Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Have you seen her?

No Throwback Thursday review this week.  I got lazy and airheaded and forgot what day it was, and thus the review is not ready.  Oh well, something for next week!  Instead I'll share a random post about a doll that I had once, then lost, and am trying to reconnect with.  When I was...oh, I'll say about seven...yeah, it was during my sister's thieving days so I had to have been pretty young.  Anyway, when I was about seven one of my father's sisters came for a visit, and for each of us she had a small toy.  She always brought some sort of toy for us, but this time she bestowed upon me a Barbie-sized doll.  I was NOT a doll fan at the time, but I liked this doll with her jet black hair and her wide smile.  The doll was clearly intended to be Native American, and of course her name was Pocahontas, though she didn't look a thing like the character from the movie that I was familiar with at the time.  She was a cute doll though, with a brightly colored dress and little vinyl moccasins that I loved.  The back of the box included a blurb of information about the real Pocahontas's life, and I was saddened to learn that she died young.  The box claimed that smallpox was her killer, though truthfully no one really knows what felled the young Native lady that spawned so many legends.  But anyway, I was quite fond of this doll and gave her a place of honor on my bookshelf.  I didn't play with her much, but I did like to look at her and occasionally remove a shoe for a closer look.  My mother was also smitten with the doll, often commenting on what a pretty smile she had, and my sister even liked her, to the point that she once absconded with her.

Given my fondness for "Pocahontas" I'm surprised that I lost track of her...but I did.  I guess I just assumed that I'd never want her again and gave her away at some point.  It took twenty years and some change before I even identified her.  This is a rough idea of what she looked like.
This is NOT the doll I owned, as my doll wore yellow and thankfully didn't come with a child.  But this will give y'all some glimpse of what she was like.  It'll also give y'all an idea of how "woo" these dolls were, as there's no attempt to create more than just a generic Indian doll.  Fortunately for me, it's possible to see (barely) the company that made these dolls down at the bottom of that box:  Totsy.  Totsy made their fair share of Barbie clones over the years, dolls like Flair, Twistee, and Sandi that maybe weren't quite as nice as Barbie but still were good enough of a plaything to last...unlike other certain little clone dolls that I know.  My doll certainly was not made of hollow plastic like Katya was, though I can't remember where on the clone continuum she would've fallen.  Definitely higher than Katya though, maybe close to Kari Mitchell and Savannah, though I'd have to examine this doll in person to make sure.

eBay and Etsy both have a handful of these dolls available, but none of them are the "Pocahontas" doll that I'm looking for.  I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a doll like the one above, but with a tribal-printed top and headband, plus a solid yellow skirt.  Not what I'd call accurate attire for a Native, but then again the name "Pocahontas" isn't really accurate either, not for every Native doll produced anyway.  If I ever find her again I'll probably rename her and tweak her backstory a bit so she won't be so "woo."

Regards,
RagingMoon1987

9 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your childhood doll story. I imagine the different-ness of this doll (or her sister-doll since this isn't the exact same doll) was part of her charm. Native American fashion dolls are harder to find. This doll reminds me of Maddie Mod - the eyes and the smile. Good luck finding your childhood doll!

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    1. She DOES look like Maddie Mod! I didn't even think of that! Maddie Mod is adorable; I may pick one up some day. Hopefully Pocahontas is out there somewhere, waiting in some dark corner of eBay.

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  2. This is a really weird coincidence, but I think I just saw one of these dolls at my favorite thrift store! I immediately thought of your post, but then I noticed that the doll's hair looked like it was falling out. There was actually loose hair inside the plastic bag the doll was in!
    Personally, I really like the Native American dolls that were put out by Kid Kore. I have several of those.
    Signed, Treesa

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    1. Yeah, Dancing Brook! I have one of those somewhere, one that I DIDN'T lose along the way, LOL! Those Kid Kore dolls were cute.

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    2. Oh, by the way, have you seen my Little Apple Doll post? Her hair is falling out and I didn't even do anything to it! All I did was try to look at the roots.

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    3. One time I bought a dollhouse sized doll, like the kind they sell in family sets at craft stores that still sell dollhouse stuff, I think Horsman is the manufacturer. Anyway, I bought this doll at a thrift store and when I got home and took her out of the bag her hair started coming out in clumps. What I discovered was that the 'roots' of the hair had somehow disintigrated inside her head so there was nothing holding the hair in anymore. The same thing happened to a mini Strawberry Shortcake doll I picked up at a flea market. I have no idea what causes this, but it's very worrisome, not to mention messy.
      Signed, Treesa

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    4. That IS a mega-bummer! Sounds almost like the plastic of her head reacted with the plastic in her hair.

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  3. https://www.ebay.com/itm/363274319016?epid=1500810222&hash=item5494d634a8%3Ag%3Al5oAAOSw3v5flULZ&LH_BIN=1 I know this is old, but is this your doll?

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    1. She is very similar, yes. I need to do a follow-up to this post, as I've since found the exact doll.

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