Shirley Temple Dolls

    While the different versions of the dolls vary by size, material, and subtle differences in features, these Shirley Temple dolls were designed to look like the famous child actress, including hazel eyes and golden curls, and they were clothed in outfits based on those Shirley wore -- in film and offstage.

    The first Shirley Temple doll was made in 1934 by the Ideal Novelty & Toy Company -- the only company which had the official license to use the Shirley Temple name. These first six-piece-strung composition dolls (made of a mix of wood pulp and glue) with strawberry-blonde curls, are not marked. They simply had a paper label inside the doll's head which read "Cop 1934 Ideal Novelty & Toy Co." These dolls are called the "prototype" dolls for this reason. This is the only authentic Shirley Temple doll model without markings.

     Months later, in that same year, the same molds and wigs were used, but the dolls were marked with "COP IDEAL N&TCo." on the back of the heads.   Pins featuring a smiling Shirley Temple wearing overalls were included with these early dolls; later dolls would have the pins with the classic, coy "finger next to her face" image.

    By Christmas of 1934, the popularity of the Shirley Temple dolls was proven and Ideal committed themselves to them. A second version of the Shirley Temple dolls, with brighter face paint and blonder hair, were released. These dolls had "SHIRLEY TEMPLE" stamped on them along with a COP (for Copyright Pending). Once Ideal secured the copyright, "Shirley Temple" was stamped on both the doll and the head.        (It should be noted here for beginning collectors that Ideal used the Shirley Temple doll face molds for other Ideal composition dolls, such as the Snow White and the Hawaiian "Marama" dolls, and so those dolls bear the "SHIRLEY TEMPLE" markings on the heads. Since clothing and wigs can be switched, and "personalization" and poor restorations of dolls abound, identification of real Ideal Shirley Temple vintage composition dolls is best done by verifying the stamps on both the head and the body.)

    In 1935, a third edition of Ideal Shirley Temple composition dolls were released. These dolls had darker painted features, less chubby cheeks, and golden colored wigs with distinct parting of the hair and more defined tighter curls than the earlier models.

    Also in 1935, a baby version of Shirley Temple was made. The Shirley Temple baby dolls had a composition head and shoulder plate as well as composition legs and arms attached to a cloth body. These baby dolls had an open mouth with two upper and three lower teeth, as opposed the six in the more grown-up dolls. Sold in both wigged and bald versions, all are marked "SHIRLEY TEMPLE" on the back of the head. (Later versions were made with rubber shoulder plates and arms; but the rubber deteriorated so poorly that finding one of these with arms in acceptable condition is nearly impossible.)

    In 1937, a fourth version of the (not baby) Shirley Temple dolls was released. These dolls may have been made using the molds from the third edition, but she looked very different. Shirley now had a flirty sideways gaze, emphasized by eyeshadow and darker eyebrows, all on a much lighter complexion. Her hair was also darkened and given a side part.

    In 1939-1940, Shirley Temple dolls have yet another, fifth, look. Whether her less pronounced chin and eyelashes were the result of new molds or older molds which had seen too much use is up for debate; but these changes are noticeable. Shirley still has eyeshadow, but it's painted differently; her cheeks are rosier too. Her complexion is more realistic, darker than the earlier eyeshadow version. Shirley's hair is darker and her curls are tighter and more like bangs in front.

    The Ideal Shirley Temple composition dolls came in nine sizes: 11", 13", 16", 17", 18", 20", 22", 25", and 27", and additional variations may be seen in the various molds by size as well. But those are the generalities which may help you identify your official vintage composition Shirley Temple dolls.

    By 1939, Shirley Temple herself was growing up -- and, in the great tragedy of child stars, her popularity was waning. As a result, doll sales declined and so new doll designs ceased. But, in 1958, when Shirley Temple began hosting Shirley Temple's Storybook (later revamped as The Shirley Temple Show), the renewed interest in Shirley herself led to a renewed interest in Shirley Temple dolls too.

The word of this time was "plastics", so the Shirley Temple dolls would now be made in vinyl.   

    These vinyl Shirley Temple dolls came in five sizes (12", 15", 17", 19" and 35") and had markings on back of head and back which indicated the doll's size along with an "ST" for Shirley Temple, and sometimes other letters or numbers. For example, the 12 inch dolls were marked ST-12 (or ST-12-N). The 17 inch and 19 inch versions sometimes came with flirty eyes.

    Some of these dolls wore clothes from some of Shirley's classic films, such as Heidi and Wee Willie Winkie. And the 15 inch dolls truly matched the Storybook TV series, having Shirley dressed as Little Red Riding Hood, Little Bo Peep, Cinderella, and Alice in Wonderland. However, likely taking aim at Barbie's emerging popularity at the time, most of these vinyl Shirley Temple dolls wore the fashions of the day. These dolls were made from 1958 through 1963.

