Ideal 1910s Antique Dolls Identified USA
1907 Ideal The Yellow Kid doll 8″ tall
Ideal Art Novelty Company founded by Morris and Rose (Katz) Michtom in 1906 began producing stuffed plush Teddy Bears named with permission after President Theodor “Teddy” Roosevelt. The first dolls Ideal made were 1907 The Yellow Kid, 1910 Mr. Hooligan and Baby Snookums, both plush cartoon characters. By the 1930s Ideal had created some of their best known dolls; Shirley Temple, Judy Garland and Deanna Durbin. By 1938 the company name changed to Ideal Toy Company.
Ideal also supplied dolls to other doll manufacturers; American Character, Arranbee, Eugenia, Mary Hoyer. Ideal dolls are made of wood, cloth, composition, hard plastic, vinyl and magic skin and are of very good quality. In 1982 Ideal was acquired by CBS Toy Company and finally by Mattel in 1997.
Ideal dolls < 1910s > | 1920s+ | 1940s | 1950s | Toni | 1960s | Tammy | 1970s
1910s Antique Ideal Dolls Identified
1910 Ideal Mr. Hooligan doll 21″ tall and
1910 Ideal Baby Snookums dolls 14″ tall
1910 Ideal Mr. Hooligan doll, 21″ tall, composition papier mache head, painted facial features, closed smiling mouth, cloth plush body & limbs in brown, blue & white fur. Mr. Hooligan is a comic character from the Happy Hooligan cartoon created by Frederich Burr Opper. Doll mark a cross like symbol with Ideal on the horizontal crossbar and Unbreakable written vertically down the post.
1910 Ideal Baby Snookums doll 14″ tall, composition papier mache head, molded painted top knot in front and back, painted facial features, single dot for eye, very wide open mouth with one tooth, tan plush body and jointed limbs, tan felt mitten hands and felt boots, doll is unmarked. Baby Snookums is a comic character from The Newlyweds cartoon created by George McManus.
1912 Ideal Naughty Marietta a Coquette type doll 14″ tall and Jack Horner doll 14″ tall character dolls with a composition flange head, molded painted hair, painted facial features, painted blue eyes, closed mouth with upper painted teeth, blue molded hair bow or a depression all around her head to accommodate a ribbon, composition hands, cloth stuffed body and legs, dolls are unmarked. Note: Character is based on German Gebruder Heubach bisque head Coquette doll.
Effanbee also made a similar Coquette doll who has brown painted eyes, black cloth boots and marked DECO or unmarked.
1914 Ideal Uneeda Kid doll, 14 or 24″ tall and 1916-1917 Ideal Zu-Zu Kid doll, 15 1/2″ tall, cloth stuffed body with composition head (similar to the Fiamingo head mold), molded hair, painted or sleep eyes, closed mouth, both were advertising dolls for National Biscuit Co. He wears beige rompers under his yellow fisherman coat and hat. Zu-Zu is an advertising doll for ginger snaps, she wore a printed yellow clown costume with brown stars & pompoms and pointed cap. Unmarked or marked: Ideal inside a diamond.
1915 Ideal Girl with wavy hair doll 12 1/2″ tall, composition flange head with deep molded short blonde hair, with wavy bangs swept to each side of forehead, blue tin sleep eyes, closed smiling mouth, cloth upper arms and legs, lower limbs are composition with brown molded boots, cloth body jointed at shoulders and hips with outside disks. Doll marked IDEAL inside a diamond with U S OF A letters in each of the four outside corners. Note: This girl has a similar character face as German Gebrüder Heubach’s bisque head Coquette doll andthe Naughty Marietta doll(shown above), but this doll has sleep eyes and no molded blue ribbon in the hair.
ca. 1918 Ideal composition Lady doll with cloth body 19″ tall, composition shoulder head with tin sleep eyes, painted lashes, closed mouth with four painted strokes indicating teeth, full composition arms and partial lower composition legs, cloth Lady like body with stitched hips and cloth upper legs, doll marked IDEAL inside a diamond with U S OF A letters in each of the four outside corners on back. Doll was likely produced by Ideal during world war I, to fill the gap of European dolls, now not available.
ca. 1918 Ideal all composition doll with jointed body 18″ tall, composition head with tin sleep eyes, painted lashes, closed mouth with four painted strokes indicating teeth, composition jointed German like body at neck, shoulders, wrists, hips and knees, doll marked IDEAL inside a diamond with U S OF A letters in each of the four outside corners on back of neck and dolls back. Doll was likely produced by Ideal during world war I, to fill the gap of European dolls, now not available.
1918 Ideal Liberty Boy doll or Dough Boy doll 12″ tall, all composition, jointed, painted molded hair, molded painted US army uniform, marked Ideal in a diamond on back. Not shown is his brown felt hat.
Also; 1918 Ideal Columbian Kids dolls, Ideal Cracker Jack Boy doll, Ideal Compo doll and Ideal Sweater Boy doll.
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Additional antique Ideal dolls not shown
1911 Ideal Baby Mine Doll and Doll Muff, 12″ doll, muff is 7 x 13″, doll is all composition jointed at shoulders & hips with steel springs, body & head are one piece, painted lightly molded hair, painted eyes, no painted lashes, closed painted mouth, doll marked: Ideal Baby Mine. Doll Muff is a celluloid mask face of a different mold than the same named doll, painted facial features, molded painted blonde bangs, closed mouth, muff body, hood, partial arms & stitched legs are unstuffed mohair, with celluloid or composition mitten hands & feet, muff doll marked: Ideal baby Mine Trademark U.S. Pat. 41179 Doll Muff. Made by special permission of Margaret Mayo (born: Lillian Elizabeth Slatten 1882-1951), playwright who originated the “Baby Mine” comedy.
1912 Ideal Fan Kid doll, 11 1/2, 14″ tall, composition flange head and lower arms, cloth body, upper arms and red striped socks with black shoes cloth legs, jointed with inside disks, molded painted hair, painted blue eyes, closed mouth, doll is unmarked, dressed in a baseball uniform.
1915-1918 Ideal Sanitary Baby doll or Baby Talc doll, 22″ tall, composition flared head with molded painted hair, two molded curled locks of hair on forehead, stationary glass eyes, closed mouth, imitation kid or oil cloth body, upper arms are cloth with composition lower arms, jointed at hips with inside disk, stuffed cloth bent baby lower legs, doll is unmarked. See also the 1918 Ideal Peggy doll.
1916 Ideal Baby Bi-Face doll, multi-face doll with two faces, composition head doll. Twist the head for a smiling face or a tearful one. Unknown if, how doll is marked. Ideal Mabel doll. Ideal Old Glory Kids dolls
1918 Ideal Peggy doll, 22″ tall, composition flared head with molded painted hair two curled locks of hair on forehead, tin sleep eyes that rock, closed mouth, cloth body, upper arms are cloth, jointed at hips with inside disk, stuffed cloth bent baby lower legs, composition lower arms, doll is unmarked. Used the same head as Sanitary Baby or Talc Baby with tin sleep eyes and cloth body – otherwise dolls are the same. Columbia Kid would also have this type cloth body.
1918+ Ideal Mama dolls or Child dolls, 13-22″ tall, composition head and limbs, cloth body, rocking sleep eyes that worked independently, open or closed mouth, some are wigged, others have molded painted hair. Usually marked: U. S. A. + Ideal inside a diamond, or Ideal Doll Made in USA. Some of the dolls names are; Jenny Wren doll, Pretty Peggy doll and Sleeping Beauty doll.
Ideal dolls < 1910s > | 1920s+ | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | Toni | Tammy