Snow White (Ideal 22" Shirley Temple) & Seven Dwarf (Knickerbocker 14") Doll Set

Description

This listing is for an incredibly rare, all original, Ideal Show White and Knickerbocker Cloth Body Seven Dwarfs set. My research leads me to describe the items as follows:
o
Snow White is the 22” Ideal Composition Shirley Temple body with the Ideal Ginger doll head circa 1937 (we know this because of the chin dimple, more later).
o
The dwarfs are the 14” Knickerbocker cloth dolls, circa 1950.
Introduction:
I will describe specific condition later, but the general condition on both doll & dwarfs is VERY good, since they were only brought out for display once a year at Christmas, and no children were allowed to play with them, even at Christmas. After which, for the past nearly 40 years they have been stored away in a box and haven’t seen the light of day (poor things!) (As to provenance: these were bought by my grandmother and used as Christmas display only, until I inherited them c. 1988. So: technically, single owner!)
I have tried to be very detailed in my description below, since I am limited to 12 photos.
If you have any questions or want any specific additional photos, please contact me in advance
.
General Info About the Set:
Snow White doll
is marked on the back of her head “IDEAL” in the diamond with “OF A” below (as in, Ideal of America, I assume). On her back is marked “Shirley Temple” and “22”. This indicates that this Snow White Doll uses the 22” Ideal Shirley Temple doll body.
All Seven Dwarfs
have all cloth body with heavy oil cloth mask face, fainted facial features, and their velveteen clothing forms their body structure. They all have their original mohair beards.
Snow White’s Body & Features:
·
Her body is jointed at the neck, shoulders, and hips. She is strung (I assume with elasticized string).
·
True to the label on her back, she is 22” tall.
·
She has a 6-piece body (head, torso, 2 arms, 2 legs).
·
She has “Flirty Eyes” (also called “sleeping eyes”) which not only open and close, but also follow you from side-to-side when you move her! (Awesome! I’ve never seen this before!).
·
She has her:
·
original body and facial paint: no repaint on body or face. Her face is still flawless and her body has only one area of crazing (on her back, see below). All other facial and body surfaces are just beautiful.
·
original stringing (still in surprisingly good shape; possibly could be restrung for longer life, but she doesn’t require it at all)
·
original black mohair wig
·
original upper teeth (doll was made with only uppers)
·
original eye lashes (doll was made with real upper lashes and painted lower lashes)
·
original all her fingers (though one finger on her left hand was professionally restored 5 years ago)
·
original clothing (which consists of the following):
·
red velvet bodice with attached pale ivory-yellow rayon skirt with illustrations in red across the skirt and around the hem. The dress reads, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” with illustrations of them all.
·
matching red velvet cape with collar
·
headband ribbon
·
cotton muslin underclothes (one-piece body suit with petticoat attached)
·
socks
·
oilcloth shoes with black ribbon laces
ALL SHOW WHITE CLOTHING AND DOLL FEATURES ARE IN EXCELLENT TO VERY GOOD CONDITION, WITH THE FOLLOWING NOTATIONS:
·
If there was originally a pin holding her cape closed, that is gone; it is simply tied and safety pinned closed. I do not know if there was originally something else.
·
If there were originally snaps or fasteners holding her slip closed at the back, they are gone. I don’t see
any
traces that there ever were any (no rust marks, no buttonholes), but her underclothes are now fastened with safety pins (probably from the 50s or earlier).
·
Dress has both original buttons at the back, but one buttonhole has become too big and so button won’t stay fastened. This could easily be fixed with abut 3 stitches!
·
Dress is very clean but with some staining here and there (see photos). There are no holes or wear spots. The elastic in her sleeves are even still resilient (not dried or stretched)
·
The “uppers” of her shoes are fine (mild scuffing on the back of the heels; only visible from behind), but the soles of the shoes have very slight peeling (from drying out?) where they are pulling slightly away from the uppers. Again, could be mended with a dot or two of glue.
·
Eyes had some cloudiness / crystallization, which was professionally restored 5 years ago, though you can see from the photos they are still not crystal clear.
·
There is some very noticeable crazing on her back in the area of the Ideal ID mark. The good news is, you can’t see it with her 3 layers of clothing covering it!
·
There is some slight paint wear at the top of her legs where they fit into the torso, having worn away a bit from leg movement. Again, no way to see this with clothes on.
·
Sadly there are no original hang-tags on the doll.
Dwarfs’ Bodies & Features:
·
They are all from the same purchase set: 1950s Knickerbocker cloth body.
·
Each is c. 14” tall.
·
Each has a cloth body that is all one piece: stuffed velveteen. Their clothing basically forms their bodies and shoes. Each body is in excellent condition: no loose joints, no rips, no floppiness beyond what the original design intended.
