Looking For Bonnie

by Sarah Campbell
(Calvert City, Ky. USA)

I had the original Bonnie Braids when I 10. This was my favorite doll of all..I have been looking for the original for years. I found one on eBay that was the original but it was already sold.


I am 75 and still looking for Bonnie. I have a picture but I can't send it. It is a photo and not on my computer.

My sister and I both had one. I kept my doll dressed and her clothes washed and starched and ironed.

We moved and she got lost in the move.

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Sep 07, 2018
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starstarstar 		Find Bonnie Braids
by: Lizabeth

I would like to find a vintage Bonnie Braids doll. My sister had one when she was little and lost it. I would like to give her another. Anyone who has one for sale, email me at mamalbw@yahoo.com
Jan 09, 2017
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starstarstarstarstar 		Bonnie
by: Anonymous

Bonny was gifted with the new "Vinylite" plastic head, an early vinyl which seeps a mysterious sticky substance with age. This is easily cared for and removed with a light grainy cleanser on a regular basis. Usually every year or so.

Her body is "magic skin, a thin latex rubber which is stuffed to make her ever so soft and cuddly. She also coos when squeezed.

Although the elements of her body are not the most resiliant, with proper care, Bonny Braids deals with the aging process quite well. Heat is her most destructive foe. The magic skin will darken, split and deteriorate and the seepage on the head will harden and darken.

Bonny Braids was a doll to be played with and she thrives with attentive care. She was one of my three favorite childhood dolls. Laundering her clothes and giving her the vinyl substance removal bath is just as rewarding as it was when I was a child.

Keep in mind, if you are purchasing a Bonny Braids doll, the darkening and brittling of the rubber skin is irreversible, so avoid adopting until you can locate one that is still pliable and not tanned beyond recognition. The "magic skin" does develop moon crater pock marks through time. I do not find this at all detracting as her clothing covers her body and the "skin" is still soft and pliable.

The Bonny Braids doll was distributed in a box covered with the birth comic strip panels and arrived with her toothbrush and a tube of Ipana toothpaste. The little darling has one tooth!

bonny braids doll She is dressed in a long white organdy gown with a pink bed jacket. Her dress can also be found in pink. The tag is attached at the bodice seam.

Through the years my Bonny has acquired several other variations of the dress, not that they were original for her, she just needed more!

bonny braids doll Many related Bonny Braids doll items can be found to display with her. Early 1950's comic strips, soap, puzzles, paper dolls and a blanket with her name overall just to name a few.

The blanket belonged to the very small version of the Bonny Braids dollwhich does not resemble the character nearly as well as the 13" version. There is also a puppet and a wind up crawling version of Bonny.

In 1953, Ideal introduced the toddler version of the Bonny Braids doll. She has the same type soft vinyl head with a hard plastic jointed walker body. Her braids are longer and she wears a print toddler dress.

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


The last set of photos is of a competitor to the Bonny Braids doll. You can see the close resemblance, but this is not the authorized Chicago Tribune doll. For many years I have had a magazine page which advertises this doll, but after a long distance move, I have been unable to locate it.

bonny braids doll


bonny braids doll Both dolls shown together for comparison.
Probably the best place to look for present "doll and accessories" value is on the Internet, primarily the auction sites--my favorite is eBay...the completed doll section of eBay is where you can browse the past 30 days of completed auctions of Bonny Braids dolls and accessories. On the left side, in the box named "Display", you can selsect "Active Items" to see the "Bonny Braids 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...Dolls and Bears Category, 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.

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