Ideal Shirley Temple Doll
Shirley Temple-the Person

Shirley Temple was born in 1928, just before the Crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression.  She began her movie
career at the age of 4 with as many as 13 movies released in one year!  In all, she made 57 movies by the time she was 21
years old. The “world’s Darling” was, according to the special Oscar awarded to her at the age of 6 by the Academy Awards,
“the greatest gift of joy and happiness.”  She was the perfect antidote on a Saturday afternoon to forget the troubles of the
Great Depression.  Movie popularity waned as both she and the country grew up.  Instead of depression facing the country, by
1940, the country was now staring at the very real face of fear and war.  The ugly face of hunger and death in World War II
replaced sweet little girls dancing their way through the Civil War.  Though in 1940, she no longer was under contract with Fox
Studio, she was active in radio and public service (Red Cross, war bonds, Christmas Seals).  She did make several more
movies (Kathleen, Miss Annie Rooney, Since You Went Away, I'll Be Seeing You, Kiss and Tell, Honeymoon and The Bachelor
and the Bobbysoxer) though none were the success of her younger years.  She also had parts in Fort Apache, Adventures in
Baltimore, That Hagen Girl, Mr, Belvedere Goes to College and a Kiss for Corliss.  

She married, at 17, John Agar in 1945 and gave birth to Linda Susan in 1948.  She divorced in 1949.  In 1950, Shirley met
Charles Black and married him that same year.  Her son Charles was born in 1952 and her daughter Lori was born in 1954.

By the 1950s a new medium was fast becoming a fixture in American households--the television.  Movies from the big screen
were now seen on the small screen and Shirley had a whole new following.  NBC offered her a television series, The Shirley
Temple Storybook in 1958, renamed the Shirley Temple Show in 1959.  Not to be left out, Ideal offered to produce the Shirley
Temple doll in vinyl.  The doll appeared in the winter of 1957 just in time for the January premier of the television show.  The
vinyl dolls were originally made in 17 and 19 inch sizes.  The had hazel eyes and a new kind of hair--rooted saran. 12 and 15
inch dolls followed in 1958.  In 1959, the 36 inch Shirley Temple Playpal was marketed.  By 1960, the television show was off
the air and by 1963 the last of the vinyl Shirley Temple dolls were sold.  Another vinyl doll marketed on another television show
(Mattel's Barbie on the Mickey Mouse Show) proved to be a fierce competitor.  For its 100th anniversary, Montgomery Ward re-
issued several of its popular dolls in 1972 including the Bye-Lo, the Kewpie and a vinyl Shirley Temple.  It did not appeal to
children or collectors and was discontinued.  Neil Estern redesigned the doll with a hard plastic body, arms and legs, a vinyl
head with rooted saran hair but was discontinued in 1975.  Ideal followed in 1982, developing collector dolls of vinyl.   These
dolls were 8 or 12 inches tall.  These were successful enough to be followed in 1982 with a porcelain doll.  This doll did not fare
well and was discontinued.  Hank Garfinkle designed a new vinyl version of Shirley in 1984 for the 50th anniversary of the
Shirley Temple doll.  The doll and the relationship between Shirley Temple and Ideal ended in 1986 when Ideal/CBS Toys
discontinued dolls and toys.  Replacing Ideal, Shirley Temple worked with the Danbury Mint to produce porcelain dolls and a
line of  clothing for them beginning in 1986.  

As Shirley grew up, she addressed issues of family illness (through her brother’s Multiple Sclerosis) as a chairperson for the
organization.  She was active in the She became a member of Congress, delegate to the 24th General Assembly of the United
Nations, became special assistant to the President’s Council on Environmental Quality, became a member of the Board of
Directors for Walt Disney, became a member of the National Wildlife Federation and was appointed as the US Ambassador to
the Republic of Ghana and later to Czechoslovakia.  She was one of the first public faces of a breast cancer survivor.  She has
written her autobiography, Child Star, and narrated her television series, The Shirley Temple Storybook.  She has been
inducted as a member of the Kennedy Center Honors.

The Doll

The Depression put 25% of the population out of work and had companies fighting for survival.  This was certainly true for the
movie industry and the toy industry.  Idea Toy Co,, founded by Morris Mitchum had found success with its introduction of the
Teddy Bear in 1903, the composition Uneeda Kid doll in 1910, and the Flossie Flirt of the 1920s.  While those were all popular
toys, they were not enough to carry the company through the Depression.  They needed a new toy that every child "had" to
have.  Mollye Goldman, at the time employed by Ideal,  saw Shirley Temple in Merrily Yours and called Morris Mitchum, one of
the board of directors for Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.  Here was the model for the new toy.  

