Customer Reviews

Collector's Guide to Ideal Dolls: Identification & Values, 3rd Edition

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Judith Izen has hit another homerun with this excellent book for collectors of Ideal dolls. There are literally hundreds of wonderful color photos throughout the book. It is a pleasure just to leaf through the high quality, glossy pages. Even if you are not a collector, it would still be interesting to have the book as a conversation piece. Anyone who ever had a doll when they were young would love to look through to see if their favorite dolly is here. The book is also very well written with plenty of information about individual dolls and the different types of dolls. The 5 stars are well deserved.

This is a very good refence guide to use to find out information and value of all Ideal dolls. Lots of nice pictures!!

I have several of Izen's books and I'm never disappointed with them. I especially like the section on the PlayPal family group; I found a couple of variations that I don't remember seeing before. There are a few I'd like to have seen more pictures and info on, but I guess something has to be saved for the next book.

This is a wonderful book for anyone who loves dolls. It's full of full color pictures that you'll enjoy whether you're a collector or just enjoy reminiscing about dolls from times past. There's lots of information about the dolls, along with pictures of outfits that were available for many of them. My friend saw my book and immediately ordered one of her own.

I love this book, as it has pictures and information for the many dolls I have. My home has many of Ideal Play Pals and now I'm acquiring some of the Toni dolls and what fun, to learn about them and see the outfits, that were made, just for them. Some 55 years ago, I had a Toni and oh how I loved her.
This is an awesome reference book, well written and it was shipped in a timely manner.

A MUST-HAVE book for any serious doll collector or dealer. Great and varied photos and description guidelines.

Judith Izen offers an exhaustive, and beautiful manual on Ideal dolls. I have been collecting vintage dolls for a number of years. And while I have a number of lovely vintage dolls of various brands, Ideal dolls are overwhelmingly my doll of choice. In terms of beauty and durability, few brands have withstood the test of time as Ideal dolls have. The Patti Playpal doll is a prime example of enduring workmanship and beauty. Many of the playpal dolls are just as beautiful as when they were purchased in the 50's!

Collector's Guide to Ideal Dolls: Identification & Values, 3rd Editionis a pure pleasure for the Ideal doll collector, or anyone who would like to relive a little childhood nostalgia. Ideal Dolls is a gorgeous book that is generous sized and filled with colorful photographs on nearly every page. Having owned two other editions of Ideal Dolls, the Third Edition is my personal favorite. Readers will find detailed information on hundreds of Ideal dolls, even those that are exceedingly rare, or those that were of limited production.

Ideal Dolls is useful for collectors as a reference guide for identifying Ideal dolls, and genuine original clothing. The book is an essential for seamstresses wishing to recreate authentic looking reproductions in garments. **Please note--that reproduction garments which are intended for sale must always be identified as such.

Included are price guides for the dolls which may or may not be helpful for those looking to purchase dolls on internet sites or doll shows. Actual worth of nearly any vintage doll is actually very subjective. However, price estimates may help to orient newer Ideal doll collectors regarding scarcity and rarity of certain dolls such as hair color, unusual garments, etc. An example included in the book is the Ideal Jackie doll. Ideal Jackie is extremely scarce, and rarely found. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis pursued legal channels to halt production of the Ideal Jackie doll as she felt that the doll was created in her personal likeness without her consent. And thus, the Ideal Jackie doll was extremely limited in production and consequently is an exceedingly rare Ideal doll. Collector's Guide to Ideal Dolls: Identification & Values, 3rd Edition will also be a joy for Shirley Temple doll collectors. It appears that nearly every type of Ideal Shirley Temple doll, in various sizes and arrayed in dozens of different garments is featured. Even the most avid Ideal Doll collectors will find new information and variations in their favorite dolls in this very impressive book.

The first pages of the book document the history of Ideal dolls, years of manufacture, and materials used. Readers will be fascinated with factual details of bestselling dolls and those that were dismal failures in terms of sales. And appendix in the back is extremely helpful as it describes Ideal stamps on the dolls, and the corresponding years respective to production of various dolls.

Collector's Guide to Ideal Dolls: Identification & Values, 3rd Edition is a gorgeous book, which would be an excellent conversational piece on a coffee table, or a very useful guide for Ideal doll collectors. It is a essential guide for collectors and admirers alike of Ideal brand dolls.

I found this book to be very useful in identifying the age of dolls and their value. It has a lot of information in it for the collectors !

I am a Shirley Temple Collector. I use this book all of the time to identifiy valuable dolls and outfits. I have learned so much from this book. A must have for anyone who collects dolls.