Newbie Here, Lots of Questions

Hellow to you all--I am brand-new here, and I have enjoyed reading so many of your posts!

I just got my first AG--Josefina! I've gotten the catalogs for years (I'm 53), and hoped my daughter would want one, but she was never into dolls, and is now 16. A friend had Nellie sent to our house to hold as a surprise Santa gift for her nine-year-old daughter, and I admired her so much, and poured over the catalog admiring Josephina and Felicity especially, that my dear husband bought ME Josefina for Christmas!

I just found this board and I have lots of questions, especially about pre-Mattel and Mattel dolls and other products. Can anyone summarize the differences, or direct me to a sight that compares them?

Are they different sizes--I've heard the new ones are slimmer? Are the molds for the faces different, or is just the materials and workmanship different? Or is it--and if so, how? I've heard here that the newer furniture is not solid wood but veneer? Is the hair different?

Are there different marks on the dolls to tell what country they were made in? On ebay, I've seen someone ask a seller if a doll had an "X" on her bottom? What would that mean? Are there "seconds" out there in the market, and if so, how can they be distinguished?

I saw some clothes for sale on ebay that don't claim to be AG, but "for AG dolls," but they have the same style, and even some look-alike fabrics--but not as nice-looking. What's the story with those?

Any other info I should know about before I look for items on ebay or from other sellers?

Finally, and most important--how do you stop at just ONE American Girl?????

Thanks so much for any replies!!

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Originally posted by LindaB from VA:
Hellow to you all--I am brand-new here, and I have enjoyed reading so many of your posts!

I just found this board and I have lots of questions, especially about pre-Mattel and Mattel dolls and other products. Can anyone summarize the differences, or direct me to a sight that compares them?

Are they different sizes--I've heard the new ones are slimmer?

On ebay, I've seen someone ask a seller if a doll had an "X" on her bottom? What would that mean? Are there "seconds" out there in the market, and if so, how can they be distinguished?

I saw some clothes for sale on ebay that don't claim to be AG, but "for AG dolls," but they have the same style, and even some look-alike fabrics--but not as nice-looking. What's the story with those?

Finally, and most important--how do you stop at just ONE American Girl?????

Thanks so much for any replies!!

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hi and welcome ^^
The links in my sigs are of my dolls that are both PM dolls. Felicity is from 91 and Josefina is from 97. I'm still not sure of the differences myself, since I've never seen a nonPM ag in person before. From what I have gathered here is that the PM's are "fatter", the eye lashes are black and hard on the newer dolls, the vinyl isn't as soft on the newer dolls, generally PM felicity dolls are the ones to have the redder hair, etc.

I think the "x" is from a benefit sale for a childrens hosiptal. The x is so people don't return the dolls (thats what some autions say).

As for those look-alike- but not as nice-looking outfits what I thinkis that people are using the AG patterns (that you could buy once?) to create a sort of AG outfit but at a lower cost. *shrugs* But personally, I think there are some nicer home made ones that aren't copies. (My Felicity has a home made one, not by me, can't sew).

Aaaanyway, how I stopped at just one hahaha no money and lots of debt. My felicity was from when I was 9 and Josefina was my sister's I rescued from the closet. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Welcome to the Dollie World! [img]smile.gif[/img]

Congratulations on your Josefina! I have her, too, along with Kit and Susie May, my AGOT who I would like to turn into a Southern Belle.

Are you going to get Josefina's accessories? She has so many beautiful clothes and fun items. Her oven and picnic lunch and cocina accessories are my favorites.

I'm sure you will love it here. [img]smile.gif[/img]

How do you stop at one? LOL talk about asking the wolves.

We can't stop at one! That's why we are here, hehe. I only had one a year ago, now I have 7. It's an addiction.


I have 2 pre-mattel dolls(Sam and Felicity) and a the rest are all Mattel. I haven't noticed any real quality differance, they are all made very well. They are slightly differant, but made equally well.

