Hard Plastic Dolls
When plastic was invented, it was a doll manufacturer's dream, because now dolls were more robust, though they could still crack if they were dropped. They needed glued - on wigs, because it wasn't feasible for manufactures to insert the hair directly into the head. The first plastic dolls were hard and shiny - and some of these early ones are becoming victims of 'doll disease' which is a breaking-down of the plastic. Click on the thumbnail of the doll to get a bigger picture. None of the dolls shown are for sale.

	This Pedigree Delite girl is 14" tall and made in the early 1950s. This particular face was very popular and was used on several dolls in the range. She is jointed with straight legs, and her hair is a rather coarse saran wig. Her smiling mouth reveals two teeth.

	Another popular Pedigree face, here being used on a toddler fitted with a clockwork mechanism, wound by a large key. The mechanism causes the doll to 'walk'. He stands 14 inches high and dates from 1953. This one wears his original romper suit.

	A Pedigree knee-bend doll dating from 1955. Dolls with bent knees were made by several British manufacturers in the 1950s, including Rosebud and Roddy. This girl is 22" tall and has a brown mohair wig. She has flirty eyes which move from side to side, and is a walker. The knee joint enabled these dolls to sit in a chair and also to kneel.

	Pedigree made many hard plastic dolls. This one is 10" tall and dates from around 1954. She was purchased in Woolworths, Welwyn Garden City, where 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 the owner's mum. The pink plastic teddy brooch with sparkling eyes was the owners favourite piece of 'jewellery' as a child.

	This is a Roddy 'Thumbs Up', dating from the 1950's. He's made of hard, shiny plastic and stands 12" tall. His hair is moulded, and he has a 'pouty' type face with a pursed mouth. When he walks (hand-assisted), his head turns from side to side and he has shoes moulded onto his feet. His knitted jumper, jacket and trousers are probably not original to the doll, but he is in superb condition.

	A Roddy pouty face doll from the 1950s, which stands 19" tall. She has moulded hair and plastic lashes. She is a hand-assisted walker who turns her head from side-to-side as she moves, and is dressed in a cotton frock made to a 1950s design. This face appeared on many Roddy dolls, both hard plastic and later vinyl models.

	A lovely smiling 11" Roddy doll made in the 1950s. She has a bent-legged baby type body, and was dressed, probably as a fairy, many years ago. Her lashes are plastic and she wears a mohair wig in a pretty shade of auburn.

	A small Roddy 'thumbs up' with a sweet, chubby face. Her blonde wig is original and she was dressed by her child owner in the 1950s, in a white cotton dress trimmed with lace, tied with blue ribbon and with matching ribbons in her hair. She is just 6 1/2" tall.

	This Rosebud knee-bend has a pretty face with delicate colouring, and her red, sweetly-smiling lips clearly show why a little girl once exclaimed that the dolls' lips looked like rosebuds, thus providing the manufacturer with a brand name! She is 17 inches high and dates from 1955. These dolls can also be found as 'transitionals' with vinyl heads.

	A sweet Miss Rosebud. These little 7 1/2" hard plastic dolls are very popular with collectors nowadays. They date from the 1950s and had mohair wigs in various colours, including blonde, brunette and auburn. They are clearly marked 'Miss Rosebud. Made in England.' This mould was also used by other companies.

	These are hard plastic Tudor Rose dolls dating from the 1950's, and measure 8" in height. Often these dolls have clear acrylic eyelashes. Sometimes they have moulded hair, sometimes mohair wigs. The girl in white was bought second-hand, and wears a beautiful hand-knitted outfit. The boy doll was purchased new, in Woolworths, in 1954. He was naked when bought, and wears the outfit made for him at the time - yellow jumper, striped trousers, red and green cardigan, and white hat.

	Here is a super BND (British National Dolls) 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. This one wears a red-checked pinafore dress with silk apron, and matching bonnet, which, though not original to the doll, date from the same era - 1950s.

	This is another doll made by BND. She dates from the early 1950s, and is a walker, with sturdy limbs and an open mouth. Her long fair wig is a replacement. Her blue gingham frock is worn with white knickers, long socks and blue plastic ribbon-tied shoes. BND was a North London company who made dolls from 1930 - 1960.

	Hard plastic teen dolls, such as this one which is marked UP British Empire Hong Kong 6120, were very popular before Barbie and Sindy dolls were developed. Made around 1957, she stands 12" high, and has elegantly shaped hands with red finger- nails. Her short mohair wig is ginger, and she has plastic flower earrings. She wears a circular black skirt, white cotton-lace blouse and scarlet bandana belt over nylon stockings, bra, pants and slip. On her arched feet are dainty white high-heeled sandals.

	This pretty, hard-plastic Kader girl doll is 25" tall, the height and size of a small toddler, and has moulded hair, flirty eyes, a moving tongue and twist wrists. Her condition is excellent. Kader hard plastic dolls were still being made in the early 1970's. These dolls are easy to recognise by the distinctive thin shiny plastic, and feel light when handled. This girl doll wears a 1960's nylon baby dress.

	This lovely Kader girl, has a short, moulded plastic bob hair-style. She has twist wrists and is made from the thin, brittle plastic which is common to Kader, Evergreen, Camay and other Hong Kong factories. She probably dates from the late 1950s or early 1960s. Her pretty red dress with grey striped skirt is original to the doll.

	This is another Kader, a boy this time, with a moving tongue and twist wrists. He also has sleep eyes. He is wearing a blue knitted outfit - trousers, jumper, hat, scarf and mittens. Kader dolls are becoming quite collectable, and come in many sizes, from tiny babies to dolls around 25" tall.

All pictures and text © Susan Brewer 2004. Virtual Valley Graphics logo and all site design and content © Simon Brewer 2004