Vintage Doll | Collectors Weekly

Posted 11 years ago

I need help to identify how old is this doll. She dress a beautiful dress with a lace detail in the bottom. She has a small amount of hair.

Manikin, 11 years ago
She is upside down and missing her hair . She looks like a Nancy Ann Storybook doll , I can't tell what she is made of photo to small of face or what her legs look like and how tall is she ?

The 5" Storybook dolls began being produced in late 1936. Doll bodies began being made in California in 1939. Artists painted the facial features, therefore, giving each doll its own special look. During the war years, the potteries made bisque cups, platters, and dishes for the Navy hospitals along with dolls. The government felt the dolls were necessary for morale and demand for the dolls was high. Many were sent by convoy to Hawaii where soldiers were able to buy the dolls and send them home to their loved ones.

By the late 1940s, the company was producing the largest doll volume in the nation. However, in the 1950s and 1960s, as Nancy Ann's health began to fail, the company's production also slowed. Nancy Ann Abbott, who had become known as "The Doll Lady" passed away in 1964. Les Rowland's health was also declining at that time, and a sale of the company was attempted, but never consummated. In 1965, the company filed for bankruptcy.
Manikin, 11 years ago
Due to Nancy Ann Storybook dolls' popularity, the style of the doll was often copied by competitors and may sometimes be confusing to the novice collector. K&H dolls and Dollcraft are two that most closely resemble Nancy Anns. Also, some people refer to any "Storybook" doll as a "Nancy Ann."

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