Hi!
Im not too sure about PM and mattel dolls. i have a PM Molly, but nothing really to compare her to (havent seen a Mattel Molly). Some people have albums comparing the two, ive seen some people with a PM and a Mattel Sam and a PM and mattel Felicity, with pictures of them next to each other. maybe theyll reply with their albums or you could look around for them.

a lot of people just make doll clothes that look like the catalog clothes but arent, or they make completely different clothes, and sell them. some are beautiful and some arent, i would just look for what i liked if i were you. some people here make clothes too and they are gorgeous.

and if you want to stop buying AG dolls, watch out before you come here! ive hardly been here a month and i bought marisol and recently ordered samantha. i also bought a TON of clothes. youll want everything.

im glad youre here! its really great and addicting!

Willkommen Linda - nice meeting you!

Congratulations on your Josefina, she's gorgeous - mine is a souvenir from NY.

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Originally posted by LindaB from VA:
Finally, and most important--how do you stop at just ONE American Girl?????

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I'm afraid there is no 'stopping at just ONE American Girl'. When I bought Felicity 15 months ago, I would have never believed in a million years that I'd have a total of 8 girls in just over a year (you can see them in the picture below - Lindsey and a surprise girl are still on Xmas vacation with Ria).

Hi Linda and welcome,
Ohhh, Josefina is so pretty. Dd12 has a PM Josie and dd9 has an early Kit, may be Mattel. Kit has the same face mold as the Nellie you saw (a friend of girls has Nellie and comparing the two Nellie is slimmer body, of course different skin tone and hair color), isn't she a pretty doll!
I don't know about the furniture, depends on the pieces, Felicity has just been reinroduced into the catalogue, has always been around almost retired then a huge campaign with movie and some of her things revamped, I think that is where alot of comparing is that you are reading. The quality is there but not like some of us remember and still wish it could be.
Early dolls were made in Germany and are tagged as such in clothing and on dolls. And cloth area was white early, early (WB,white body), I'm not sure when or tags on those, they were the very first, then some were signed. The ladies here can help with that.
Check out curtdanhauser.com/AG_Collecting, you will see the complete (I think) AG collections, this includes the retired items. But beware, you'll just see things you want, wish you had and feel you must have.
Again welcome to the board, you all keep convincing me it is OK for ME to get my own doll, now wouldn't have to share it with my girls Right?

Hi LindaB and welcome,
Ohhh, Josefina is so pretty. Dd12 has a PM Josie and dd9 has an early Kit, may be Mattel. Kit has the same face mold as the Nellie you saw (a friend of girls has Nellie and comparing the two Nellie is slimmer body, the face is skinnier also if you really really look, and of course different skin tone and hair color), isn't she a pretty doll!
The furniture depends on the pieces, Felicity has just been reinroduced into the catalogue, has always been around almost retired then a huge campaign with movie and some of her things revamped, I think that is where alot of comparing is that you are reading. The quality is there but not like some of us remember and still wish it could be.
Early dolls were made in Germany and are tagged as such in clothing and on dolls. And cloth area was white early, early (WB,white body), I'm not sure when or tags on those, they were the very first, then some were signed. The ladies here can help with that.
Check out curtdanhauser.com/AG_Collecting, you will see the complete (I think) AG collections, this includes the retired items. But beware, you'll just see things you want, wish you had and feel you must have.
Again welcome to the board, you all keep convincing me it is OK for ME to get my own doll, now I wouldn't have to share it with my girls Right?
Enjoy the board, alot of great advice here.

Mary D

Welcome to the board. We got into AG about 18 months ago (although Bitty has been a member of the family for 6 years). We have some Mattel and some Pre-Mattel dolls. The PM's have all come form ebay (of course) and because they were a good price so they weren't mint. I'll go against the norm and say I really like our Mattel dolls better. They have more color and better hair (just because it's new). I hope you will enjoy collecting as much as most of us do.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by LindaB from VA:
[QB]

Finally, and most important--how do you stop at just ONE American Girl?????

