My name is Isabelle, I’m a French doll collector. The day I met Terri Lee dolls, it was love at first sight. The dolls you see in my blog have made a long trip from the USA to France before being part of my collection. I tried to put them on shelves but they didn’t want to stay there, they wanted to live and have fun like real kids… so I took my camera and joined them. Welcome to my little world where Terri Lee, Jerri Lee, Benjie, Bonnie Lou, Tiny Terri, Linda Baby have a life of their own !
"This is a photo of my Great Aunt Terri-- The Terri Lee Dolls were actually named after her, but from this picture I think she was just one of the
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When I was a little girl I had a Terri Lee doll. It was my very favorite doll, I thought she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen....
Portions of the following text and some images are from my article, "Jackie Ormes' Patty-Jo and Other Black Terri Lee Dolls," originally published in Doll Castle News, March/April 2008. Jackie Ormes - photograph courtesy of Tim Jackson, illustrator, cartoonist, graphic artist In the late 1940s, Zelda “Jackie” Ormes, the first syndicated African American female cartoonist, presented her concept for a black doll to the creator and founder of the newly formed Terri Lee® doll company. The concept for the doll was fashioned after Ms. Ormes’ comic strip character, Patty-Jo. Bonnie Lou and Benjie were already part of the black Terri Lee® doll family prior to the late 1940s Lincoln, Nebraska meeting between Ms. Ormes and Violet Vivian “Vi” Gradwohl. It is apparent, however, that Jackie believed her doll concept… her vision needed to be shared with Vi. On August 23, 1947, Patty-Jo, the doll, came to life with a signed contract between Ms. Ormes and the Terri Lee® doll company. The contract extended through January 1, 1950, with the possibility of renewal for an additional five-year period by written notice on or before November 1, 1949. Patty-Jo was on the market just in time for Christmas 1947; she arrived to happy owners complete with a wrist tag describing her significance to the doll world. Credited to Ms. Ormes’ vision, for at least three Christmases, the black female doll in the Terri Lee® doll line, formerly named Bonnie Lou, was renamed Patty-Jo. 1940s Patty-Jo designed by Jackie Ormes for Terri Lee Patty-Jo’s distinct facial screening, her two black ponytails of Celanese fiber (mannequin hair), and PATENT PENDING, which marks her back, distinguishes the doll from Bonnie Lou whose reddish brown, pageboy almost matches her complexion. Unfortunately, black female dolls manufactured after the company moved operations from Nebraska to California in 1951, resumed their original name, Bonnie Lou. Inexplicably, Patty-Jo was put to rest. Despite Patty-Jo’s untimely demise, collector’s continued to cherish her and Terri Lee® continued to produce other dolls until 1962. Patty-Jo Holiday Party In 1997, Terri Lee® Associates was founded and doll production resumed. In 2002, veteran and novice Terri Lee® collectors celebrated the black doll’s comeback as Patty-Jo Holiday Party, produced in a limited edition of 300. Sunday Best Benji and Bonnie Lou To further delight collectors, in 2003, Benjie and Bonnie Lou Sunday’s Best were added to the collectible doll line and produced in a limited edition of 350. They wear matching light blue woolen outfits with Bonnie Lou wearing signature wrist daisies like those held by the original dolls... 2007 First Play Line Patty-Jo To introduce today’s girls to their dolls, Terri Lee® Associates... created a play line. Patty-Jo was reintroduced in August 2007. In 1947, Patty-Jo’s original wholesale price was $7 with a retail price of $11.95. Today, the original version usually commands four-figures, greatly exceeding the original selling price and soundly proving Ms. Ormes’ 20/20 doll vision. Click here for Internet images of Jackie Ormes, her comic strips, dolls, and other related information. Click here to see Internet images of Patty-Jo and other black Terri Lee dolls. dbg
Tiny Terri Happy Trails - 10" Item #: 40020 Quantity Available: 1000 Price: $100.00 Size/Material: 10 inches Manufacturer: Terri Lee Associates Year: 2003 I am dressed in my fanciest western wear ready for a square dance! I have a special walking feature, if you move my legs my head will turn!
"My feminism will be intersectional or it will be bullsh*t." — Terri Lee Flavia Dzodan
The New York photographer is known for her ‘undiluted’ method – realism for generation X. Here are some of Phillips’ best shots of pop stars, models and Tumblr girls
A blog about one woman's passion for vintage-to-modern Black dolls.
You can read about this doll here: http://dollreference.com/terri_lee_dolls.html and the current owners of the business: Youtube Video about the Terri Lee Doll the official Website of Terri Lee Dolls today https://terrilee.com/index.php Her face grew on me. I bought this off ebay with the understanding she was reproduction and had a cracked neck. Okay with me...but when I got her it was more then the neck. Seems the new reproductions had problems with the seams not holding. Poor glue job. So she got a GOOD glue job. This is how she looked when I got her and the stages to her fixed self. She looks kind of "short" with no neck at all the legs were cracked too and I took them apart as well and reglued them. I didn't want to have to do it all over again. she is marked 719 of 2000 today 12/30/2105 My #3 daughter brought me another Goodwill find. ANOTHER TERRI LEE!. This one I think is meant to be an AA version but I think she looks more like she is mixed. So after cleaning she got her eye color changed then dressed in an AG outfit I had made. She was made in 2006.
