Friday, September 20, 2019

AG Raised Neck Stamp - More Research (and Questions)

In a previous post were pictures of a used Josefina doll that I bought with the raised neck stamp. I had seen the raised neck stamp on a Nellie doll being sold on eBay by a consignment shop months earlier. I had researched it and couldn’t find a lot of information, and thought maybe someone on LADL had information on the raised neck stamp. Since that posting, I did a little more researching and bought the Nellie I had seen on eBay. 

This is the neck stamp and body tag on my Josefina. 


1. Ticia mentioned being told that the Josefina mold had been broken. Nellie has the Josefina face mold, so I found that was interesting that both dolls would have the raised neck stamp and be from the same mold. 
2. Here is the Nellie I bought from a consignment shop on eBay. Josefina and Nellie have the same neck stamp ‘American Girl LLC’, the same body tag, and the neck opening doesn’t have the added wedge or ‘V’ shaped material to make the neck opening wider. 

3. When I did a search for the raised neck stamp, I found a blog post about how to tell if the doll is an authentic American Girl doll. In the comment section, a person asked about GOTY Kailey Hopkins raised neck stamp. The blogger replied saying that she bought Nellie from AG, whose neck stamp is raised. I went on eBay to look at GOTY Kailey dolls, and found two with raised neck stamps. The differences between Kailey, Nellie and Josefina: 
Kailey has the classic face mold and her raised neck stamp says, ‘Pleasant Company’. Kailey was released in 2003.  
Nellie was released in 2004. 
Josefina was released 1997. 
One similarity is that her neck opening also doesn’t have the wedge or ‘V’ shaped piece of fabric to make it wider. 




4. Then a raised neck stamp Josefina appeared on Goodwill. Her neck stamp also says ‘American Girl LLC’.  What year was this box used? I don’t see it on the LADL post ‘American Girl Doll Boxes - History’ and I don’t see any other website with a history of the boxes like LADL has. I have two boxes that have the same design, and on the tag, it says ‘Made in USA, Germany, China’ I'm curious if the heads and limbs were just starting to be produced in China and someone messed up the mold resulting in a raised neck stamp instead of an indented one? 

5. I remember seeing something about a tag being inside the torso by the shoulder that indicated month and year that it was made. So I took apart my Josefina, but I didn’t find a tag. But the bottom of her head mold didn’t seem to be like other molds on dolls that I have. The bottom of the head on other dolls seems to be flat, but my Josefina’s is a bit slanted, or curved, not sure how to describe it. Here are pictures: 


6. Here is a Bitty Twin that was sold on Etsy with a tag that has ‘3371’ on it instead of a year.  Looks like the neck stamp says ‘2002 Pleasant Company’, which is indented.  

I have found this topic interesting, since I don’t see this very often. Some sellers don’t take a picture of body tags or neck stamps, unless it is to show that an older historical, GOTY, or JLY doll is Pleasant Company, which reduces the opportunity of seeing different neck stamps and body tags. I can see how showing a different body tag or neck stamp, when you are selling the doll, would raise the question of the authenticity of the doll. 

Thursday, September 19, 2019

*NEWS* Toys R Us Set to Return, 2 Stores in U.S.

 
The first two new Toys R Us stores will open in November as part of a small comeback of the defunct iconic toy chain in the U.S.
Richard Barry, a former Toys R Us executive and now CEO of the new company called Tru Kids Brands, says an online experience will follow. He says brand partners and more details will be announced in coming weeks.

 Plans are to open a store in The Galleria mall in Houston and in Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J. The first two locations will be about 6,500 square feet — a fraction of the brand’s former big-box stores, which were about 30,000 square feet. Barry noted stores opened later will be about 10,000 square feet.

Continue reading.....

*FEATURE* Dear America My Memories Club

I came across these old Dear America My Memories Club news letters that I still have! I think this club came out around 1999/2000.

When you first signed up for the club you got two journals,  a set of postcards, and some stationary. I no longer have the stationary, but still have the journals.


With each news letter you received a craft kit, journal pages and a book. The first book apparently was the one about the Titanic! These are fun to go through and I have about 15 issues! Here is the one that goes with Margaret’s book!  





This news letter is based off of Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie!



 -Joanna

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Addy Crafting with a Friend


 





Addy and friend are making spool puppets for their church fair. 





Tuesday, September 17, 2019

*FEATURE* Sam, London Fashion Week + FREE Ginsberg Cat

Sam wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up and what better place to check out the latest trends than on Carnaby Street in London? It was once the hottest place to find the coolest designs in the 1960s and today is still a great place to find clothes and fashion ideas. This is the end of London fashion week, so why not celebrate with Sam and make your own doll size shopping bag?


Watch the tutorial video!

For LADL readers, we are offering a FREE Ginsberg cat with every purchase of Sam, Your 1960s Girl! 

Just use LADLcat at checkout when you add Sam and Ginsberg her cat to your basket. Valid until Sept 24.

Monday, September 16, 2019

*NEWS* Sneak Peek Julie's FLIP SIDE Pinball Machine


Julie’s Pinball Machine
Julie’s Pinball Machine by American Girl will take you back to the 1970s, when Pinball arcades were incredibly popular. Julie’s doll-sized version works just like the actual game. The Flip Side pinball machine features flashing lights, a digital scorekeeper, a plunger to launch the metal ball, buttons to control the flipper arms on either side, bumpers, and realistic machine sounds. It’s made of real metal and wood. $150



Evaluation comments:
“The whole family was excited about this.”
“As a parent, my husband LOVED the idea of an old school pinball machine and couldn’t wait to show the girls how to play it. The girls instantly fell in love with the game!! I couldn’t get any of them to stop playing with it and it was a welcomed sight to see no one on an iphone or tablet.”
“The pinball machine is constructed VERY well. But still light enough for a 10-year-old to pick it up and move it from place to place to play with it.”
“Cutest accessory for the Julie Doll. So much fun to play with.”
Source: Nappaawards

*In Store Report* Doll Size Christmas - AT HOME


It's never too early to plan for the holidays and while Halloween is around the corner, we stopped into AT HOME and found cute doll sized Christmas items. These ornaments are $3.99 each and are adorable "UGLY" sweaters for your 14" slim body dolls (Wellie Wishers, Glitter Girls, Heart4Hearts, Style Dreamers). You will need to cut the back and add velcro to put these on your dolls. They will NOT fit 16"- 18" dolls.






This metal street light is perfect for a doll village. It lights up too! $29.99


Sign $24.99
 

Send letters $24.99


Doll size violin.


Saturday, September 14, 2019

*Reader Photos* AG Historical Books - B&N



Barnes and Noble Sale BOGO Free. Each book $7.99.



*NEW* AG Historical Abridged Books

Well that didn’t take long. My daughters and I saw the new covers a while back and couldn’t believe the mistakes that were made. We didn’t think those mistakes would be acceptable at AG years ago. Maybe you have heard about AG abridging the books. They removed whole chapters from the books. Rebecca’s Hanukkah section was supposedly removed. I’m hearing Christmas was removed from Maryellen's. Just when you think it might start to turn around for the historical collection, it gets worse.  


Chapters 11-15 were removed from Julie's book.
Chapters 10-13 were removed from Maryellen's book.

Friday, September 13, 2019

*FEATURE* A Day at the Aquarium


 
School field trip to the local aquarium. The aquarium stand is my garden bench. The backdrop is a table cloth from Dollar Tree.