Your dont I got 4 in a matter of 1 month ( ouch)
DD has so much fun with them its a pleasure to see her enjoy them so much.
Welcome to the board its very addictig ..Congrats on your Josefina doll!!

Congratulations on Josefina! She was my first AG too and she is beautiful! Stopping at just one is not something alot of us can do! LOL It's a slippery slope, enjoy the ride! [img]smile.gif[/img]

There are a ton of threads on the board regarding Pre Mattel and Mattel differences. The search feature up at the top will pretty much help you find anything you are looking for.

The X on the doll comes from the benefit sale. You can find more threads on that if you search for "benefit sale" or "madison children's museum AG benefit" or something along those lines.

Curt's site that someone mentioned above,is a good reference too.

Welcome aboard! [img]smile.gif[/img]

welcome Linda,
American girl dolls are like Lay's potato chips.....bet you cant eat just one...the more you see the more you want....
Josefina is the collection I am working on this month...since all my children are grown and my little granddaughter is not interested I am going to invite my little eight year old neighboor to help me change the dolls clothes and set up a room setting for Josefina.
I have found Ebay really expensive and people are selling stuff for more money than you can buy in new from the company. There are some bargains but you should condsider yourself lucky if you find one....I was watching the auctions yesterday and Josefina's bed which was broken by the way, was selling for the almost new price....also a broken desk...selling for a ridiculous price...just be carefu. Things that say retired usually are not...
It is nice to see everyones pictures so take lots so we can see...

Welcome Linda. This hostboard is not the place to be unless you want to have more dolls. I had one AG a Molly for about 6 years. Molly was a Christmas present from a daughter. I had been sewing AG clothes for her daughter for about a year. I am from Molly's era. I was born in 1945. Then 2 years ago I bought a Felicity, excuse was to use her as another model for sewing the clothes. About 6 months later a member from this board bought one of my AG outfits (Cherry)from e-bay, she introduced me to the board. I now have all the Historicals, all the LE's and many of the AGT's. LOL We are the AG addicts here. You will enjoy looking at everyones albums. Like Mary said be careful of the doll furniture on e-bay. If you buy it directly from AG it is guaranteed. A good way to pick up some of the older AG items is to put an add in the newspaper. Josefina is one of my favorite dolls. She is my favorite to sew for and I've made the largest setting for her. Enjoy the board. You will make many friends here.

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Originally posted by LindaB from VA:
.........Finally, and most important--how do you stop at just ONE American Girl?????

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">.....HA!...Welcome Newbie!!! You have a lot of questions and believe you have come to the right place to get them all answered.

I will answer the one in quotation above...he-he-he......ahem...<font size="5"> YOU DON'T!!!!!!!!!!</font>...mwahahahahahaaaa...There is no such thing. Once you have one of these delicious and delightful morsels you will beg, borrow and EOYBA to get more! HA!

BTW, I am 51 years old and love my 19 soon to be 20 dollies to death! It is good to see another "seasoned" collector on the board! Yipeeee, all ages love AG! [img]graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

[img]graemlins/island.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/storm.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/island.gif[/img]

Welcome!!
ONE>>>>??????
Well...I did have ONE..then I visited here and these folks just fed my addiction!!!
I now have 3..
(or maybe they have me???)
Josefina is so pretty!
I got my first girl..my darling Molly from my dds when my dgds started getting them..so I;m an older doll lover,too.
I know you'll have fun here..and be prepared to spend you kids inheritance!

While watching the local news (well for the whole province of Lower Austria) - there was a story about a collector of dolls and teddy bears. This lady has 800 dolls and teddies and my mum turned to me and said: You still have a long way to go before reaching that [img]wink.gif[/img]

Hi and welcome!! You have lots of questions and as you can see, someone here will have good answers, so keep them coming.

That was very sweet of your dh to get you Josefina. I am not a collector of anything, and was never a big doll person, but I love my Addy that I got for Christmas, and she and my dd's Kit enjoy playing together.

