Dolls By Material » Vintage Doll Collector

Cosmopolitan is best known for their 8″ hard plastic Ginger doll, a competitor of Vogue’s Ginny. She was introduced in 1954. The hard plastic Gingers underwent several changes during the course of production, which makes identification a little tricky.

Hard plastic Ginger wears outfit #883 from the 1955 North and South series. Photo courtesy of Tina Moreau. Check out her eBay listings.

Collectors should also be aware that Cosmopolitan sold Ginger bodies to other companies. The book “Small Dolls of the ’40s and ’50s” by Carol J. Stover gives detailed information on the Ginger variations.

Vinyl head Ginger wears outfit #444 from the 1955 Holiday Series. Photo courtesy of Tina Moreau. Check out her eBay listings.

In 1957, they started making Ginger with a vinyl head. She also “grew up” with her new medium “cha cha” heels.

Miss Ginger doll by Cosmopolitan

That same year they entered the glamour doll market with 10.5″ Miss Ginger. Like Ginger, she had many extra outfits available. All-vinyl Miss Ginger is very similar to Little Miss Revlon and Miss Nancy Ann.

Little Miss Ginger wears Special Bride outfit #71 from 1958. Photo courtesy of Tina Moreau. Check out her eBay listings.

8″ Little Miss Ginger also has a grown-up figure and extra outfits. She is also all vinyl. She is very similar to Little Miss Nancy Ann. Learn more on the Little Miss Ginger page.

Most Baby Ginger dolls have rooted hair. This is a rare molded hair version. Photo courtesy of Tina Moreau. Check out her eBay listings.

8″ Baby Ginger is an all-vinyl drink and wet baby doll, similar to Vogue’s Ginnette. She, too, has an extensive wardrobe.

Learn More:
Small Dolls of the 40s & 50s by Carol Stover More info from Amazon or Find it on eBay.	Dolls & Accessories of the 1950s by Dian Zillner More info from Amazon or Find it on eBay.	Glamour Dolls of the 1950s & 1960s by Polly & Pam Judd More info from Amazon or Find it on eBay.

Cowpokes dolls by Knickerbocker

This adorable pair of dolls are the Cowpokes by Knickerbocker, dated 1981. They were designed by Ruth Morehead, who also designed the Scarecrow Kids dolls.

Body Construction
The Cowpokes are 12″ tall and made of cloth, stuffed with polyester filling. They have acrylic yarn hair and printed features.

Markings
The dolls are not marked or tagged. The only tag is on the clothing.

Knickerbocker Cowpokes dolls tag

Clothing
The Cowpokes’ hats and boots are part of their body. The hat brims are glued in place. Their outfits are fastened with velcro and are removable. They are made to look like multiple pieces, but are actually all one piece. They have fine acrylic yarn fringe on the vest and skirt/pants.

Packaging
They came packaged individually in a box with a large cellophane window to display them.

See also:

Knickerbocker Main PageCopyright 2012 by Zendelle Bouchard

Dee an Cee’s 17″ Cindy was sold in the late 1950s in a variety of outfits, including a bridal gown.

Dee an Cee was a Canadian doll manufacturer from 1938 to 1964. The name was derived from the first letters of the last names of the two founders, Max Diamond and Morris Cone. The company motto was “Quality above all”.

Through the 1940s, the company made composition dolls, mostly babies, including Snuggles, Sweetums and Little Darling. They briefly experimented with rubber dolls before switching over to vinyl beginning in 1949.

Many of the their products were licensed from U.S. companies and made from the original molds. They held the Canadian licenses to produce Mattel’s Chatty Cathy and Alexander’s Marybel. Sometimes the dolls names were changed; American Character’s Baby Dear was sold by Dee an Cee as Dream Baby, while Mattel’s Scooba-Doo became Kookie in Canada.
The company produced their own original dolls too. Mandy and Dusty, designed by Morris Cone, were black brother and sister dolls with realistic features and molded hair, first produced in 1956.

Dee an Cee was the first Canadian doll company to advertise on television. After the firm was sold to Mattel in 1962, manufacturing in Canada was gradually discontinued. The name was no longer used after 1964.

Dee an Cee dolls show a variety of markings, including D&C, Dee an Cee, Dee and Cee, and DEE & CEE.

More Dee an Cee dolls:

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Dolls of Canada
by Evelyn Robson Strahlendorf
More info from Amazon
or
Find it on eBay.

1957 Elsa Schiaparelli 12″ Virga Chi Chi Teen Fashion Doll in her original Studio Box. Photo courtesy of American Beauty Dolls.

Beehler Arts, Ltd. was based in New York City and marketed dolls during the 1950′s. According to the book “Hard Plastic Dolls” by Polly and Pam Judd, dolls marketed under the Beehler, Fortune and Virga names were all manufactured by Ontario Plastics. In “Hard Plastic Dolls, II”, the Judds report that Virga was a division of Beehler. The company also marketed dolls under the Kim label. All of these companies are best known for their 8″ Ginny type dolls, but small high-heeled glamour dolls were marketed under the Beehler Arts, Kim and Virga names as well.

Virga Lolly-pop dolls came in various pastel hair colors. Photo courtesy of Kathleen Tornikoski. Check out her eBay listings.

Vintage Doll Collector

Dolls by Cosmopolitan Toy Corp.

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Cowpokes dolls by Knickerbocker (1981)

Dolls by Dee an Cee (Canada)

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Dolls by Beehler Arts / Virga / Ontario Plastics

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Belle Doll & Toy Corp.

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Small Dolls of the 40s & 50s by Carol Stover More info from Amazon or Find it on eBay.	Hard Plastic Dolls by Polly and Pam Judd More info from Amazon or Find it on eBay.	Hard Plastic Dolls II by Polly and Pam Judd More info from Amazon or Find it on eBay.