The Flintstones was an animated television show that ran in prime time from 1960 to 1966, and has been re-run almost continuously since then. It spawned several spinoff shows and movies. The show featured a stone-age family and their friends dealing with the everyday life and concerns of mid-20th century America. Pebbles, daughter of main characters Fred and Wilma Flintstone, was introduced in 1963, near the end of the third season. Originally, it was planned that Fred and Wilma would have a son, Fred Jr., but the head of marketing for the production company convinced the producers to change it to a girl, because “girl dolls sell a lot better than boy dolls.”
The Ideal Toy Corporation made several different versions of Pebbles, but this 14″ baby with vinyl head and limbs and peach-colored cloth body was the first. Pebbles has rooted red hair and painted features, with side-glancing gray eyes and an open/closed smiling mouth. Her left hand is bent backward. At the top of her head, Pebbles’ hair is rooted in a circular pattern, around a bald spot, and gathered into a ponytail holding her plastic bone in place.
Pebbles wears a cotton flannel diaper held on with safety pins (yes, we gave children sharp objects back then!) and a leopard-print dress with a small bow at the neck. She originally came wrapped in a yellow flannel blanket edged with leopard-print binding.
Pebbles was one of the last dolls sculpted by Bernard Lipfert, who designed many of the best-loved dolls of all time, including Ideal’s Shirley Temple, Toni and Patti Playpal.
In 1950, the Terri Lee Doll Company added a new member to their lineup of dolls. This was Terri’s baby sister, Linda Lee, a 10″ all vinyl baby with a slimmer, more realistic infant body, and an adorable face.
Linda had her own outfits and accessories, including this suitcase-style trunk. The trunk is made of wood, covered with paper, and has a plastic handle and metal hardware. It measures 11.25″ wide, about 8.25″ high and 4.25″ deep. It has a flocked design of an elephant hauling a cart with a duck in it. Linda Lee’s name is in the lower right corner, with the two Ls designed like pairs of diaper pins. Another version of the trunk had gray flocking instead of the dark blue on this one.
Very soon after she was released, Linda Lee’s name was changed to Linda Baby, and the trunks that had already been produced had a daisy glued over the “Lee.” These trunks are very hard to find now.
Sold on eBay for $49 plus shipping in January 2020.
This article was published in the December 25, 1956 issue of Look magazine, and shows the brand new (at that time) Poor Pitiful Pearl doll by Brookglad, in her original outfit and the extra dress that she came with. Her creator, William Steig, was very well known at that time as an illustrator and cartoonist, primarily for The New Yorker magazine. What especially interesting here is the illustration showing his original drawing of Pearl. The article states that there would be a Poor Pitiful Pearl book the following spring, but I can’t find any information to confirm that it was ever published. He began a second career illustrating children’s books in the late 1960s, and it’s this work for which he is best remembered today.
This 28″ doll has a hard plastic torso and legs with soft vinyl head and arms. She is jointed at the neck, shoulders, elbows, hips and knees. She has an unusual construction in that her face and legs, with high heel feet, are obviously adult, while her flat-chested, pot-bellied torso and stubby arms are more like a child. She is a walking doll and her head turns.
She has blonde hair rooted in a short, curly style, vibrant blue sleep eyes with lashes, and painted lashes under each eye. Her lips are red, while her fingernails are more of a rosy peach color. Her toenails are unpainted.
Markings
She is marked “EEGEE” on the back of her neck.
Clothing
Our blushing bride wears a satin, lace and tulle wedding gown which was available in a variety of styles. Her wired hoop petticoat is attached, and she also wears white taffeta panties, nylon hose and American Character style white heels. Her jewelry also varied, but would have included teardrop pearl earrings, a rhinestone engagement ring, and some type of neckace. She carries a small bouquet of white fabric flowers. Her tulle veil may be decorated with rhinestones, flowers, braid, netting or all of the above. The same doll was also sold in a street dress under the name Little Debutante.
Doreena Ballerina was advertised by Valentine in 1957. She has a vinyl head with sleep eyes and rooted hair; vinyl arms; hard plastic torso; and hard plastic legs with jointed knees and ankles, so she can wear flats, high heels or ballet slippers. She was available in a variety of ballet costumes, which are pictured in the brochure that came with her. Her special stand enables her to pose on her toes. An extra outfit was packaged with her, so she could change into street clothes.
Doreena was also sold with a 40 piece “Ballet Tour” gift set which included a stage set.
Doreena’s extra outfit is a taffeta dress and panties with rayon socks and oilcloth shoes.Scan from Art National Manufacturers 1957 catalog
