Oh, you beautiful doll!

I've reached an age now where I can safely say I'll love dolls for the rest of my life. I passed life's half-way mark long ago, and I'm still just a kid. Amazing how that works! I don't claim to know a whole lot about dolls, but I know what I like and I like dolls with great faces. That's how I seem to choose the dolls I love now.This is an Ideal 16 inch Saucy Walker - 1951-55. I do love her face.

This doll is an Effanbee from 1969. She sits on a shelf near my computer and keeps me company every day. She seems startled by the flash--ordinarily she's not quite so wide-eyed. I love her fat little fingers.




These dolls are Berenguers. Notice that the expression on each face is different. They are absolutely adorable. They have dimples everywhere and skin wrinkles in all the right places. They are sought after by those folks who make OOAK reborns. Look on eBay under "reborns" and you'll see some terrific examples.



This is a Berenguer "Sucky Lip". He's the one that got away. I sold him and then was instantly sorry. Now all I have is his picture.


This little Italian souvenir doll has tags that say "Toarmina" and "Made in Italy". She has a felt face and the sideways glance but she's not a real Lenci. There were plenty of Lenci imitators, as we discovered when we found the one below. She also has a felt face and a sideways glance, and is dressed almost exactly like this one--right down to the water pitcher she holds in her hand. No tags, so I don't know what region she's from. But again, I love their faces!

She looks a little snooty for the camera, but usually she just looks bored.

This is a real Lenci doll. For more about Lenci's go to to http://www.lenci-dolls.net/

This smart couple are from Nova Scotia, and were purchased on a honeymoon trip in 1949. Their skirts and pants are woven wool and their sweaters, caps and mitts are knitted. I've never seen any others like them. I worry about moths with all that wool, but they've been displayed for years now and still look the same as when I bought them about 20 years ago.

This doll is a French shelf-sitter. She has an adorable face, too, but the camera flash distorts it, sorry to say. She's stuffed with straw and you can see how lumpy her arms are. She would have been a souvenir too, I'm sure.

This is the first of my posts about my dolls. I have many more that I'll share later. I would love to hear about your dolls--not just the most beautiful, or the most expensive, but the ones that touch you in some way and beg to come home with you!