I never played with dolls as a kid. I played outdoor games and was far too busy to even think about dolls. But in 2000 I discovered dolls on eBay and the rest is history. My experience was that I fell in love with a particular doll and didn't even bother to look at anything else. My first love was a very unique doll from the 1950s. She was so odd looking that I found her fascinating. Her name was Terri Lee. After researching her, I found that she was only produced for about 12 years in the 1950s. The company for some reason could not make it, so they discontinued making them. That, in itself, makes any doll more valuable. There weren't as many black dolls manufactured as white dolls in the 40s and 50s, so today they are hard to find and therefore more valuable when you find one in good condition. All About Terri Lee Dolls: Terri Lee was first produced as a composition doll in the late 1940s but most of her life (until 1962) she was a popular hard plastic doll. Terri Lee has a unique face mold and a devoted following among doll collectors. Terri Lee was made by an American company. Years of Production of Terri Lee Dolls: Terri Lee was first offered for sale in 1946. She was a composition doll until 1948. Then she was produced in Hard Plastic. In 1950, she was made in vinyl for a short time, but that was not successful. The original family owned company produced Terri Lee dolls in Nebraska and then California. A fire struck the factory in 1958. Dolls were then produced by several companies that owned the rights to the molds until approximately 1962. In 1999, Terri Lee reproductions were produced by Knickerbocker dolls for approximately three years. Then from 2003 through 2006, Terri Lee dolls were again produced. Company That Produced Terri Lee Dolls: The first company that produced Teri Lee dolls was owned by the family of creator Violet Lee Gradwohl. They produced Terri Lee until 1958, when various companies including Magna and Mar-fan. Knickerbocker Dolls produced Terri Lee reproductions from 1999 until their demise in 2002. Finally, Terri Lee Associates was formed by original family members and they produced Terri Lee dolls for both collectors in children from 2003 through 2006, with play dolls sold in Target. Material, Size and Characteristics: Terri Lee dolls are 16" tall. The dolls have painted eyes and the bodies are jointed at the neck, shoulders and hips. Terri Lee was made in composition from 1946-1947, hard plastic from 1947-1962 with production briefly in soft vinyl in 1960. Most of the reproduction Terri Lees have been made with hard vinyl. Prices and Secondary Market for Terri Lee Dolls: Terri Lee dolls have had a relatively steady market in the past few years. Nice examples that need a little TLC can be found in the $200 range. Rarer and mint models can run $400 to $600 or more. Patent Pending marked dolls are highly sought after also. Dolls in desirable outfits include the Bluebird, Campfire Girl, Formal outfits and Cowgirl outfits. Early composition dolls with minimal crazing and mint condition are rare and bring a premium. Tagged Terri Lee clothing in mint condition is also highly sought after. Marks on Terri Lee Dolls: Composition dolls are marked on their backs TERRI LEE // PAT. PENDING or TERRI LEE PATENT PENDING. Painted plastic and hard plastic dolls are marked TERRI LEE // PATENT PENDING through 1951 and then TERRI LEE from 1952 onward. Other Terri Lee Characters: Terri Lee has a male friend, also 16 inches tall, called Jerri Lee who was produced since the late 1940s. She has a little sister, a 10 inch baby doll called Linda Lee introduced in 1950. A tinier, 10" version of Terri Lee and Jerri Lee was introduced in 1954 and 1955 respectively, and was called Tiny Terri Lee and Tiny Jerri Lee. A black version of Terri Lee and Jerry Lee were made also. I have since expanded my doll collection, but I'll always have a special place in my heart for the Terri Lee dolls.
A sweater pattern for those hard-to-fit greyhounds! I added some photos of an Aran version of this sweater. I picked a few cable panels from a stitch dictionary, then added some extra stitches to the belly panel and the sides of the torso to compensate for the pull-in factor of the cable work. I haven’t blocked/steamed it yet, but I think it would relax a bit and stop pulling at the buttons. April 29, 2009: I uploaded a new version of the pattern; the only change was to remove the instructions for the leash slit as I have received a lot of feedback that it was in the wrong place on the neck Nov 23, 2016: added Norwegian translation of pattern text.
From the author of Telling Stories, Writing Songs: An Album of Texas Songwriters comes a fascinating collection of interviews with Texas women singer-songwriters and performers, including Emily Robison, Terri Hendrix, Lee Ann Womack, Rosie Flores, Betty B
Tiny Terri Indian Summer - 10" Item #: 40022 Quantity Available: 1000 Price: $100.00 Size/Material: 10 inches Manufacturer: Terri Lee Associates Year: 2003 My dress and moccasins are made in a soft brown suede accented with turquoise beads! I too have a special walking feature, if you move my legs my head will turn!
This my Vintage Terri Lee doll (1954-56) next to my reproduction Terri Lee doll! I have removed the repro make up, and I am going to re-paint it to look more like the original. This rep is one of 5000, and had decal makeup.The doll on the Left is one of 300, painted by Lee Platt.
