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Doll Gallery: Hard Plastic

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When plastic was invented, it was a doll manufacturer's dream, because now dolls could be dropped and bathed without coming to harm. The first plastic dolls were hard and shiny - and some of these early ones are victims of 'doll disease' which is a breaking-down of the plastic.
Emmeline Emmeline is a gorgeous BND hard plastic little girl with moulded hair and a 'mama' unit in her back, which works when she is tilted. She stands 12" high, and is marked 'BND London' on the back of her neck. These dolls, with their winsome faces, look good dressed as boys or girls, but we decided this one was definitely feminine! She is in almost mint condition. Her red-checked pinafore dress with silk apron, and matching bonnet, though not original to the doll, date from the same era - 1950s.
Janet is a small Roddy 'thumbs up' with a sweet, chubby face. Her blonde wig is original. She was Susan's, as a child, and was dressed by her in the 1950s in a white cotton dress trimmed with lace, tied with blue ribbon and with matching ribbons in her hair. Janet is 6 1/2" tall. Janet
Janice Pedigree made many hard plastic dolls - this is Janice, another childhood doll of Susans. Janice is 10" tall and dates from around 1954. She was purchased in Woolworths, Welwyn Garden City, and was sold unclothed for 2/6d. Her original blonde mohair wig is tied with a blue satin ribbon and her pink dress was knitted at the time by Susan's mum. The pink plastic teddy brooch with sparkling eyes was Susan's favourite piece of 'jewellery' as a child.

Click here to see last issue's Hard Plastic Gallery.