Customer Reviews

Horsman Dolls The Vinyl Era 1950 to Present

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

 

 

Don Jensen, known as the Horsman expert, has lots of good information in this book.

However, I found it harder to use to identify dolls. The dolls are listed in alphabetical order. Great if you know the doll's name, but not much help when you are trying to identify the doll you have.

I prefer break downs by era, type of doll, or material type. Putting them all in A-Z order makes for a slow process if you don't already know the doll's name.

This is an enjoyable book, although I must agree with the first reviewer, who said that it is difficult to research a doll without first knowing it's name. I would prefer to find information based on era, material and so forth. It does have some interesting information on the Horsman family and company, and the pictures are priceless. After looking at my own photos and doing a little more research, I realize that many of my favorite dolls were Horsman, so this book should be excellent for reference.

This book has large color photos of the dolls. Very few are in black and white. Almost all of the photos are of the actual dolls in mint condition. It lists a brief history of Horseman dolls, mold numbers and different characteristics to identify your doll. It discusses the different materials use to make the dolls, and includes pictures of the doll's insides. There is also a list of approximate value of the dolls.
The dolls are listed in alphabetical order for the most part, with the year they were made. Sometimes if the doll is related to another doll it will be listed on the same page. Dolls that aren't related but have the same name are listed on the same page. On each page a brief history is given about one of the dolls on the page(not all).
There is an index which is very helpful if you know the dolls name. Even though the book is in alphabetical order, sometimes it is difficult to find the doll.

At first, I was a little disappointed that the dolls weren't listed by year.
I think it would be a little easier to find a doll that you didn't know the name. However if you have a doll like Mary Poppins, you can easily compare the difference between the 1964 and the 1973 version. This book is all about the vinyl era with only a few pictures of earlier dolls.

This book is hard to read and some of the pictures are blurry. It makes an OK reference book, but I dont think I will use it much.

This is nice book to have. There are lots of pictures and really helps to identify those little "odd ball" dolls. Great information about Horseman company.

Don Jensen's HORSMAN DOLLS: THE VINYL ERA 1950 TO PRESENT includes a fine biographical sketch of Horsman and the dolls he created, then moves to the heart of the matter: color photos for identification and written descriptions which chart the changing styles, purposes and trends of these dolls. Any doll collector, particularly those of Horsman styles, must have this identification and value guide.