Hi and welcome!
Here are some sites to help you learn about American Girls
American Girl FAQ

Meg's Guide to American Girl Collecting

The Complete Guide to American Girl Collecting

For me, as a collector since 1987, the different between pre-Mattel and Mattel is HUGE! The dolls were made in Germany and Hungary until the late 90's, I believe and are much nicer quality. The vinyl is softer and a more natural color and the eyes are a nicer type, the eyelashes are softer and the bodies more stuffed. The new dolls to me all look like they are anorexic and wearing too much makeup. The current Addy looks anoriexic and anemic. My 1993 Addy also has much fuller hair.

The quality of the accessories is also not as nice. Pleasant Company used real wood and authentic details to make their accessories and kept things around for a long time unless otherwise noted. Now it seems that everything is discontinued after a short time, plastic has replaced wood and accurate historic details are an after thought, not to mention the lack of stories to accompany the outfits. I feel that the educational aspect of the American Girls collection has been sacrificed.

I do not collect for the Today dolls so I can't comment on them.

As for the dolls with the "x" on their bum, they come from a seconds and returns benefit sale for the Madison Children's Museum held in Wisconsin each summer.

As for how you can have just one? Well... you can't! However, my Kirsten sometimes wishes she was an "only" again and I had more time to play with her the way I did when I was a little girl.

Welcome to the board and AG collecting!

p.s watch out for prsnlrd! She's a dealer to an Ag junkie!

Welcome to the board! [img]biggrin.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img] I agree, you can't stop after just one doll! I tried to stop after 10 ten but it didn't work.

Welcome to the board!!!

And, just wondering....WHY would anyone WANT to stop at just one American Girl???! [img]eek.gif[/img]

I have 12 dolls now--- only 788 dolls to go! [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

Just wanted to say Welcome [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img] !!!

Welcome to the addicition! "Just one" is a rather foreign concept around here, that's for sure. I joined this board almost 2 years ago, after getting Kit from my Mommy for my 30th birthday. At the time, she had only Kaya. Now, I have 8, and she has 4 (the most recent, a mini Brenda, girl of 1961, which I made from AGoT 23 for Christmas).

I just wanted to let you know what I know about the furniture. I have Felicity's bed (purchased July 2005) and Kit's desk (purchased March 2005). My mom has Josefina's table set (purchased at the MCM sale 2005). They are all Mattel produced and all solid wood. I have seen all the trunks up close, opened and examined them at AG Place Chicago, and they are wood as well (with the exception of Molly & Samantha's, which have never been wood). If you decide to get furniture, I think you'll be amazed at the quality. Josefina's is exceptionally nice, so you are starting out with a great doll to collect for!

Heather

Hello! [img]smile.gif[/img] I'm afraid I can't help you on the "just one"- it's impossible- mine always beg for friends!

As for the PM vs. Mattel, these are the things I've noticed. This information will be going on my website soon (I'm currently building it and it will really launch in a few weeks). So if anyone has stuff to add, I'd appreciate it, especially about Molly, because I don't collect her.

Kirsten:
White-bodied- made in W. Germany, light ash blonde hair, close clipped hair in back between the braids, slightly different face mold. Vinyl is softer. Eyelashes are light brown and soft.
PM made in China- light ash hair is slightly darker, beige body, hair is less closely clipped in back. Face is slightly fuller. Vinyl is softer. Eyelashes are light brown and soft.
Mattel- honey blonde hair, face mold is different- wider, fuller, and more flat. Vinyl is harder. Eyelashes are dark and stiff.
(What I've noticed with my two and a couple I've sold.)

Samantha:
White-bodied- Made in W. Germany, hair is light brown, very curly, and very long (to her butt). Eyes have more "depth" to them- this is hard to explain, but the pattern on the glass eyes is different from PM and Mattel, and more life-like. Vinyl is soft and cheeks and lips are quite rosy. The bangs are rather heavy. Eyelashes are very long, curled upwards, and soft.
PM- Hair is still lighter in color than Mattel, but darker than the WB dolls. The hair is less curly and not as long. The glass eyes vary depending on the age of the doll- some of the dolls have the earlier eyes like the German dolls and some have a newer eye that is less life-like and more mottled (has some lighter orangey flecks). The bangs are not as heavy. Vinyl not quite as soft, but softer than Mattel. Eyelashes are regular length, brown, and soft.
Mattel- Hair is significantly darker. The face mold is slightly different. Eyelashes are dark and stiff.

