IDENTIFYING YOUR DOLL
Collectors familiar with antique bisque dolls know that they often can be identified by the number and/or letter combinations molded into the back of their necks. They assume that they can do the same with the mold marks on 20th Century vinyl Horsman dolls.
Unfortunately often this is not the case. Few Horsman vinyl dolls prior to the mid-1960s have any mold numbers. And company records no longer exist, if, in fact, there ever was a master list of post-1965 mold numbers.
Furthermore, a study of markings found on actual dolls fails to show identifying patterns. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to Horsman’s use of mold numbers.
Adding to the problem, Horsman made many vinyl baby dolls over a long period of time. Many of them had very similar looking faces, but the dolls had different names. Also, sometimes the same doll changed names from year to year.
Ruth Morace, Horsman’s chief designer since 1986, confirms this:
“The names were flipped and flopped. I had a list of registered names from our attorney. When I wanted to name a doll, I just pulled one of the names off the list and stuck it on a doll. I’d use the same name on a different doll the next year. We used and reused the names we already owned.”
Though mold numbers can be confusing, for competitive reasons, Horsman was careful to mark its dolls with the company name. Occasionally, one will hear a collector refer to “an unmarked Horsman doll.” But this is usually wrong! If a doll is not marked Horsman on the back or neck, it most likely is not a Horsman doll!
But, Horsman, which had a large factory, did make vinyl dolls and doll parts which it sold, assembled or unassembled and usually undressed, to other companies. These were not marked with the Horsman name, but may look similar to actual Horsman dolls.
In the 1950s and ‘60s, and perhaps later, evidence suggests that purchasers of Horsman-made parts included Baby Barry, Impco, Mollye, Roberta, Uneeda and Valentine.
For example, plastic dolls marked 160. 170 or 180 (sometimes also marked Made in USA) seem to have been molded in the Horsman factory, but were not marked or sold as Horsman.
And doll researcher and author Polly Judd reported some similar dolls marked, for example, Horsman//180. These were retailed as Horsman products.
A sure way to determine your Horsman doll’s name is from the information on its original box, or sometimes, from an original cardboard hangtag. But often these are long gone, having been discarded years ago when some child first received the doll.
It may be possible, though, to learn your doll’s name even without its original box or tag by matching its face with a doll whose identity has been established. The hundreds of photos and catalog illustrations in this book, HORSMAN DOLLS" THE VINYL ERA, 1950 – PRESENT can be an important help.
HORSMAN'S VINYL MOLD MARKS
