Mary Hoyer, Richwood Toy, Hoseley Party Dolls 1925+ USA

Mary Hoyer Dolls 1925-1970s USA

The Mary Hoyer Doll Company history began in 1925 as a yarn and craft shop in Reading, Pennsylvania USA.  Mary Hoyer designed knitted goods for infants and children and later added a slim doll that could model her clothes, a doll clothing pattern book so customers could sew or knit their own doll clothes. The doll was purchased through Ideal Novelty & Toy company, so an early Mary Hoyer doll only has Ideal markings and is the Mayfair doll with a body twist waist. Hoyer doll clothing should have a Hoyer label.

Around 1937 Bernard Lipfert, a well known doll sculptor, created Mary Hoyer’s own doll mold, made for them by the Fiberoid Doll Products Company of New York City. An all composition teenage doll often marked The Mary Hoyer Doll in raised print.  Between 1937-1946 (world war I), some Mary Hoyer doll molds have painted eyes instead of sleep eyes, probably due to supplies being hard to come by.

After 1946 Mary Hoyer dolls are made of hard plastic and usually marked ORIGINAL Mary Hoyer Doll Made in USA (some composition dolls too) or marked Made in USA within a circle without the Mary Hoyer name. Mary Hoyer doll mold “blanks” marked only with a circle, were bought, dressed and sold by other doll makers too. The Mary Hoyer Doll company closed in the 1970s, around 1991 Mary Hoyer family members reintroduced a vinyl 13 1/2″ Mary Hoyer doll, still being made today (09/2024).

Antique to Vintage Mary Hoyer Dolls Identified

1925+ Mary Hoyer doll, 13″ tall, Mayfair body with twist waist by Ideal, all composition, jointed body, wigged, sleep eyes, doll mark Ideal Doll. Hoyer purchased the dolls from Ideal, dressed and sold them. You’ll need Hoyer marked clothing or original box, to identify as a Hoyer doll.

1935-1949 Mary Hoyer doll, 14″ tall, all composition jointed doll, mohair wig, some have molded hair beneath the wig, side glancing blue painted eyes, painted upper lashes, small closed mouth, doll unmarked. The painted eye Mary Hoyer dolls probably date from during world war II, when supplies were hard to come by.

1937-1946 Mary Hoyer doll, 14″ tall, all composition jointed doll, mohair wig (some have molded hair beneath the wig), sleep eyes usually blue, some root beer brown, real upper lashes, painted lower lashes, closed mouth, many different outfits were made for this doll, as well as patterns were sold, that could be knitted or sewn by the dolls owner.  Mary Hoyer made clothing will have a Mary Hoyer tag, doll marked The Mary Hoyer Doll in raised print.

1947-1950s Mary Hoyer doll, 14″ tall, all hard plastic, jointed body, mohair wig in various colors and styles, some dolls have molded hair beneath the wig, usually blue sleep eyes, some root beer brown eyes, closed mouth, doll marked Original Mary Hoyer Doll inside a circle or The Mary Hoyer Doll.

1947-1950s Mary Hoyer boy doll 14″, all hard plastic, jointed body, same doll as the girl Mary Hoyer doll now with a caracul wig and dressed in male clothing. Shown is a Mary Hoyer the Prince doll and an undressed doll.

The Mary Hoyer doll, had beautiful clothing from swimsuits, sun dresses, day dresses, evening gowns or knitted sports outfits; ice skating, roller skating, skiing that could be bought or made from Mary’s pattern book called “Mary’s Dollies“.

Mary Hoyer Doll Marks Identified

Mary Hoyer doll mark The Mary Hoyer Doll

Mary Hoyer doll mark Original Mary Hoyer Doll inside a circle (or Gigi doll)

Mary Hoyer, Richwood Cindy Lou or Hoseley Party doll mark Made in USA inside circle

Mary Hoyer doll mark blank Circle

1954+ Mary Hoyer Gigi doll, 14 or 17-18″ tall, all hard plastic jointed strung body, wigged, sleep eyes, closed mouth, both doll sizes mark Original Mary Hoyer Doll inside a circle, very few of these dolls were produced, made by the Frisch Doll Company.  If your doll is an unmarked, it’s likely to be from another doll maker, probably an unmarked Nancy Ann Style Show doll , whose face is often mistaken as Gigi.

