Mod Doll Case & Vintage Dawn Dolls

I found this unusual mod-era doll case the other day. It's a generic case, not affiliated with any particular doll line, but it has great mod fashion illustrations on the front, all done in electric lemon yellow and hot pink.

It's the perfect home for my set of vintage Dawn dolls, made by Topper Toys from 1970-1972. The Dawn dolls were tiny, only 6 inches tall, and featured "real" eyelashes, groovy, glittery clothes, and lotsa makeup. My Dawn dolls came to me from teddy bear artist extraordinaire Peng Peng, who very kindly thought of me as she was de-stashing them (thanks, PP!)

(I suspect the second doll from the right is a special edition "streetwalker Dawn," or possibly "I've run away from home and become a go-go dancer" Dawn...)

 Here's the standard Dawn herself, in all her spangly fuschia glory:

And here's her friend, Jessica, who's a bit less flower-child-like:

For a size comparison, here are the Dawn dolls with a mod-era Barbie. It's like a scene from that old "Land of the Giants" TV show:

Toy Trading Teds

Like many collectors, I'm finding that today's economic challenges are making it more difficult to do all the buying I would like. That's why I'm so happy to discover more and more collectors, dealers, and toymakers are exploring the possibilities of toy trading.

A couple of weeks ago, Michelle Mutschler, a wonderful teddy bear artist from Canada, discovered my blog as she was searching for information on antique British teddy bears. I offered her a couple of my vintage bears, she offered me some of her handmade teds, and quick as a flash, two packages full of bears (and surprises!) were making their way through the international postal system.

My box of bliss arrived last night, with the contents beautifully wrapped.

 And look what was under all that enticing pink paper: five fantastic little bears!

 The tiniest two, in the lower left corner, are only three and a half inches tall, while the largest, in the upper right, is nine. Michelle's bears are made of vintage and aged mohair, velvet, and velveteen, and comprise a wide range of characters, from comical, carnival inspired clowns to primitives and antique-look bruins.

Here are the tiniest teds, "My Old Bear" and "Flora," unjointed itty bitty pocket bears.

 "Martha" is a dotty looking, primitive style bear made of two-tone velveteen wearing a lace doily collar.

 Martha has rather a prodigious schnoz. The other bears try not to stare, as she's rather sensitive about it.

"Grizelda", made of vintage white mohair and red velvet, reminds me of antique clown and harlequin bears.

 Such a sweet face on this one...don't you just want to kiss that nose?!

And last but not least, "Ted E."  has one of the  craziest heads I've ever seen on a bear. Just look at that profile!

 Thanks sooooooo much, Michelle, for your fab teds! 

Michigan's Antique Yard Sale Trail Report: August 13, 14, & 15 2010

Last weekend, we followed the Antique Yard Sale Trail, an annual 200 mile secondhand shopping adventure along Michigan's Lake Huron, St. Clair River, and Lake St. Clair shoreline that stretches from Algonac in the south all the way around the tip of Michigan's "thumb" to Sebewaing in the north. Besides enjoying the beautiful scenery from the bluffs along the lakeshore, we saw lots and lots of amazing things for sale, including old gasoline pumps, vintage televisions, and a taxidermied alligator (the highlight of the sale, in my opinion.) And I found several treasures, of course (although I didn't buy the alligator.)

"Fumes," a taxidermied alligator smoking a pipe 

in a relaxing, and utterly unnatural position, was priced at $325.

Can't you just imagine all the decor possibilities?

 

A 1949 "Suitcase" Sentinel, the first portable television, 

was available for $199.

One table held a beautiful display of vintage hatboxes, shoes, and ladies' accessories, including this swanky faux leopard print head wrap and scarf. I was mightily tempted...

At the other end of the collecting spectrum, a dealer had a yard full of rusty treasures, including vintage sleds and this old Gulf gas pump:

If, for some reason, you needed a Greyhound bus sign, 

this dealer could hook you up:

And what did I buy? Something I've always wanted (who wouldn't?!): a vintage cast aluminum kiddie spring-rider animal from a playground. 

We mounted it on a piece of plywood cleverly embellished with fake grass for an authentic outdoor look. It now serves as an additional seating option in the living room.

Antique Child & Electric Eye Teddy Bear Photo

Some of my favorite non-toy collectibles are antique photos of children with playthings. They're wonderful items on their own, with the glimpse they give of history and the charm of the children, but they're even more wonderful when you discover you own a toy seen in a photo.

One of my favorite antique teddy bears is the Electric Eye Bear, a novelty item made around 1908. These large bears (21 - 24 inches tall) featured electric bulb eyes that actually lit up courtesy of a battery pack concealed in their portly tummies. They were constructed in an unusual manner, with non-jointed legs in a permanently standing position. Many were also accessorized for some reason as circus bears with collars, bells, and nose rings. I'm very fortunate to have found two such bears, one of which still retains his glass bulb eyes.

 I've seen many, many pictures of children with teddy bears (they were a very popular studio prop from the 1900s onward) but I had never seen one of these rare bears in an antique photo until I stumbled across this:

 The little girl is just adorable, and she caught my attention so much that at first I didn't even notice the bear. But when I did, I was stunned to find it's an electric eye: the profile is unmistakable. What a lucky little girl she was (and so am I!)

Antique Dollhouse Toast Rack

Last week I scored an antique dollhouse miniature that I've coveted for a long time, but I could never bring myself to pay its hefty asking prices. It's a tiny toast rack, complete with four slices of toast, made in Germany by Gerlach from 1915 through the 1920s.