Although no complete record of Horsman mold numbers exists, here is a partial listing compiled from actual dolls whose identities are known. It may help confirm the identity of your Horsman doll, although remember that occasionally, the same mold numbers also were used for more than one doll.
MOLD MARK DOLL NAME
B10 Sleepy
B114 Baby Buttercup
B14 Heavenly Baby, Softee Baby
B141 Precious Baby
B144 Baby Buttercup, Musical Lullaby Baby
B19 Tuffie
BC118 Tweety Pie
BC2 Draft Dodger
BS18 Bright Star
F14 Ruthie
HM6 Mini Thirstee Baby
JK25 Jackie
M Mary Poppins
S14 Perthy, Li’l Happy Fella
T11 Poor Pitiful Pearl
T12 Ruthie
T14 Ruthie
T121 Pudgie
T125 Bootsie
T13F Terri
T18 Ruthie
T21 Ruthie
TB26 Thirstee Walker
W14 Tynie Baby
0504 Tynie Baby
10 Baby Precious
11 Bye-Lo Baby
1128 Alice in Wonderland
113 Pudgie
115 Happy Baby
12 Li’l David
13 Yvonne
14 Bye-Lo Baby, Willie Talk
17 Baby Softy Skin
18 Baby Sofskin, Peggy Ann
19 Scrambling Quarterback
1969 Kitchee-Koo
2 Heavenly Baby
20 Baby Tweaks
210 Mary Poppins
22 Snuggle Softee, Lynette
23 Cindy
227 Baby Rosebud
2329 Cindy Strutter
24 Baby Tweaks
2428 Sofskin Baby
2461 Baby Tweaks
2480 Baby Tweaks
25 Pudgie Baby
2508 Baby Buttercup
2580 Musical Lullaby Baby
2704 Tynie Baby
28 Love Me Baby
2808 Baby Buttercup
29 Kate Greenaway
2954 Bath Tub Baby
296 Baby Buttercup
3 Miss Sunbeam
3020 Mouseketeer
3028 Peggy Ann
3032 Baby Buttercup
3094 Baby Dumpling
31 Peggy Ann
322 Lullabye Baby
323 Lullabye Baby
3243 Love Me Baby
3255 Precious Baby, Baby Sofskin, Love Me
3260 Beauty Parlor
3273 Mouseketeer
3484 Heavenly Baby
35 Princess Peggy
3508 Pippi Longstocking
3729 Cry Baby
3769 Baby Tweaks
3774 Baby Buttercup
38 Bootsie, Peggy Ann
3822 Lovely Softee
4165 Baby Sofskin
443 Baby Sofskin
44 Lullaby Baby
4454 Pudgie
4641 Li’l Sofskin
5441 Baby Sharon
6 Talking Mickey Mouse
6064 Ruthie
6175 Posing Flopsy
6181 Jane (Mary Poppins set)
6182 Michael (Mary Poppins set)
66 Yes-No
66101 Baby Tweaks
66183 Ruthie
6712 Patty Duke
67182 Baby Tweaks
67189 Baby Buttercup
67203 Baby Tweaks
67204 Baby Tweaks
7 Baby Dimples
713 Lullaby Baby
716 Lullaby Baby
7166 Mademoiselle Dolls
73 Baby Buttercup
8 Scrambling Quarterback
8081 Pudgie
81 Cindy
82 Cindy
83 Cindy
8312 Buttercup
84 Cindy
8551 Dr. Denton Kid
85521 Tweety Pie
8684 Softee
87181 Ruthie
8720 Baby Chex
8729 Baby Buttercup
88 Baby Buttercup
918 Bye-Lo Baby
920 Tynie Baby
928 Wonderkin
IDENTIFYING BY CHARACTERISTICS
If you cannot identify your doll from a mold mark on her neck or back, you may be able to narrow the possibilities by noting certain unusual – in some cases, unique – characteristics. For instance, only a few of Horsman’s hundreds of vinyl head doll had a mechanism that caused them to move and squirm. Only some were battery-powered. By checking this list of identification clues, you may be able to narrow your search to only a handful of possible dolls. Then by reading the full descriptions of those, you may be able to identify your doll to a reasonable degree of certainty.
Certain very common characteristics – sleep eyes, a simple crier, rooted hair, drink ‘n’ wet -- are excluded from this list, since they are found in many Horsman dolls.