Ideal Novelty and Toy Company commissioned Bernard Lipfert, the German émigré and designer of the major composition dolls
of the early 20th Century, to create the Shirley Temple doll in 1934.  It took more than 20 attempts before the doll was
acceptable to the company and Shirley's parents.  The dolls were made of composition, which is wood pulp or sawdust mixed
with whiting, chalk, clay and glue. Similar to bisque dolls, this mix was pressed into molds and baked.  After removal from the
mold the pieces were cleaned, sanded and painted.  Wigs were mohair and, unique to this doll, the eyes were hazel.  The
bodies, arms and legs were strung to the head with elastic cord.  The socket joints of the arms, legs and head allowed the doll
to pose. The elastic stretched over time and often broke.  It is common for dolls to be restrung.  In October of 1934, Ideal applied
for a patent upon the Shirley Temple image of smiling Shirley with her left pointer finger by her cheek.

The heads had mohair wigs and sleep eyes.  They have an open mouth with felt or metal tongue and teeth.  The facial features
including eyebrow, eyelashes and lips were hand painted.  Later dolls had higher coloring and eye shadow.  These dolls are
referred to as the Make Up dolls.  The eyes were made of glassine-a celluloid product which is not stable over time or when
exposed to heat and dry air.  The glassine often crackled making the dolls look like they have “cataracts”.  Caution must be
exercised when finding a doll with “perfect” eyes as the glassine is often replaced or oiled to improve the appearance of the doll.

The dolls heads were marked, initially, with only the Ideal mark:
               COP.IDEAL
                       N & T
These dolls are the “prototypes” referring to the variation in facial features including wider cheeks and a more rounded
appearance made between October and December 1934.  Later heads, after December 1934, were marked:
        SHIRLEY TEMPLE
      COP.IDEAL N & T CO.  
The bodies were marked SHIRLEY TEMPLE.  

Initially, the dolls were available in 15", 18", 20" and 22".  By 1935, the dolls were available in nine sizes ranging from 11 inches
to 27 inches. The face mold was also modified to slim her cheeks.  Her painting became rosier and the mohair wig had more
distinct curls.  The picture on the celluloid button changed from Shirley's face to Shirley with her finger by her eye.

Ideal commissioned Mollye Goldman to design clothing pieces for the Shirley dolls.  Much of the clothing was made from outfits
Shirley wore in the movies.  Some other pieces are not identified with a particular movie.    There exist many variations of
“original” dresses simply based upon the availability of the fabric.  However, particular pieces are identified by the cut and style
of the garment.  The clothing of the larger dolls was often more detailed the smaller pieces for the smaller dolls.  The doll outfits
had woven tags.  The initial tags carried the NRA logo with the eagle (NRA was the National Recovery Administration formed
under The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), officially known as the Act of June 16, 1933, Ch. 90, 48 Stat. 195, formerly
codified at 15 U.S.C. sec. 703 which was part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. It authorized the President to
regulate banks, and attempted to stimulate the United States economy to recover from the Great Depression. To do this it
established the National Recovery Administration and the entirely separate Public Works Administration (PWA, which built major
construction projects like dams.)  The act was despised due to its excessive regulation and, in 1935, was struck down by a
unanimous decision of Supreme Court in the case Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (295 U.S. 495, 1935), sometimes
called the "sick chicken" case, that the Act infringed upon states' authority, unreasonably stretched the Commerce Clause, and
gave legislative powers to the executive branch in violation of the Nondelegation doctrine. Moreover, the opinion fell back on the
question of constitutional authority by stating, "extraordinary conditions do not create or enlarge constitutional powers.)  The
NRA logo was removed from the tag in May of 1935.

In 1935, a baby Shirley Temple, designed as a two year old, was released.  It appeared in six sizes ranging from 16" to 27".  
They were marked Shirley Temple on the back of the head as were the child dolls.  These dolls had composition heads, arms
(later rubber), legs and chest plates attached to cloth, kapok stuffed bodies.  During this year the child dolls had additional items
in "trunk" sets.  The trunk sets were trunks with movie stickers on them, leather handles and trunk style locks.  The were
available with three dresses and a playsuit for the 13", 16" and 18" dolls.

The box Shirley Temple dolls were purchased in underwent a redesign in 1935,  Prior to this time the blue label on the end
showed Shirley's face with stars to the left and right with the words Shirley Temple curved above her head.  The new label
design has a larger picture of Shirley against a large blue bow.  

For 1936, Ideal used the same doll mold but painted the doll with even more of a rosy tone.  The mohair wig was a darker
blonde with very distinct curls.  

1937 saw the introduction of the more "grown up" Shirley, even though she was only eight years old.  Shirley dolls, like the
movies, were not as popular as the focus of the nation shifted from the need to "feel good" with happy endings during the
depression to more dramatic  issues of the real world of war.  The country was growing up too.  With sales off 50%, Ideal
modified the mold by "aging" her face: higher forehead and slimmer cheeks.  Her face tone became paler but her lips, eyes and
eyebrows darkened.  The eyes have a gray eyeshadow-hence the term "make-up" doll.  The wig had a more noticeable side
part or sometimes pigtails.  

By 1938, Mollye Goldman no longer designed the clothing.  Clothing was still made from the movies but it was definitely more
"grown up" with longer skirts.  Sales continued to decline.  Ideal had other dolls, notably Judy Garland, popular from the Wizard
of Oz, and Deanna Durbin that were selling well.  In December of 1940, and ad for the Shirley Temple doll stated "Shirley
Temple has retired...and this is positively the last chance you have to buy a Shirley Temple doll!" (Bervaldi-Camaratta p60).  
Shirley filled the need of the country during the Depression--always smiling, always a happy ending.  But in 1940, the country
was consumed with World War II and there were very few happy endings.

