Most of the dolls we get donated to the Op Shop are modern ones like Baby Alive, Baby Born, Bratz or generic baby dolls but the other day Karen, my co-worker on Mondays, opened a bag and handed me a doll that was much older.
This doll, which is about twenty inches tall, looks as if she is made of hard plastic, she has a mama box which is not working properly and her hair is a kind of coarse saran and is a glued on wig. She has blonde hair and blue sleep eyes but her lashes are dark, silky and thick. Her facial paint makes me think that she might be Italian made. She has the high colour and pursed lips they often have. As she is unmarked she’s going to be a tricky one to ID
I noticed that she has a thick seam line down the middle of her body where she was joined together. I don’t know if this means she was repaired at some time or just poor quality workmanship, her paint is rather rough in places too although apart from one finger she still has most of it. My poor Loretta who is an Italian hard plastic doll has lost some of her her paint and her body is grey-blue underneath her skin paint. I think this doll may be similar.
I think that she still has her original underwear, panties, socks and shoes. Her blouse which is in poor condition also looks original. Her skirt and petticoat I am not so sure about. They look home made although they are obviously old.
So far I have given her a dust and wipe down with dishwashing liquid and combed detangler through her hair. I didn’t want to make her too wet. Her hair has come up quite well as it is less dry and has a bit more shine to it. I can’t say if it has been cut or not. Later I will try and see if I can get some curl into it.
I’ve washed her clothes except the blouse which would probably fall apart if I tried. I’ll put it into a bag to keep with her as I know collectors like to keep original clothing. I’m thinking about what to make to replace it.
Once all this is done we can decide on a price for her if she goes back to the Op Shop. I would not want to put her on the shelf with the children’s toys. I’ve seen what happens to those dolls. She deserves better at her age and although I don’t think she is particularly rare some collector might be glad to have her if we can hook her up with the right person. Of course there is the outside chance I might buy her myself but I don’t really need another big Italian doll.
As always if anyone can add a bit more information I’d be pleased to hear it. I’ll be posting update photos when her make over is finished.
Dolls, Dolls, Dolls 
I did see one doll on e-bay with similar facial features, an Aldo Folli, but it was a walker/talker and taller. The cover to the mechanism was removed to show marks so couldn’t compare the cover to yours..I’m going to look at Athena Piacenza and Alfredo Zellini as well see if they are more similar.
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Thanks, I thought she was a little similar to Athena but the only picture I could find was of a larger doll. Her legs are quite free moving but not jointed the way my British walking dolls are.
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I also found out that Ottolini dolls were often unmarked as this one is but have not found one that looks just like this yet.
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Athena’s was the one with a sound box and the most similar face..but her hair was auburn..pretty but expensive asking over a hundred for her!
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A lot of these have mohair wigs and this is saran so I think she is probably later than some I’ve looked at.
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This doll looks like she could be a vintage Italian doll, made by a company called CARES.
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Thanks for the hint. Do you know anything about them?
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Ik heb ook zo een soort Pop, ze lijkt er veel op deze, de mijne is een vintage/antieke Ratti Pop met flurt ogen, en is ook van hard plastic, en is 55 cm groot, zij is wel gemerkt met Ratti 58 en heeft bruin lang haar met vlechten, kan niet veel info vinden over deze pop, helaas…
Translation from the Dutch: I also have a kind of doll, she looks a lot like this one, mine is a vintage / antique Ratti doll with flirt eyes, and is also made of hard plastic, and is 55 cm tall, she is marked with Ratti 58 and has brown long hair with braids, can’t find much info about this doll, unfortunately …
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Thanks Emmy. I translated your comment with Google translate so I hope it came out right. I have a smaller hard plastic Ratti doll myself. I haven’t been able to find out a lot about the company either.
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Yes me neighter, i like to know more about her like how old she is, and the history about those Dolls, but there is no information 🙄🤔
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Most of those companies were either bought out or closed down many years ago. I don’t suppose they ever thought that their dolls would become collectible in the future.
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