|
|
|
Catharine Carey Logan, in her Quaker gown, from
1760's, "Standing in the Light"
 |
Doll Line |
Dear America
 |
|
Manufacturer/Distributer |
Alexander
Doll Company
 |
|
Artist |
Not acknowledged |
|
Production Years |
1999 |
|
Size |
H18" |
|
Body Type |
Soft body, articulated with breastplate |
|
Eyes |
Sleep eyes |
|
Hair |
Rooted saran |
|
Identifying Markings |
Body tag and Alexander Doll Co.,
©1999 incised on neck |
|
Retail Price |
$79.95 |
|
Clothing/Accessories |
None additional. Starter outfits are extremely
detailed and historically accurate. |
|
Clothing Fit |
Fits American Girl doll clothes perfectly. |
|
Dolls in Series |
Catharine Carey Logan, Magarat Ann Brady, Remember
Patience Wipple, Abigail Jane Stewart |
|
Books? |
Comes with a blank diary. Based on the Dear
American series by Scholastic, which are excellent fictional
historical diaries of young girls. Many of these have been made
into videos. |
|
Sources |
Secondary market |
|
For More Information |
Article at Dollzine
Scholastic site |
|
The Dear America dolls were available briefly in 1999 and 2000.
The
Scholastic book and video series is widely used by educators and is aimed at
grades 4-8. The dolls actually come packaged with a blank diary, not
with the book that corresponds to the doll's character. The rooted saran
hair of these dolls is their worst feature, in my opinion, though it is
styled nicely. The dolls have a rather bland face with the pursed mouth
of many Alexander dolls, but the coloring is very nice. All four of the
dolls have the same face mold. The clothing is the doll's best feature.
Catharine Carey Logan, for instance, has a nicely made cotton dress with
an apron and head-cloth on top and a shift and pantaloons underneath.
There is a small amount of Velcro but mostly snaps. The dolls'
breastplate allows them to wear lower-necked fashions nicely, such as
the blue American Girl sweater shown below. These dolls have not held
their value on the secondary market so can be found very reasonably.
Recently, The Doll Market has
begun carrying a contemporary girl version of this doll. Her name is
Ashley and she is very reasonably priced. Ashley has brown hair done in
a very attractive French braid and blue eyes.
In the 2005 Christmas season, the discount store Costco sold a blonde
version of this doll called "Best Friend Kelly". She has long, straight
blonde hair with bangs and blue eyes. Like Ashley, Kelly was also a
contemporary girl. And in 2006, both a blonde and brunette version were
marketed under the name "Sweet and Chic". This time the dolls had an
extra outfit with them.
Other incarnations of these dolls, often with other face molds include:
* Mia Bella (Toys R Us)
* Doll Factory (FAO Schwarz)
* Friends for Life (Walmart)
* Fashion Doll (Target)
* Alexander Girlz (Costco)
* Dolly & Me (Sears, Dillards, Kohls)
* What-A-Doll (Kmart)
|
 |
 |
|
|
Dear America and American Girl body comparison |
|
Margaret Ann Brady, 1912, "Voyage on
the Great Titanic" |
Catharine showing how well she fits into American Girl
clothes |
|
Remember Patience Whipple ("Mem"), a Pilgrim, 1620's,
"A Journey to the New World" |
Abigail Jane Stewart, a Colonial girl, 1777, "The
Winter of Red Snow" |
|