BATTERY-OPERATED
Baby Clap Hands
Baby Laugh ‘N’ Cry
Cry Baby
Disney Lites
Happy Baby
I Love You
Loonie Lites
Kitchee Koo
Sing-A-Long Baby
Talking Jackie
Thirstee Cry Baby
WIND-UP
Cry Baby
Dancing Cheerleader
Lullabye Baby
Mini Dancer
Musical Lullabye Baby
PULL-STRING ACTIVATED
Baby Don’t Cry
Baby Throw a Kiss
Baby Tummy Talks
Disney Talking Dolls
Musical Softee Baby
Pinocchio
Smiley, The Talking Clown
Talking Baby Sofskin
Talking Baby Take-A-Bath
Wake-Up Happy Baby
OTHER MECHANICAL OPERATION
Kopy Kate
Love Me Sofskin
Magic Tears Baby
Peggy Penpal
Pitter Patty
Train-A-Baby
INTERCHANGABLE PARTS
Cinderella
TALKING
Baby Clap Hands
Disney Talking Dolls
Love Me Sofskin
Pinocchio
Smiley, The Talking Clown
Talking Baby Sofskin
Talking Baby Take-A-Bath
Talking Happy Baby
Talking Happy Bear
Talking Jackie
OTHER SOUNDS
(Laugh, coo, cry, other than simple crier)
Baby Don’t Cry
Baby Laugh ‘N’ Cry
Baby Spank Me
Baby Squeezums
Cry Baby
Cry Baby Tears
Happy Baby
I Love You
Kitchee Koo
Sing-A-Long Baby
Thirstee Cry Baby
Wake-Up Happy Baby
MUSIC BOX
Baby Tummy Talks
Lullabye Baby
Musical Softee Baby
MOVES OR SQUIRMS
Baby Kicks
Baby Throw A Kiss
I Love You
Kitchee Koo
Lullabye Baby
Musical Lullabye Baby
Musical Softee Baby
MOVES, NODS OR SHAKES HEAD
Answer Doll
Yes-No
Baby Tummy Talks
ANATOMICALLY CORRECT
Li’l David
Li’l Ruthie
PALE, BISQUE-LIKE COMPLEXION
Antoinette
Bye Lo Baby
Leslie
Lynette
Sweet Memories
Terri-Ann
Yvette
Yvonne
EYES – WAKES UP/GOES TO SLEEP
Baby Go to Sleep
EYES – CRIES TEARS
Baby Dribbles
Billion $ Baby
Cry Baby Tears
Kim Sofskin
Lifelike Baby
Li’l Thirstee Tears
Lullabye Baby
Magic Tears Baby
Musical Lullabye Baby
Sofskin Tears
Softee Tears
Tammy Tears
Tear Drop Tammy
Thirstee Tears
OTHER UNUSUAL EYES
Baby ‘Magination
Baby Tweaks
Big Eyes
NOSE - RUNS
Baby Dribbles
UNUSUAL FACIAL EXPRESSION
Baby ‘Magination
Baby Thumb
Baby’s First Tooth
Bean Bag
Bean Bag Goodies
Bean Bag Snacks
Big Eyes
Draw-A-Face
French Flies
Gloria Jean
Kissin’ Cousin
Kissin’ Kate
Loonie Lites
My Dumpling
Pete
Pip Squeak
Polly
Poor Pitiful Pearl
Smiley
Sunny Tot
Tuffie
HAIR – PIGTAILS
Gretchen
Pigtail Peggy
Pippi Longstocking
HAIR – PIXIE CUT
Baby Sharon
Lifelike Baby
Li’l Softee
Softee Babee
Softee Pixie
Thirstee Baby
HAIR -- PONYTAIL
Betty Walker
Bootsie
Cindy
Linda
My Baby and Me
HAIR – PASTEL COLOR
Life Saver
HAIR -- YARN
Sneaker Peeker
HAIR – SINGLE TOP CURL
Baby Soft Love
Soft Love
Thirstee Baby
Tynie Baby
HAIR STYLING
Bathtime Bitzy
Beauty Parlor
Betsy McCall
Betsy McCall’s Beauty Box
Betty
Betty’s Beauty Box
Flip Change Beauty Box
Hair Max
House of Beauty
Katie Curls Styling Set
Pert ‘N’ Pretty
Pretty Is
MAKE-UP/COSMETICS
Beauty Parlor
Betsy McCall
Betsy McCall’s Beauty Box
Betty
Betty’s Beauty Box
Flip Change Beauty Box
House of Beauty
Pert ’N’ Pretty
UNUSUAL HANDS – HOLDS BOTTLE
Thirstee Walker
WALKER
Alice
Betty Walker
Cindy Strutter
Mary Poppins
My Baby and Me
Pretty Walker
Princess Peggy
Pudgy Walker
Ruthie Walker
Softee Strutter
Thirstee Strutter
Walk-A-Bye
Walking Rosebud
Walking Ruthie
UNUSUAL JOINTING
Baby Dimples
Baby Grow Up
Cindy
Curtain Call Kids
Wonderkin
TAKES A BATH OR TUB TOY
Baby Bath Ruthie
Baby Take-A-Bath
Baby Wash ‘N’ Play
Bathtime Bitzy
Bathtub Baby
Lov ‘N’ Stuff Wash and Care Set
Talking Baby Take-A-Bath
Tub ‘N’ Shower Dolly
PUPPET/MARIONETTE
Bye Bye Baby
Heinz Puppets
RAG DOLL
Betty Button
Button Me
Nice ‘N’ Neat
VENTRILOQUIST MOVABLE MOUTH
Emmett Kelly Jr.