    A decade later, in 1972, Shirley would again get new dolls made in her honor when Montgomery Ward would celebrate their 100th Anniversary with a replica of the 15 inch vinyl Shirley Temple doll. Sold in a box marked "Yesterday's Darling", Shirley is now made of vinyl, with saran hair. The dolls are marked ST-15-N/Ideal Doll/Hong Kong and Ideal ST-15/Hong Kong. This doll was criticized, perhaps prompting Ward's to make a "do over" in 1973: 16 inch version.

The box on the 16 inch vinyl dolls read "Now Appearing, SHIRLEY TEMPLE" and featured many pictures of Shirley on it. Still made of vinyl, with saran hair (curled in front and short in the back), Shirley Temple is smiling -- but for the first time, the mouth on the doll itself is not open. These dolls are marked 1972/Ideal Toy Corp./ST-14/H-312/Hong Kong.

    Another decade arrives, and 1982 brings another vinyl Shirley Temple doll. These dolls came in 8 inch and 12 inch sizes, in a variety of Shirley Temple movie costumes. The boxes had the Shirley Temple name scripted in pink.

    In 1983, another vinyl Shirley doll hit store shelves. These are just like the 1982 dolls, but, in an attempt to look like porcelain, they have much paler skin. The boxes now have the scripted Shirley Temple name in blue.

   In 1984, three 16 inch vinyl versions of Shirley Temple dolls were released, outfitted as Heidi, Diaper from the early Baby Burlesk films, and Stand Up and Cheer. These dolls also have pale white complexions.

    To mark the 50th anniversary of the Shirley Temple dolls, Hank Garfunkel released vinyl Shirley dolls as part of the "Dolls, Dream and Love" line in 1985. Ranging in size from 30 to 36 inches, the dolls came in different styles, including a baby Shirley.

Fifty years of Shirley Temple dolls now relegated Shirley Temple dolls to those of "collectible", and porcelain dolls were all the collecting rage. (You could see in the 1980s, how the vinyl dolls already sought to emulate the porcelain dolls with such fair complexions.) In order to meet the needs of nostalgic collectors, Shirley Temple now appeared in porcelain.

Porcelain Shirley Temple Dolls

    The first porcelain Shirley Temple dolls were made by Hank Garfunkel in 1984-1985. These were limited edition, 16-17 inch, dolls. Their popularity inspired Danbury Mint to make Shirley Temple dolls, beginning in 1986.

    The Danbury Mint dolls are limited editions, but in nearly an endless array of dolls. The first to come out was an eight-part series of Stand Up and Cheer dolls, followed by another eight-part series of Little Princess dolls. Over the years, the Danbury Mint has also produced toddler dolls, Family Album Dolls, and even porcelain Shirley Temple dolls holding their own smaller porcelain Shirley Temple dolls. Danbury has also made vinyl Shirley dolls, with a dress-up wardrobe, and 33 inch Playpal style dolls. And they continue to release Shirley Temple dolls today.

    While the composition dolls are the most valuable of all the Shirley Temple dolls, nostalgia for the other versions of dolls people once had -- and a general love of Shirley herself, continue to make the other versions popular and pricey. The doll that has the most value, of course, is the doll you have; the most desirable doll is the one most like the one you once had -- and miss terribly.

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"Oh My Goodness!"

     Her smiling face, chubby cheeks, bouncing curls, and her general good attitude, made people happy. They wanted to reach for her, hug and squeeze her, from dimpled cheeks to dimpled knees. But more than her cuteness, it was her enthusiastic wonder, which captured the best of innocence and hope, that everyone wanted to hold onto. No surprise, in light of the circumstances. Through the combination of her physical charms, the stories of the films she was in, and her performances in them, she exemplified the good old American "pluck" that everyone wanted to believe would see them through hard times. As result, Shirley Temple plucked the heartstrings of Americans and even people worldwide who saw her films, making Shirley Temple "America's Little Darling".

    As an actress, singer, and dancer, Shirley's body of work is amazing. In February 1935, at the age of six, she became the first recipient of the Juvenile Academy Award. She was the Hollywood box-office champion from 1935 through 1938, beating out such great and grown-up stars as Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, and Joan Crawford. Shirley's fame and admiration let to having a kiddie cocktail named after her, as well as actresses Shirley Jones and Shirley MacLaine -- and who knows how many other Shirleys were named in her honor!

    All in all, Shirley Temple appeared in 14 short films, 43 feature films, and 25 storybook movies between 1931 and 1961, before she left acting and entered politics and public service. But it is for her work as a child star that Shirley is most fondly remembered.

Her childhood charm was -- and remains -- infectious. Despite all the differences in generations, grandparents and even great-grandparents sit down with the youngsters in their lives to share the simple magic of watching Shirley's movies together. As families continue this tradition, especially at holiday times, they share their own Shirley Temple stories and build lasting memories for the future. As a result, Shirley Temple is the only child star kids today know and recognize from so many decades ago. In fact, her popularity remains so high today that Shirley Temple continues to make the Greatest Movie Star lists even today, usually landing in the top 40.

No wonder her dolls remain so beloved today!

    To take some liberties with a little poem that Shirley Temple herself recited in The Little Princess:

My dolly has to go away,

But she'll return most any day.

Any moment I may see

my dolly coming back to me.