Miss Flaked Rice.
1900 American Rice Foods Manufacturing Company, Miss Malto-Rice doll, cloth cut out advertising doll mark My name is Miss Malto-Rice.
1901 The Korn-Crisp Company Ltd., Miss Korn-Crisp (cereal) advertising doll, 26 1/2″ tall, a cloth cut out doll marked with tag sewn into seam My name is Miss Korn-Crisp. The Korn Crisp company, was founded in Battle Creek, Michigan on August 12, 1901.
1904 Buster Brown Shoes, Buster Brown doll, doll material unknown made by Hamley Brothers of England, other doll makers have made Buster Brown dolls over the years, Ideal, Hertwig, Horsman.
1905 Art Fabric Mills and Knickerbocker Specialty Co, both made Buster Brown rag dolls and 1929 Buster Brown doll, 16″ composition and cloth doll, made by Ideal. Horsman also made a Buster Brown doll.
1916 Babbitt At Your Service Cleanser Boy doll, 15″ tall, BT Babbitt Company of New York city trade mark advertising doll made for them by Modern Toy Company doll came with a medal can of Babbitt’s cleanser.
1918+ Crackerjack cloth doll, Sailor Boy and Dog, trademark of Borden Foods, Inc., now Frito Lay, Inc. all white shirt and blue pants bottoms cloth body and limbs, mask painted face. Ideal made a Cracker Jack doll too.
1922-1952 Cream O` Wheat Rastus doll, came in 16″ or (1930) 18″ tall, black cloth doll, was a premium box top offer that cost .10 cents by the Nabisco Company. The chef image was originally an unknown black male waiter of Chicago, Illinois, US.
1925-1970s Kellogg’s Cereal company in Kalamazoo, Michigan USA distributed more than five million dolls of various kinds, here are some of their promotions: 1925 Goldilocks & Three Bears set 12-15″ tall, cloth, Corn Flakes & Pep, 1928 Nursery Rhymes: Little Bo Peep, Mary had a Little Lamb, Red Riding Hood, all cloth. Also, 1962 Linda Lou doll, 1964-1965 Calico Lassie doll, 1968 Snap, Crackle and Pop and 1969 Mary Kate dolls made in plastic.
ca. 1926 Framoz wind up Boy doll, 10″ tall, an American made composition character shoulder head with molded hair, painted side glancing eyes, closed mouth, metal body with cloth arms, a key wound walker doll, has large flat rectangular metal pieces for shoes, metal body printed label in green and red reads; Framoz & Co., Sparkling Cherry Cider, SINGAPORE, (made by) LM & S, doll head is unmarked. The Framoz & Company of Singapore made and sold aerated water from 1905 to around the 1970s.
ca. 1928 Mellin’s Food doll, 11″ tall, composition shoulder head with molded painted blonde hair, blue painted eyes, closed mouth, pink cotton cloth body, upper arms and bent legs, composition lower arms, doll marked E.I.H. copyright © Inc. (Horsman) clothes labeled Mellin’s Food Doll Boston, Mass.
1930 Quaker Crackels cloth doll, 15″ tall, printed cloth doll, to cut out, sew and stuff advertising doll for crackel cereal by Quaker Oats Company. Quaker also made a Puffy doll.
1936+ Gerber Baby doll, from the Gerber Baby Products company located in Fremont, Michigan US, an 8″ tall all one piece cloth doll with printed face and holding a can of baby food, unknown maker. Several manufacturers made Gerber dolls over the years; Sun Rubber, Arrow Rubber & Plastics, Amsco.
1949 Eugenia Pam the Perm-O-Wave Doll, 14″ tall, hard plastic, human hair wig, with Perm-O-Wave curlers, “. . these curlers can be used over and over again. These same curlers can give mother and daughter a home permanent“, plastic makeup case, and barrette. This was the earliest of the home permanent dolls, made by the Eugenia Doll Company.
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