At a recent living estate sale, my friends called me up to the attic and showed me a rather large doll trunk that I had to make mine as soon as I saw what was inside! In it was a little vinyl doll with molded hair, a nursing mouth and painted blue eyes plus many little outfits that were adorably made and in their original retail boxes, as well as an abundance of doll accessories. There were also brochures about the Ginnette doll.
Who was Ginnette? She was created as the baby sister of the famous Ginny doll in the early part of the 50s. I am 73, and I can assure you that friends had Ginny dolls with many costumes that were just gorgeous. Some of them had the walking Ginny dolls whose head turned back-and-forth as you moved their legs. The idea of making a baby sister for Ginny was that it allowed a girl to play with a baby doll as her mother.
These famous dolls were created by Jennie Adler Graves (1890-1971) of Somerville, MA in the 1950s. Jennie started her company, Vogue Dolls, as an at home business making doll clothing for other dolls in 1922. She hired many at home sewers to make the outfits. Ginny, named for Jennie’s daughter Virginia, was the company’s first doll, introduced in 1948. Ginnette was introduced in 1955. Ginny and Ginnette added Jill, a teen sister, to their family in 1957. Jill had a teenage body and more high fashion clothes. She also had a boyfriend, Jeff, introduced in 1958. Teenage Jeff had a small line of clothing and the quintessential molded hair.
Jennie built her Ginny family company into one of the most famous doll lines of the 1950s, competing with other doll icons of the era like Madame Alexander and Toni by Ideal.
Barbara Millicent Roberts, aka Barbie, arrived on the doll scene in the 1959, and slowly, the ground under Ginny’s popularity got shaky as children gravitated to dolls with a shapely adult form rather than Ginny and Ginnette’s child form.
Vogue Dolls went through several owners over the subsequent decades, but ultimately the brand was revived in 1995 as a series of vintage reproductions and collectible dolls. True vintage 1950s Ginny family dolls like Ginnette are still very collectible.
I was lucky to meet the owner of this Ginnette doll and the outfits in the doll trunk. I wondered if the doll was given by her mother and grandmother, as it looked to be a very pricey gift. The two of them gave her Ginnette as a birthday gift in June 1956, presenting it with a little baby book that they filled in with little events and pictures and comments.
Little fold out pamphlets of outfits that could be bought and as well as larger things such as a doll bed, a baby toter and a sweet diaper bag were also in the trunk. The doll and the clothes were both endorsed with the stamp of being commended by Parents Magazine.
The owner told me she hosted a party for a small group of girls and their Ginnette dolls. The guest list was charming because each guest had the first name, Ginnette, and a different surname.
The original owner took great care with the clothes, but for mishaps with snaps which must’ve infuriated her with her tiny little fingers. When she outgrew her doll, they carefully packed up the trunk and closed it and put it in the attic. It was like opening a vault because the air of that trunk had no dusty or dry odor from storage. Everything was perfectly preserved.
The story of Jenny Adler Graves is a big story over decades, making little girls happy with sweet dolls and fabulous fashion for them. I will give you several links if you care to learn more about her.
Ginny and Ginnette promotional film
The origins of the Ginny Doll by Ruby Lane
Ginny Doll Study by Littledoll
Women Doll Arts: Jennie Adler Graves, from the Austin Doll Collector’s Society
1 comment
What a wonderful find!