Estate sales around my house are never super exciting. Rarely do they have any items that would fit into my doll collection. However, we recently found one that did. So much so that the actual sale was called “The Doll House”. The estate belonged to a couple that seemed like they had to have been lifelong collectors. With no children of their own, their estate was passed to a family member, who most likely had no interest in keeping the hundreds (probably thousands) of dolls that filled the couple’s home.
I didn’t expect to find anything at the sale, to be honest. The collector mostly concentrated on older bisque and french dolls. But, of course, it’s me, so inevitably, I left with something, or somethings.
Grandma and Grandpa troll, made by Thomas Dam, were the first two items I picked up. They’re about 14″ tall. Prior to this, I had never seen an elderly looking troll! The molds have wrinkles and everything. They were just too cute to not pick up.
I usually don’t pick up Cabbage Patch Kids at sales or second hand shops. I am perfectly content with the Cabbage Patch Kids I have. I couldn’t pass up these two soft sculpture Little People, though! They’re from somewhere between 1978-1980, judging by the tag. Meaning, these two Little People were made before the Cabbage Patch Kids even existed. It’s always been a goal of mine to make it to Babyland General to get a soft sculpture doll for myself. Picking these guys up for $8.00 seemed like a no brainer. Even with the less than flattering beginnings of the Little People/Cabbage Patch Kids line, I’m very happy with my purchases.
On the Cabbage Patch Kids shelf was also this girl. I wasn’t sure if she was a Xavier Roberts soft sculpture, but she was cute, so she came home with me, too. It turned out that she was not from Babyland General. She’s a custom Cabbage Patch Kid from 1984, crafted by Janet Waters (edition number 720/1000).
Upon googling, I didn’t learn anything about Janet, other than she worked on a lot of Cabbage Patch Kids. eBay is littered with her work, calling it by the name TJ Tots. All her kids seem to have very unique eyes, when compared to Xavier Roberts soft sculptures. I would love to know more about her, if you have any information.
Last, I picked up these two chairs. They’re perfect for SD sized dolls.
My mom picked up a few goodies, too, including a reproduction Lenci, a My Size Barbie, two bisque dolls in need of TLC and a 27″ composition Shirley Temple from the 30’s. Half of these were purchased on 1/2 price day.
The redhead is a bisque doll with an adorable expression. She needs some work on her arms, as the previous owner may have tried to repair her and didn’t do a wonderful job. This doll isn’t marked anything but “made in Germany”.
The doll below has eyes. They just decided to fall into her head after bringing her home. She’s the first of the dolls to go to Dr. Noreen for restoration. She’s marked “Alt, Beck & Gottschalk”.
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Prices were good at the estate sale, which is one reason we were able to pick up these great new additions to our collection. What do you think of these finds? Have you found anything cool recently? Share your thoughts in the comment area!
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