1957+ Mary Hoyer Vicky doll, 10 1/2″ tall, vinyl head on a hard plastic jointed fashion body, twist waist, rooted hair, sleep eyes, closed mouth, high heeled feet.  Vicky is marked Uneeda on neck and was purchased, dressed in Hoyer made sportswear to formals outfits and sold as a Hoyer doll and is a Uneeda Suzette doll.

1958+ Mary Hoyer Margie doll, 10″ tall, all vinyl doll with short rooted hair, sleep eyes, closed mouth, toddler type jointed body, doll marked AE.  Doll will need the original box, tagged clothing to be sure it’s the Hoyer sold Margie doll, as many other doll companies sold and named this Fluffy type face mold.

1960s Mary Hoyer Becky doll, 14″ tall, all vinyl doll with rooted hair, sleep eyes, closed mouth, jointed body, marked on head AE.   Probably purchased from Allied-Grand, dressed and sold by Mary Hoyer.

More Effanbee Fluffy type doll mold without the Effanbee marking with or without freckles: Allied-Grand named their doll Bonnie, Kellogg’s doll was named Linda Lou used as a mail in premium Advertising doll who is unmarked,  Mollyes called her Perky also unmarked, Earle Pullan sold this doll name unknown, marked Pullan, Sayco named her Cute Carol (with freckles), mark unknown and Valentine used her for the 13-15″ tall Perfect Patient doll unmarked and possibly other manufacturers may have dressed and sold this doll as well. 

1965 Mary Hoyer Vicky doll, 12″ tall, all vinyl doll with rooted hair, painted side glancing eyes, three corner eye lashes, closed mouth, jointed body, doll marked AE on back of neck.  Probably purchased from the Allied-Grand as this same head mold that was used for Allied’s Tammy clone doll, dressed and sold by Hoyer.

Additional Mary Hoyer Dolls not shown

1961 Mary Hoyer Cathy doll, 10″ tall, vinyl infant doll with a baby jointed body, made by the Unique Doll Company, doll mark is unknown.

1962 Mary Hoyer Janie doll, 8″ tall, vinyl body, baby type doll, it’s unknown at this time what company actually made the Hoyer Janie doll, doll mark is unknown.

1991+ Mary Hoyer vinyl head dolls, 13 1/2″ tall, rooted hair, real eyelashes, doll marked MARY HOYER DOLL CO.

Richwood Toys Dolls Late 1940s-1950s

1950s Richwood Cindy Lou doll, 14″ is a Mary Hoyer doll mold hip pin walker, everything is the same as the Hoyer doll except the body is a walker.  Mrs. Hoyer was not happy with the walker body design, so she sold the doll mold to the Richwood company, who assembled, dressed and sold the dolls.  Richwood Cindy Lou doll marked Made in U.S.A. inside a blank circle on the back as (shown above). Non-walking dolls and bodies were also purchased from Mary Hoyer.

1950s Richwood Sandra Sue doll 8-9″ non-walking or walker, all hard plastic, jointed body, sleep eyes, closed mouth, doll marked with a number under the arms or legs. Richwood Sandra Sue doll had a outfits from day dresses, coats to formal gowns for purchase separately.

1950s Richwood Tina Lou doll 8-9″ tall, vinyl head with molded hair, sleep eyes, jointed baby bent limb body, doll is unmarked.

Hoseley Party Dolls 1954-1955 USA

The Ruth Hoseley Party Dolls were sold and clothed by a small cottage industry of women in McGregor, Iowa in 1954 to 1955. Mrs. Hoseley bought “blank” dolls, without the Mary Hoyer name in the mark, only a circle with MADE IN  USA on backs and dressed the dolls in elaborate formals of taffetas or satin with lots of tulle, gathers and flounces.  Fewer than 50 original Hoseley Party dressed dolls are known to exist. 

The only way to identify a Hoseley Party doll for sure, is if they have their original clothing with the Hoseley McGregor, Iowa tag. Each doll was given a name and there were multiples of dolls dressed in the same formals.  Photo courtesy of Andrea “Andy”.