Our New Baby (doll)--Original Bitty Baby in 1992 catalog

[moderator]

I've been sorting through old belongings the past week and this week, and have found another Pleasant Company catalog--Spring 1992. This one contains Felicity's first three collections and "Our New Baby" (Bitty Baby, before being changed to a girl). The only ones that had been released in this catalog were Caucasian, African-American, and Asian. Bitty comes in a pretty white sleeper with pink and blue dots and is called (eek!) "it." Not he or she, but it. ("It is soft and huggable...") Poor Bitty! You can tell Bitty's original purpose was to teach little girls how to help out with a new baby at home. The description for the book says it "describes the love a new baby needs and brings to every family."

The sets of clothes have a male and female version. For example, a dress for a girl baby or a romper for a boy baby, overalls for a boy baby and a bibbed skirt for a girl baby. Then there are matching clothes for both girls AND boys (sizes 6-24 months), including a sweatshirt that proudly proclaims: "A new baby came to our house!"

There are also products for real babies: a bunting, baskinet (basket bassinet), blanket, pillow, snuggle suit, bib, bottle, burp pad, sleeper, receiving blanket, bath set, sacque, diaper bag, and memory book/baby book, bonnet, booties, soaker, sweater.

Isn't it interesting how Bitty Baby's purpose changed? I'm not saying it's better or worse, I just think it's interesting that they re-released Bitty and made her a girl and with less of a focus on teaching children to care for a new baby.

And a true testament to paper/print quality--I've been finding a lot of old papers in these bags I'm sorting through, and the catalogs from AG look as if they are brand new!

[QNPoohBear]

If anybody wants to see the baby collection I have images scanned in my catalogs album (starting at image number 102)
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?i...873798&idx=102

I am wishing for the Our New Baby collection. A relative and his wife are expecting their second child and their daughter is 2 1/2 and I'd love to send her the Our New Baby book.