In 1935, just as Shirley Temple herself was the top box office star, the Shirley Temple doll was the most popular doll in the
world.  However, as she grew up, her popularity waned and the dolls were discontinued in 1940.  Extra Shirley Temple doll parts
were used in other dolls that were not designed to represent Shirley Temple.  These included Snow White, Cinderella and
Marama (Sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Hawaiian Shirley but actually based upon the movie The Hurricane).  

For easy reference, examples of the clothing are shown below sorted alphabetically by common name as well as above sorted
based upon the movie in which they appeared.   

Shirley Temple's popularity resumed in 1957, when Ideal released the Vinyl Shirley Temple to coincide with the premier of the
television show,  The Shirley Temple Storybook, narrated by Shirley Temple.   Co-incident with this, the Shirley Temple movies
appeared on television for the first time as well.

Shirley's wardrobe includes:



American Legion from 1935
Anchor dress from Now and Forever
Aviator outfit from Bright Eyes
Baby Take a Bow
Birthday dress (re-released from Now and Forever)
Blue Bird dress
Blue Bird dress which may or may not be from the movie
Bolero Dress
Bright Eyes plaid dress (good ship lollipop)
Butterfly collar dress from Now and Forever
Captain January (the cracker jack pants outfit)
Cherries dresses
Coat with plaid trim from Our Little Girl
Corduroy coat from Bright Eyes
Daisy dress from Curly Top
Dance dress from Curly Top
Duck or chick dress from Curly Top
Emblem dress from Poor Little Rich Girl
Got Milk dress
Hearts Dress
Heidi
Jumper and blouse from Little Miss Broadway
Jumpsuit
Lace dress from Just Around the Corner
Last Shirley dress from the Blue Bird
Leaf print dress
Little Colonel
Little Princess
Littlest Rebel


Shirley Temple dolls were popular the world over but Ideal had the exclusive rights to her name and image.  Capitalizing on the
popularity of the child star, Ideal sold its molds to Reliable (Canada) and companies in Australia and Latin America.  These dolls
all look slightly different from the American versions due to differences in paint and technique.  Other firms produced their own
authorized Shirley Temple dolls.  Carl Bergner produced a composition Shirley in Germany marked CB Germany.  A celluloid
doll was produced in Poland, Holland and other countries.  Raynal in France created a cloth Shirley while Allwin in England
created a cloth Shirley doll with a pressed felt face.

Many companies imitated the Ideal Shirley and made Look-a-Like dolls.  These dolls could not be marketed as Shirley Temple
since only Ideal had the rights to the name but they appeared with names such as Bright Eyes or Little Miss Charming.  A key
distinguishing feature of these dolls is the eye color.  Ideal's hazel eyes were specially made for Ideal alone.  The Look-a-Like
dolls do not have hazel eyes.  Madame Alexander's Little Colonel, while protected by the company's rights to the book, bore a
startling resemblance to Ideal's Shirley but did not violate Ideal's copyright as it was not called Shirley Temple.  

While Mollye Goldman designed the Shirley Temple outfits through the mid thirties, she also designed clothing that bore her tag,
"Created by Molly-'es".  Many of these outfits are strikingly similar to the movie outfits and fit the Shirleys perfectly.  Some of
these outfits include a skiing suit with skis, a riding outfit, snowsuits and dresses. The overall plaid rain coat and umbrella were
designed and marketed by Mollye, not Ideal.

For information on care and conservation of composition and vinyl dolls refer to the section on conservation.

Bervaldi-Camaratta, Tonya. The Complete Guide to Shirley Temple Dolls and Collectibles Identification and Value Guide.  
Collector Books Paducah, Ky. 2006.

Kraus-Mancuso, Suzanne. Shirley Temple Identification and Price Guide to Shirley Temple Collectibles.  Hobby House,
Grantsville, Md. 2002.

Wikipedia
Loop dress from Poor Little Rich Girl
Lucky Penny Dress from Just Around the Corner
Military dress from Little Colonel
Music note dress from Our Little Girl
Oilcloth slicker from Captain January
Party dresses
Pin dot dress from Curly Top
Plaid raincoat from Captain January
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Riding outfit
Sail Boat dress from Now I’ll Tell You
Scotty Dog Dress from Our Little Girl
Silk pajamas from Poor Little Rich Girl
Smocked dress from Captain January
Smocked dress from Stowaway (with flowers on collar)
Snowsuit
Stand Up and Cheer
Starburst from Curly Top
Striped placket dress from Stowaway
Stowaway pajamas
Stripe dress from Our Little Girl
Sunsuits
Texas Ranger Centennial 1937
Travel dress from Wee Willie Winkie
Trench coat and hat
Velvet coat from Poor Little Rich Girl
Waffle dress
Wee Willie Winkie
Zipper dress from Little Miss Broadway
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