Collectible Dolls and Accessories  of the Twenties and Thirties from Sears, Roebuck and Co. Catalog

If you are just getting into dressing old dolls and want to do it right,  this reprint of dolls from the catalogs of the era is a super resource. While most of the illustrations are drawings, the descriptions give lots of information on what materials are used and what accessories the dolls might have come with. There are some name brand dolls ( such as Shirley Temple-Ideal) but also  many “catalog dolls”. The catalogs of the era liked to buy unmarked dolls ( and sometimes even marked) and give them their own unique catalog name such as  “Sunshine” . Doll makers such as Effanbee, Ideal, Horseman sold dolls in the department stores like Sears and Monygomery Ward, but this book is from the Sears catalogs. It has dolls such as Tickle Toes, Patsy Family, and others. You may be able to find the identity of your unmarked doll here, or you may find one with the same style and description and year it was sold, to help you know what the original clothes looked like.

There are dexcriptions of unnamed dolls that may fit the “mystery doll” you are trying to dress– such as a celluloid or metal head doll. The pictures and descriptions can help you figure out when your doll was made, and how it came dressed, so you can dress it in appropriate heirloom quality clothes.

I love the description of the fabrics and styles of the clothing! It is like a journey back in time— when the Christmas catalogs would come, and my sisters and I would sit down and look at them for hours,  dreaming of what we might find under the tree. If you want to make beautiful, authentic doll dresses for dolls of this era, you will love it too. When I did doll clothes sewing seminars, this was one of the books I gave to the students.