18” Composition Shirley Temple by Ideal, Original Tagged Movie Outfit, 1935

Description: A lovely 18” composition Shirley Temple doll in original, tagged hard to find outfit from the movie Curly Top that was released in 1935, offered by Snowdrift Antiques. The Ideal Novelty & Toy Company was founded by Morris and Rose Michtom in Brooklyn in 1903. The company was first famous for inventing the Teddy Bear. They soon branched into making dolls and during the post–World War II baby boom era they became the largest doll-making company in the United States. After Morris Michtom's death in 1938, the company changed its name to the "Ideal Toy Company" and Michtom's nephew Abraham Katz became chief executive. More recently, in the early 1980s, they were known for selling the Rubik's Cube. Since the 1980s, the company has been purchased and sold numerous times. The composition Shirley Temple dolls were produced from 1934 through 1939. The doll was designed by prolific doll sculptor Bernard Lipfert, and featured signature dimples in her cheeks, special hazel color sleep eyes, golden blonde mohair wig in her famous ringlet style, and an open mouth with six teeth and a felt tongue. This is 18” Ideal Shirley Temple doll is a strung composition doll with a socket head, torso, jointed arms, and straight legs. She is marked SHIRLEY TEMPLE/18 on her back and SHIRLEY TEMPLE/COP N&T Co. on the back of her neck. The composition has light crazing all over and the joints have the typical age wear/rubs. Her sleep eyes open and close with ease but the centers are crazed giving a cloudy look, see image 2. The facial painting is in good condition for her age, while the cheek blush has faded over time, her lips are still bright red. Her original upper teeth and red felt tongue are intact. She has a slight rub on the end of her nose, see image 2. Her dark bond hair is in good condition, it has retained the original curls, which are held in place with bobby pins. Her fingers are intact and there is no composition chipping off them. I have not removed the shoes to check on the condition of the feet but I would expect that they are fine given the condition of the rest of the composition. The stringing appears to be in good condition, she can stand up without the stand and her arms stay away from her body when posed. Her original outfit consists of an A-line dress made of a coral, aqua, brown, and off-white striped heavy cotton fabric. The sleeves have an interesting tuck application at the shoulder, the skirt has box pleats, and there are 5 mother-of-pearl buttons down the front of the dress for decoration and 2 in back that close with buttonholes to hold the dress on her. There is light age discoloration on the front of the dress. Her white cotton panties are separate and have lace trim at the leg openings. The elastic is loose but they stay on with the help of a small safety pin. Her off-white and aqua oilcloth shoes and off-white rayon socks are original. The dress is tagged in back with a label that reads: “Genuine SHIRLEY TEMPLE Doll”/ Registered Pat. Off./ Ideal Nov Toy Co." The tag fell apart at some point but the original owner kept the piece not sewn to the dress and pinned it to her panties so it is present. This outfit from the 1935 movie Curly Top (see vintage promotional photo below) is hard to find, it came in at least two different striped fabrics. This sweet Shirley Temple doll would make a lovely addition to any doll collection.

Price: 300 USD

Location: Denver, Colorado

End Time: 2024-12-25T19:58:04.000Z

Shipping Cost: 2 USD