Plassie by Ideal

I must admit, my favorite "large" doll company is Ideal. Mattel, Madame Alexander, American Character is all very nice, very collectible. I have a natural attraction to Ideal. Go figure.

I just picked up this baby at a second hand store for $4.99. The store had porcelain dolls for $20.00 to $25.00. They had this darling soooo cheap....the head alone is worth that much.

This is Plassie, I think....the only true way to tell is to look at the patent number on the crier. My crier works, so I'm not going to take it apart! #2252077. Plassie was 18 to 24''. Mine is 21''. She had a crier.....arms are full, legs are "swing" version with the thigh being half cloth, half other material. She was issued in composition then hard plastic, she eventually was issued with a HP head and magic skin such as mine.

Her eyelashes are full and the eye color is glorious! Her face is a bit dirty but every hair, every detail is excellent. She wore a nice jumper with a bonnet that could be considered period but for the fact it had Velcro attachments. Plassie dated to the 50's, she really should be in a snap enclosure outfit. I was immediately attracted to her thinking....this is a Ideal doll....sure enough, it indicates that on the back base of her head.

The catch.....magic skin. It was a flexible vinyl that felt like the softness of real skin. It also deteriorated with time, first browning, then cracking, crumbling and falling apart. Mine is in browned. No cracking, crumbling and no falling apart, in fact pretty good considering it has defined toes and finger.

The cashier was astonished my baby doll looked so different, she felt the head didn't have the right body. I showed her the unexposed areas that were preserved flesh tones in the neutral tan, my baby doll has a perfect, lovely shade of brown.

The next two pictures are from a doll reference site that describes Plassie, she is shown all in the hard plastic because the site indicated the magic skin is, "to deteriorated to show". I'm going to look for a plastic-cote paint in flesh tone....suppose there is such a thing? Until then my baby doll will have socks, shoes and a covered cuff sleeved sweater, mainly to keep the parts unexposed. Perhaps I will come across a set of HP arms and legs.

Visit Doll Reference for a wealth of information that also includes pictures. This is a 21'' Plassie.

I'm satisfied with my purchase although I didn't know the crier worked until I was checking out. My poor dog thinks it's a squeak toy for him. Note to self...keep doll on high shelf.

Magic skin....another toy of the future, so soft it is....C&G Design.