·
Each has a separate belt with silver metal buckle; their “jacket tails” are attached to their belt, so it
looks like
the belt wraps around the jacket with the tails hanging down.
·
Each has brown velveteen curled-toe “shoes” (still, all one piece of their body).
·
They each have a personalized hat, which is pinned to their heads.
·
Each has a pressed oilcloth mask face, with individualized facial features painted on. Their features are beautifully rendered, making each a perfectly individual character with endearing qualities, even Grumpy!
·
Each has a mohair grey beard glued onto their face (except Dopey who was designed as clean-shaven)
·
Dopey has large cloth ears.
·
Doc has black felt glasses attached to his face.
All Seven Dwarfs’ clothing and doll features are in very good condition, with the following notations:
·
There is some dark staining (to varying degrees on each doll) on their backs, especially at their neck). As I recall from childhood, they were leaned against the fireplace screen when displayed, so probably it’s paint or varnish staining from that position (or just from laying in their box all these years). I do not know if it is safely cleanable, but it can’t be seen from the front.
·
Dopey’s belt has noticeable damage and wear, and his buckle is loosely sewn on. This would require replacement of the belt to truly remedy.
·
The grey mohair beards are all in good condition but some fall a little loosely away from the face, and many probably no longer hold their original shape. They all look perfectly fine, though, and are still properly attached, with only slight glue-drying if you really poke at them.
·
There is a stain (possibly glue residue) on the front belly of Dopey’s suit.
·
Only 2 dwarfs have a felt “button” glued to the front of their suits. I don’t see any trace on any other dwarf (besides Dopey’s aforementioned spot) that they had a button that has fallen off, so I think this is intentional design.
·
Each of these sweet faces has some degree of crazing or wear. (Some worse than others (though none really bad), and some barely noticeable). Please look closely at the photos to see each doll’s facial condition. There are no tears or rips in any faces.
·
All dwarf clothing appears to have faded from their original vibrancy (you can see the original color under armpits). Each suit also looks a little dingy, as if they’ve been working in the mines and Snow White hasn’t done their laundry recently! There are no tears in any clothing, and other than those mentioned there are no stains on the front of the suits.
·
Doc’s glasses are a little floppy / loose.
·
Sadly there are no original hang-tags on any of the dolls.
Note: The shipping cost is for Priority mail;
it does not include any insurance
.
If you would like insurance just let me know, so that I may invoice you
. The buyer assumes all liability for damage or loss of goods on packages that are not insured.
There is no question that this is a remarkably rare find. YOU MAY NEVER FIND ANOTHER ONE LIKE THIS EVER!!!!! If you are falling in love, don’t let it get away!
A little dollmaker history from  filmic-light.blogspot.com)
Snow White:
Ideal Novelty & Toy Company of
New York
created their earliest dolls circa 1910. In 1934, the Shirley Temple doll was released--one of their most popular. In 1937, the first Snow White was issued. Snow came in a variety of sizes from approximately 11" to 24". Some used the Shirley Temple mold, others did not. Some had a mohair wig, others molded hair. In addition, two distinct categories of dolls were produced--cloth and composition. Composition is a mixture of glue, sawdust and/or other substances--wood flour, wood pulp, cornstarch, resin, and the like. Dolls with heads made from this were prominent during the 1920s through the 40s. Less fragile and less expensive than porcelain, they remained popular until after the Second World War when plastic took over the market. Several different manufacturers produced composition dolls including Ideal. According to the doll guide books, the Snow White composition doll utilized the Shirley Temple body mold, but not always her face mold. If a chin dimple is present, it's an Ideal Ginger doll head. The Shirley face has two side dimples. It features real upper lashes, painted lower lashes, and the new Magic Eyes that could move and close. She has an open mouth with upper teeth. Mohair wig. The body is jointed at the neck, shoulders, and hips. She wears a red and yellow dress with a dwarfs print on skirt. (Blue and yellow versions were also produced).
Seven Dwarfs:
Knickerbocker realeased all composition Seven Dwarfs dolls. These are the ones that show up most frequently on ebay and at auction. In the 1950s Knickerbocker also released a series of 14” Seven Dwarfs cloth dolls. They have pressed oilcloth mask faces. Painted facial features with mohair beards. The clothing, which is stuffed velveteen, makes up the body structure. They are dressed similarly to the earlier composition Dwarfs  but on these dolls, the clothing is part of the body. Mohair wigs, removable hat with the character's name imprinted.   Dwarf's names are: Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy.
NOTES:
This item:
Is considered an adult collectible. It is not suitable for children under 14 years of age.
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