American Character Doll Company
Founded in 1919, the company's fortunes peaked in the mid-20th century, as they sold millions of dolls exclusively to retailers and mail-order houses such as Sears and Montgomery Ward.
[4] American Character Dolls' factory was in Brooklyn;[citation needed] the company operated a store on East 17th Street in New York City in the late 1920s.
[8] In 1954, the company was awarded a patent for a doll that "breathes, sheds tears, drinks from a bottle, blows bubbles, and even smokes.
The Puggy and Sally Campbell Kids children dolls were introduced in 1928; they were based on the cartoon characters designed by Grace Drayton.
American Character released a limited number of celebrity dolls over the years, beginning with "Lucky Aviation Kid" in 1927, a Charles Lindbergh doll wearing a brown aviator suit and flight cap, with a Spirit of St. Louis model plane ribbon, white socks and brown shoes.
In the 1930s, the company released the celebrity doll "Carol Ann Beery," based on the child actress of the same name.
)[9] American Character's most popular doll was Tiny Tears, introduced in 1950 and remaining in production throughout the company's existence.
American Character intended that Tressy's "growing" hair feature would give the doll a marketing edge over its blockbuster competitor, Barbie.
The company's final big product launches were "Whimsies" (1960–1961), a line of dolls with names like Bashful Bride, Dixie the Pixie, Fanny (an angel), Hedda Get Bedda (a multi-face doll with three faces), Hilda the Hillbilly, Lena the Cleaner, Miss Take, Monk, Polly the Lady Raggie, Simon, Strong Man, Suzie the Snoozie, Tillie the Talker, Wheeler Dealer, Zack the Sack, and Zero the Hero (a football player); and "Tiny Whimsies" (1966), a line of 7-1/2" dolls with names like Lites Out (nightgown), I'm Yours (bride), Fly with Me (witch), Swing It (dancer), Love Me (red pantsuit), and I'm Hooked (groom); and a line of 6" dolls with names like Pixie, Swinger, Granny, Lites out, Minnie Mod, Jump'n, and Go-Go.