 My 5 inch china doll has added the toast rack to her breakfast table.

The rack is made of a soft metal and the toast is a composition-type material. It's incredibly fragile and very beautiful.

It's an irony of miniature collecting that sometimes the smallest things have the highest prices. This tiny object, only an inch and a quarter tall, usually comes with a three-figure price tag! The only examples I've seen in the two years I've been looking were priced at $135 and $110, which are typical for this piece. I resisted these offerings, firmly telling myself there was no way I was going to spend $135 on an inch tall toast rack, and am I ever glad I did, because the one I found last week was somehow unknowingly priced at only $14.99! Sometimes, the toy collecting gods smile upon us, and things like this happen...thank you, toy gods, thank you.

Coming Up Next Week...

... the greatest antique dollhouse miniature find I've made so far, along with the rarest child-with-teddy-bear photo I've ever found, as well. Yippee!

Vintage Weeble Camp-About

Another great travel-themed toy from the 1970s was the Weeble Camp-About, made by Hasbro. The Weebles were a delightful competitor to Fisher Price's Little People, roly poly egg-shaped 2 inch characters who, as their ads proclaimed, "wobble, but don't fall down."

An extensive line of Weeble playsets was produced before they, like Fisher Price's Little People, were discontinued due to choking concerns, and their popularity and relatively short production span make them highly sought today.

The Camp-About includes a truck, camper top, boat with trailer, motorcycle, picnic table, and Mr. and Mrs. Weeble.

The interior features two bunk beds and a kitchenette, all very cozy:

 Off they go, on another road trip:

(Incidentally, as a child I had an aunt who I thought looked just like the Mrs. Weeble. I thought this was a great compliment, as I perceived Mrs. Weeble as very cheery, soft, and pleasant-looking. As I gaze at her now, though, I'm glad I never mentioned this to my aunt, as I expect she would not have been flattered.) 

Fisher Price Play Family A Frame House

The Fisher Price people in the previous post (1960s Nifty Station Wagon) might be traveling to this lovely vacation resort, the Play Family A Frame house, made in 1974. These kitschy structures were all the rage as holiday homes across the United States in the 1960s and '70s, and Fisher Price's 11 inch tall version is absolutely adorable. From the aqua green roof tiles to the faux-Bavarian balcony, built-in kitchen, cozy fireplace, and comfortable patio, they got all the details just right.

The roof opens to form a patio, revealing the two story rustic interior:

The patio includes a picnic table and barbecue grill, and I've added an umbrella table from a different FP set:

Inside, the built-in kitchen is done in classic '70s orange, and there's a cozy fire and braided rug (well, sticker versions, anyway):

Outside, there's a balcony and a deck on each end. You can see bunk beds through the doorway on the top floor. I've added a FP checker table and a couple of visiting cousins to the deck.

 It all looks so inviting, it makes me wish I could visit!

To see more (real-life) a frame homes and learn about their fascinating history, take a look at the book A-frame, by  architectural historian Chad Randl: 

Fisher Price Nifty Station Wagon: Updated with Original Advertisement

If I were forced to choose a favorite from the hundreds of pull toys Fisher Price has made over the years, this would be it: the Nifty Station Wagon from 1960, a miniature version of America's beloved family road trip vehicle.

This 13 inch long kitsch classic sports a removeable roof, lovely fake wood side panels, stylish white wall tires, moving headlight "eyes", and a little wooden family (mom, dad, child of indeterminate gender, and dog) who were precursors to the classic Little People.

 Dig the funky tweed interior! I think my little sister and I had matching pants in this pattern back in the '70s.

Mom has her eyes closed. Maybe Dad is a crazy driver, and she can't bear to watch...

 Besides the headlight eyes, the front grill also has a "smiley mouth" bumper.

A simple mechanism causes the kid and dog in the back seat to spin wildly to the accompaniment of a raucous noise as the car moves, just like in real life. Those Fisher Price toy engineers were geniuses.


Updated August 11: 
Several people commented that they had never seen this vintage Fisher Price toy before, so I thought you might enjoy seeing the original advertisement, from the April 1960 issue of Playthings magazine (a trade journal). I have a small collection of vintage toy ads, catalogs, and brochures, and this is one of its highlights. Click on the pic to see it bigger and read the text.

Vintage Car Travel Game

I love the fantastic period art on this 1958 Milton Bradly Travel board game. An aqua green station wagon (with fins!) carries dad, mom, and the requisite two children away on a vacation. Everyone is so nattily dressed, like they just stepped out of a "Leave It To Beaver" episode: dad in a suit and tie, mom in a smart hat, the children in starched and pressed "play clothes"...what a difference from today's standard vacation ensemble of t shirts, shorts, and flip flops!

The game play is pretty simple (just spin, move, and follow the directions on each space that can help or hinder your trip) and typically '50s moralistic (one space reads: "children behaving --- driver speeds ahead 2").

I played this on my trip last week and sadly must report it's rather dull. But it still has great kitschy art value!

Been on a Road Trip...

We went on a little road trip last week, and spent a couple of nights relaxing in this teeny tiny beach house:

which had this beautiful cupola and weather vane:

It may look from these photos as if we were on the ocean, but no: this is the shore of Lake Huron, one of the Great Lakes. Scientists often refer to the Great Lakes as "inland seas", and you can see why. They are vast, and deep, and this coastline is littered with dozens of shipwrecks, dating back to the 1800s.

That's fascinating, but what does it have to do with toys? Well, my road trip has inspired me to post some summer vacation themed playthings! Keep an eye on this horizon, and see what coasts in...