...one more time to kill the pain! Probably this would've been a good post for Wednesday since Wednesday was 4/20, but I didn't get her on the twentieth. This is Mary Jane, and if you've got a good memory then y'all may recognize her.
One day in 2019 a patron/friend brought both Mary Jane and her childhood Cissette to show me. What an honor it was to see them both! I'd never handled either a Mary Jane doll or a Cissette doll before. Well! This past March 18th rolled around, and my patron/friend was in again. When I inquired about the well-being of the dolls (I playfully do this with my fellow dolly lovers) she said "I may just let you have Mary Jane. I don't think my kids or grandkids would appreciate her." The "may" in that sentence turned from a possibility into a certainty yesterday, so here's Mary Jane, Terri Lee's main rival. I've always wanted a moody, broody, pouty little Terri Lee to add a little more 'tude to my mostly sugar-and-spice collection, but Terri Lee is crazy-expensive so her obscure lookalike will do nicely. For the record, a well-kept Mary Jane can also go for a decent price. Not a Simon and Halbig-level price, mind y'all, but a hundred bucks isn't so bad for a hard plastic walker.
Mary Jane came in two incarnations during her brief appearance in the dolly world, one with a hard plastic head, and one with a vinyl head. A company called Freydberg made the hard plastic dolls from 1953 to 1954, and Togs and Dolls Corp. made her from 1955 to 1957. Since my doll has a hard plastic noggin she's one of the older dolls. I think Mary Jane's expression is hilarious.
She was born to unseat Terri Lee and she knows it! Unfortunately a lot of Terri Lee fans think that Mary Jane isn't as pretty as Terri Lee is, and I...well, as much as I hate to look a gift horse in the mouth I have to agree. Terri Lee is supposed to be a little girl doll and she looks the part. Mary Jane is also supposed to be a little girl doll, but her face has drooping cheeks and an overall haughty expression that make her look like an older woman on a little girl's body. Haughty look aside, Mary Jane does have pretty eyes. These eyes apparently flirt and sleep, but I've not yet gotten them to do either.
Mary Jane is a walker like Saucy Walker and a couple of my other older dolls, so I figured her eyes would move with her head as she walks like Saucy's do. But it turned put that all I need to do is lie her on her side.
Ewww, I don't think I'll be doing that. I was also able to slide Mary Jane's eyelids shut, buuuuuut...I'm not sure I should do that! Don't want to break her, after all!
Regarding size Mary Jane is a relatively small doll, being significantly shorter than Rita Cheryl. Notice that I have a very hard time standing Mary Jane up straight, due largely to her walking mechanism (which is in perfect working order).
I've read that Terri Lee and Mary Jane are not the same size, so clothes sharing is OUT for the two of them. Big surprise there.
I spent most of yesterday hunched over because of a nasty back spasm (I've apparently inherited my daddy's trick back), so receiving Mary Jane was a tremendous pick-me-up. She may lack Terri Lee's moody innocence, but she makes up for it by being a character of her own. I feel honored to own her.
Love and Tylenol,
RagingMoon1987
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