Mickey Mouse Ventriloquist Pal
Moe, The Three Stooges
Simon Sez’
Tessie Talk
Willie Talk
DATING YOUR DOLL
How old is your Horsman doll?
Often that’s easy to answer. You recall clearly that you received her for your 6th birthday back in 1968. But sometimes it’s not that easy to tell when your doll was made.
I hope that the data in the A-To-Z chapters will help you determine when your doll first went on the market.
In addition, particularly between 1947 and 1960, Horsman Dolls Inc., introduced new materials and manufacturing techniques. Older ones were phased out and disappeared. The company gave special names, usually trademark protected, to its new plastics and processes that can help date the dolls using them.
Here are some clues to date your doll:
1947 – Horsman introduced vinyl plastic dolls late this year, though they were not widely distributed until 1948. At first, this Softee vinyl was used only for arms and legs. Heads were made of hard Tenite plastic or traditional wood fibre composition.
1948-1949 – The first all-vinyl Horsman dolls with soft heads appeared on the market, though most still had hard plastic or composition heads. In addition to stuffed cloth bodies, some mama doll types had bodies with latex (natural rubber) “skin” stuffed with foam rubber. These disappeared after 1950.
1950 - This was the last year Horsman made composition dolls.
1951 – Horsman introduced wigs made of Saran, a Dow Chemical Co. polyvinylidene chloride resin. This was the last year Horsman also used mohair wigs.
1952 – Wigs disappeared entirely. Saran hair was now rooted in the soft vinyl heads. It was called Miracle hair because of the new rooting process. There were no more hard plastic heads, although Tenite was still used for some bodies through 1953.
A new, improved soft vinyl called Fairy Skin was introduced. It was said to be softer, more realistic than the previously used Softee/Vinylite. Walker dolls were introduced by Horsman in 1952.
1953 – Horsman switched from Dow’s Saran to Union Carbide’s Dynel for its doll hair. Dynel, an acrylic fibre, was said to “hold a curl and wave better than any other.” This was deemed important since, to meet the competition from Ideal’s Toni doll, Horsman introduced its Shadow Wave doll this year. The next year, however, Shadow Wave was gone, and so was Dynel hair.
1954 – Saran Miracle hair was back. According to Horsman’s advertising, it hung and moved more “like real hair.” It was stronger and had a more natural sheen. 1955 was the last year that Horsman referred to Saran. The term Miracle hair remained.
1955 – Horsman introduced Superflex, a manufacturing technique in which a bendable wire was embedded in a doll’s limbs, allowing them to be posed.
1956 – Saran continued to be used for hair, but no further mention was made of the plastic’s brand name. This year, only, some Horsman dolls had pastel colored hair.
1958 – This was the last year the term Superflex was used.
1959 – Horsman introduced two new vinyls: Rigisol, a somewhat harder vinyl which still was soft enough to root hair, and an improved Softee, which replaced Fairy Skin. But after this year, most trademarked names for plastics disappeared, and were replaced with the generic term, vinyl. The rooted Miracle hair was now called Perma-Curl.
1960 – The Miracle head was introduced. It could be tilted as well as turned to any position. While an attractive addition to a doll, the manufacturing process apparently was costly and was dropped after a year. 