Molly- I've sold a couple Molly dolls but had far fewer around than the other girls. I have noticed the early PM Mollys have lighter hair than the Mattel girls. Also, the PMs have soft light brown eyelashes whereas the Mattels have dark stiff eyelashes.

Felicity- the biggest differences
Made in W. Germany- true red hair (not auburn- it's very bright and distinctive), muted green eyes, face mold is less wide, flat, and full than the Mattel dolls. Eyelashes are red and soft.
Later PMs- auburn hair, bright green eyes, face mold similar to Mattel, eyelashes are red and soft.
Mattel- auburn hair, bright green eyes, face mold is fuller, wider, and flatter than German ones. Eyelashes are dark and stiff. Until 2005, Felicity had her Rose Garden gown as a meet outfit.

Addy:
W. German: These dolls, whose outfits are tagged 1986, are relatively rare. I'll post pictures of mine soon compared to a 1993 China made Addy. They are relatively light in color and their face molds are quite different from Mattel and even early China made PMs- it is more narrow and less flat. Addy's hair is very full and poufy, and is more textured than Mattel dolls. Her eyelashes are dark brown and soft.
PM China made: Face mold is in between the narrowness of the W. German dolls and the fullness of the Mattel dolls. Eyelashes are dark brown and soft. Hair is of the more textured type.
Mattel: Face mold is fuller and wider. Eyelashes are black and stiff. Hair is less textured.
As someone pointed out a few days ago, Addy's coloring can vary considerably between a gray tint, a light brown tint, and a dark brown tint.

Josefina:
The only difference I recognize between my PM Josie and a Mattel Josie I had for a while is that the PM has slightly softer vinyl. Josie's coloring varies considerably and some have a gray tint, others a nice rosy coloring. From what I've seen, Mattel's coloring on Josie has been better than the very early ones. I enhance mine with a little blush. [img]wink.gif[/img]

Kit:
I've heard there were an early batch with soft light brown eyelashes and different freckles, but I've never seen one. I have a c. 2000 Kit whose sweater is tagged "Made in China for Pleasant Company." That would indicate she's pretty early (she's also stamped Pleasant Co.), but I can't see any difference between her and the Mattel ones. She has stiff dark lashes.

Hope that helps with at least some of them!

There are also numerous PM v. Mattel changes to clothing, accessories, etc. I would check out Meg's Collecting Guide and Curt Danhauser's Collecting Guide. They show some of the changes and retired versions of things (like Kirsten's first edition school dress and such).
I believe someone already gave the link to Curt's site. I just checked, and Meg's site isn't working currently. I'm not sure if that will change in the future. I hope so- it was really a good one! [img]smile.gif[/img]

Welcome to the board! [img]smile.gif[/img]

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Originally posted by LindaB from VA:
Finally, and most important--how do you stop at just ONE American Girl?????

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Well... you don't! [img]tongue.gif[/img] I tried to stop at four, and I couldn't even do that!

Welcome! And no...you can not just stop at one [img]eek.gif[/img] you keep falling in love with new dolls [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

That was sweet of your husband to get you Josefina, she is so beatifull [img]smile.gif[/img]

Welcome to the board! You will like here very much and have come to the right place. Everyone has already pretty much answered your questions. And no you cannot stop at 1 dollo, LOL its addicting I started with Limited Edtion 2003 Kaiely and said no more dolls but then I found Samantha and fell in love her and from there it went to Nellie, then Felicity, then Elizabeth, and Baby Polly and the doll collection keeps growing and growing. 10 is my limit I think. Soon I will need a seperate room for my doll things. LOL [img]wink.gif[/img]

[img]graemlins/rose.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/kiss.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/rainbow.gif[/img] Welcome again!!