A Babyland Rag Doll...One of My First Cloth Dolls

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...One of My First Antique Cloth Dolls!

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One of the very first I selected as a "must have" from my very first doll book, The Collector's Encyclopedia of Dolls is a Babyland Rag. The girl was the third doll I purchased and one that I have never considered putting up for adoption. A devout spinster, only recently she acquired a beau. Created by Horsman in the early part of the 20th century. Various reference books quote conflicting dates, but I will stick with the information provided by the Coleman's, "1904 through 1920"...in their first volume. Revised to "1893-1928 in Volume II...although the last two years were reference to a composition head baby.

eBay has a rather large set of listings of vintage Cloth dolls for sale, if you are interested in a purchase, or to find values, click here-- -- (if looking for values, it is necessary to register with eBay).

Dolls with painted faces were produced until about 1907, but the Babyland Rag dolls with the lithograph, or printed faces are the images which I find most appealing. These cloth dolls also included a topsy turvy "Babyland Rag", "Babyland Baby", "Babyland Topsy", "Babyland Topsy Baby", "Topsy Turvy" (Topsy at one end and Betty at the other end),

"Babyland Fancy", and "Babyland Boy".Although doll reference books refer to sizes larger than 14", the latter is the most common found size.

Babyland Rag cloth dolls were sold by such company's as FAO Schwartz, Macy 's, and Gimbel Bros. ranging in price from .24 cents to a whopping 2.00. At times, reproduction copies of old Horsman catalogues are available on ebay which picture the dolls and give their prices. (eBay...Collectibles...dolls...clothing and furniture...antique, vintage)

One text refers to the fact that "faces could be cleaned with soap and water", but this is not something I would recommend and sometimes wonder at the result of an ambitious "young mothers" bathing attempts.

Construction of the Babyland Rag cloth dolls is simple. All cloth, very little detail, flat lithograph faces without feature definition...but a concept that even modern doll artists have repeatedly copied.

A collection of these charmers can be outstanding in eye appeal. With the surge of primitive decor in our homes, even non collectors have sought them out to accent their country style dwellings.

Probably the best place to look for present "doll and accessories" value is on the Internet, primarily the auction sites--my favorite is eBay... in the completed cloth dolls section of eBay, you can browse the past 30 days of completed auctions of cloth dolls and accessories. On the left side, in the box named "Display", you can selsect "Active Items" to see the "cloth dolls and accessories" presently up for auction.

Also, if you have a doll or doll accessories you would like to find out about...eBay is the place to start... in the , just type in what you have in the search window just under "Dolls & Bears" on the left, and "Shazam", there appears a list of present, up for auction items--in the "Display" box on the left select "Completed Items", a new list will appear, displaying completed items going back for 30 days. The only books that I am aware of on to days market that discuss and identify antique cloth dolls are:

Cloth Dolls, from Ancient to Modern:

The following two books cover a multitude of various type antique and collectible dolls, but always have reference to old cloth dolls.

Blue Book Dolls & Values (15th Edition) by Jan Foulke and Blue Book Dolls and Values (16th Edition) by Jan Foulke

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