American Character Doll c. 1964
Mar. 14th, 2026 04:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snowazaleaOne afternoon this week, I went to a local antique mall to do some doll shopping.
I didn't have anything really specific in mind. I just wanted a chance to see what I liked and what attracted me.
Out of the whole antique mall, I was most drawn to this plastic bedspread bag with two old, very dirty dolls in it. They were tagged as 1930's-1940's, but since they were of soft vinyl, I figured they were probably later than that. I really liked the thought of getting them and cleaning them.
As in the past, I didn't take a before picture. I felt an impulse to start, and I just had to do it. I soaked their clothing in Oxyclean for around 48 hours, changing the water several times. I cleaned each doll thoroughly with a magic eraser and a toothbrush, and shampooed and conditioned the hair of the one that had hair.
One doll is marked on the back of the neck with "Alexander Doll 19(C)60," and the other with "Amer Char 19(C)64."
I have photos today of the American Character doll. My best guess is that she could be American Character Tiny Tears from 1965, but I am still researching. I consulted a Facebook group for help, and group members are absolutely positive that the other doll is a Madame Alexander Kathy in her original outfit. However, people are still a little undecided about this one.
For now, I'll call her "Tiny Tears" until I find out differently.
Her hair is a lot shorter than in the Tiny Tears ads I saw, but not really shorter than the other dolls I've seen online. It's hard to know if it's been cut or not. The hair length seems all around uniform and intentional. The hair texture is quite coarse. I would like to know if it had been initially curled. It's so short, it would be hard to curl, but it would look cuter curled.
I really enjoyed ironing and doing some small repairs to her dress. It's a pale shade of pink. The fabric is fine and gauzy, a delicate and pretty fabric I associate with vintage garments. It's hard to find doll or human clothing made of fabric this fine.
I want to make her a diaper, panties, socks, shoes, and a bonnet. I've already been looking at some vintage patterns and making plans.
Tiny Tears' eyes are a gray-green-blue color. I don't know if this was the original color, or if they were a blue color that changed over time, but this particular color works well with her hair and color and face paint, so it would be cool if her eyes were originally a more unique color like this.
Tiny Tears is very much at home on the shelf. There's a space for little Kathy, once I get her outfit repairs finished.
I actually have never collected baby dolls in my adulthood. These two are my two oldest dolls now as well as my only baby dolls.
One thing I was thinking while I was browsing the antique mall was how much I would like to return to my earlier plan, a couple of years ago, to look for dolls in-person only, never online, to attend doll shows and even to take some little road trips to go to doll shows. I attended one a couple of years ago, and it was a lot of fun. It felt like the part I liked best about a doll convention, not just the shopping, but the bliss of knowing I'm surrounded by other doll enthusiasts for a few hours -- except it was much shorter and much cheaper, leaving plenty of budget for doll purchases.
I'm going to make it my goal to do that and also to make selections from my heart, not worrying any more about what fits logically with my collection. I loved walking around the antique mall for a few hours with that mindset, and I can't wait to do it again.
I didn't have anything really specific in mind. I just wanted a chance to see what I liked and what attracted me.
Out of the whole antique mall, I was most drawn to this plastic bedspread bag with two old, very dirty dolls in it. They were tagged as 1930's-1940's, but since they were of soft vinyl, I figured they were probably later than that. I really liked the thought of getting them and cleaning them.
As in the past, I didn't take a before picture. I felt an impulse to start, and I just had to do it. I soaked their clothing in Oxyclean for around 48 hours, changing the water several times. I cleaned each doll thoroughly with a magic eraser and a toothbrush, and shampooed and conditioned the hair of the one that had hair.
One doll is marked on the back of the neck with "Alexander Doll 19(C)60," and the other with "Amer Char 19(C)64."
I have photos today of the American Character doll. My best guess is that she could be American Character Tiny Tears from 1965, but I am still researching. I consulted a Facebook group for help, and group members are absolutely positive that the other doll is a Madame Alexander Kathy in her original outfit. However, people are still a little undecided about this one.
For now, I'll call her "Tiny Tears" until I find out differently.
Her hair is a lot shorter than in the Tiny Tears ads I saw, but not really shorter than the other dolls I've seen online. It's hard to know if it's been cut or not. The hair length seems all around uniform and intentional. The hair texture is quite coarse. I would like to know if it had been initially curled. It's so short, it would be hard to curl, but it would look cuter curled.
I really enjoyed ironing and doing some small repairs to her dress. It's a pale shade of pink. The fabric is fine and gauzy, a delicate and pretty fabric I associate with vintage garments. It's hard to find doll or human clothing made of fabric this fine.
I want to make her a diaper, panties, socks, shoes, and a bonnet. I've already been looking at some vintage patterns and making plans.
Tiny Tears' eyes are a gray-green-blue color. I don't know if this was the original color, or if they were a blue color that changed over time, but this particular color works well with her hair and color and face paint, so it would be cool if her eyes were originally a more unique color like this.
Tiny Tears is very much at home on the shelf. There's a space for little Kathy, once I get her outfit repairs finished.
I actually have never collected baby dolls in my adulthood. These two are my two oldest dolls now as well as my only baby dolls.
One thing I was thinking while I was browsing the antique mall was how much I would like to return to my earlier plan, a couple of years ago, to look for dolls in-person only, never online, to attend doll shows and even to take some little road trips to go to doll shows. I attended one a couple of years ago, and it was a lot of fun. It felt like the part I liked best about a doll convention, not just the shopping, but the bliss of knowing I'm surrounded by other doll enthusiasts for a few hours -- except it was much shorter and much cheaper, leaving plenty of budget for doll purchases.
I'm going to make it my goal to do that and also to make selections from my heart, not worrying any more about what fits logically with my collection. I loved walking around the antique mall for a few hours with that mindset, and I can't wait to do it again.
