What I Got at the Doll Show, Part 5: Pre Teen Betsy McCall

I can't believe it's September already. You know how it always seems the years go faster every year? Emma told me that she read that time really does seem to go faster as you get older because the time is less of a percentage of your total life. It's like how time seems to move so slowly when you're a kid, and almost as slowly when you're a young person. When you're only 6 years old, six months is 1/12 of your whole life. When you're 60 years old, six months is only 1/120 of your life. I'll be 60 next March, and time really does fly these days. That sounds really sad, doesn't it?

Before I go on, Beth in WV, please comment with your email so I can email you with the postage for your Highway Doll.

If you're waiting with bated breath to find out what I got at the last doll show, you can go ahead and breathe. It was a 'fashion doll show', and most of what they had were the same old, (And often the same new), Barbies, Integrity, etc type dolls you see everywhere all the time. I was not very excited. Plus everything was so expensive it couldn't be touched. Not by me anyway. I think the best thing we saw was the Ruby Red Galleria dolls. I haven't seen any in person before. They were beautiful. Even my sister wanted one, and she doesn't even collect dolls. I only bought a bag of miscellaneous clothes and bits, which had some Tammy clothes and a Tammy head in the bag, a couple of Christopher and Banks Barbie sized Christmas sweaters, a 1979 Muppet Show Players Fozzie, and one lone doll, which I will show you soon. She has to sort out some clothes first.

But today we're continuing with the dolls I got at the show before the last one. Today we're looking at Pre Teen Betsy McCall.

Betsy was made by Uneeda.

I thought she was teenaged Betsy, but from a picture of the back of a Betsy box, I see that she is actually 'Betsy McCall, Child Fashion Doll'.

Her box says she was 'created exclusively for McCall's'.

And this page from a 1965 McCall's needlework magazine refers to her and 'other 11 1/2" to 12" pre'teen dolls'.

She was made in 1962, '63', or '64. I've seen all three listed as her manufacture date. Maybe she was available for three years. (There's reason to think this might be the case, as she came in different style boxes and in different outfits. They might have been different for each year.) Or maybe people have just used the wrong dates.

One of her boxes was this Mondrian inspired colour block box.

The other box was made to look like Betsy is coming out the front door of her house.

She's 11 1/2 inches tall.

Her body type is similar to Tammy.

Her eyes are a little alien looking. But they're brown! And she has red hair. That's a rare combo, even in dolls. I have that combo, and I look for dolls with it. I was lucky to find a red haired Betsy, because that's what I would have chosen, and she came in other hair colours.

I got her cheap because the dealer said she had a nick on her nose. I didn't see one, but I didn't care much. I had been wanting this doll, and her price suited me. She looked fine. On close examination at home I saw that she had something white on her nose that maybe the dealer mistook for a nick?

But it cleaned off. I think maybe what the dealer was thinking of was that she was priced that way because she's had a haircut.

I don't mind that either. Some of these dolls came with a shorter bob, and this one can be trimmed up to look just fine.

If I can curl her hair to stay in these side flips, that would be great.

Her head is on a ball joint, so she can tilt it to either side or up or down.

She has one feature that is a bit unusual in an 11 1/2" doll like this. She has sleep eyes.

I think this dress is homemade. She's also wearing tights that are too short, and scoot down below her butt. The dress was pretty dingy and I washed it before the photos were taken. It did improve. I think it needs a soak in Stain Devils for nicotine or something though.

Betsy McCall started life as a paper doll in the McCall's magazine, in 1951. The same year a three dimensional 14" version of Betsy was produced by Ideal. Since then there have been many different Betsy McCall dolls, made by several companies, including the more recent remakes of her by the now defunct Tonner doll company. The most popular and best known version of Betsy is the 8" Betsy made by American Character in 1957. She's my favourite, and you may have seen mine two HERE and HERE. This version of Betsy is my second favourite.