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ANTIQUES PEEK by Jessica Kosinski
ANTIQUES PEEK

Annalee Dolls – A Holiday Tradition

here are many traditions and objects one of their sons’ to use Annalee dolls to decorate for Christmas
associated with the holidays. Some favorite hobbies. The were President and First Lady Ford in

Tstart out regional and then slowly dolls were so 1975. They received a collection of the dolls
expand. One example is the Annalee doll, successful that the as a gift that year from one of New
which originated in my home region of New operation kept expand- Hampshire’s legislators.
England. For decades Annalee dolls have been ing and eventually
popular in this area. Their popularity has also became officially incor- The End of an Era
extended to other parts of the country and porated as a company in In the 1990s, the company changed hands.
the world over time. Let’s take a peek at 1955. Since then, the Then Annalee
these interesting dolls. We’ll delve into their company has gone by a herself passed
history, evolution, and popularity. few names, including away in 2002.
Annalee Dolls Inc. Since then, the
Barbara Annalee Davis Thorndike 1950s Girl in and Annalee Mobilitee company has
remained
in
Annalee dolls Hanging Chair Dolls Inc. Meredith, but
were the brain- During those early years, most dolls it has changed
child of Annalee were sold in Boston, Massachusetts, and hands and
Davis, whose first Manchester, New Hampshire. Certain busi- locations a cou-
name was actually nesses in those cities offered them. However, ple more times.
Barbara. She one of Annalee’s biggest clients was the State Although new
preferred to go by of New Hampshire itself. Annalee was hired Annalee dolls
her middle name by the state to promote its tourism using the are still pro-
of Annalee, and dolls, which were rapidly growing in popular- duced today,
later became ity. From there, they were exhibited in major the early dolls 1966 Mr and Mrs Clause
are the ones
known as Annalee locations like New York City’s Rockefeller coveted by collectors. Annalee herself created
Thorndike after Center and the Springfield, Massachusetts dolls in both human and animal forms. Her
marrying her Eastern States Exposition. The latter is an mouse dolls were (and still are) among the
husband, Chip. annual exposition still held to this day. It is most popular.
Thorndike Family
Annalee was better known locally as the “Big E.”
born in 1915 in Concord, New Hampshire. Other Popular Annalee Dolls
That’s where she started making dolls with a Rapid Expansion and the “Factory in Besides some of the mouse dolls, there are
friend when she was young. By the 1930s, she the Woods” other popular Annalee dolls as well. Back in
was selling them in New Hampshire and later Thanks in large part to the New 2016, a vintage six-foot-tall Annalee Santa
in Boston, where she resided for a short time. Hampshire tourism campaigns, Annalee sold on eBay for $499.99. A little more
Annalee married Chip Thorndike in the early distribution grew by leaps and bounds. By recently, in 2020, a posable Annalee Mobilitee
1940s, and the two decided to make their lives 1960, the dolls could already be found in elf sold for $2,000, according to the popular
together in Meredith, New Hampshire. Puerto Rico, Canada, and 40 of the U.S. antiques valuation website WorthPoint. In
There, Annalee eventually began selling her states. The expansion proved too much for the addition to some of the most sought-after
dolls again, initially using her two sons as Thorndikes to manage from their house and dolls, Annalee began producing Christmas
inspiration for doll designs. the houses of the workers they ornaments in the 1980s. Many
had at the time. That’s why they collectors still enjoy collecting
The Annalee Dolls Company is Born opened what was dubbed “The those today, and new ornaments
Annalee and Chip started what became Factory in the Woods” in are still produced annually.
a full-fledged company later in Meredith Meredith, New Hampshire.
in their own home. The first line produced Eventually, it became a large Collecting Annalee Dolls
was a series of skiing dolls modeled after compound that included Collecting Annalee dolls
attractions for visitors like the requires some study, but there
Annalee Doll Museum and an are books and online reference
antique car museum. guides available to help. One of
the first things you need to know
is how to distinguish the early
Annalee Dolls Received dolls from those produced more
Presidential Christmas recently. One telltale sign of an
Recognition 1971 Vintage Annalee Mouse early doll is dolls created before
It is believed that Annalee dolls first the 1960s didn’t have screen-printed faces –
became associated with winter early on they were hand-painted. Tags and materials
because of the skiing dolls created by Annalee also changed over the years. Those subtle
in the early days of Meredith. The association changes can be good age indicators.
with Christmas itself came soon after, and the Ultimately, as with most other collectibles,
company produced several Christmas-themed the most important part of the Annalee col-
Three Vintage Annalee Dolls doll lines, including various Santa and Mrs. lecting process is choosing dolls that capture
your heart and fit your personal budget.
Claus dolls. Among the most notable people
Jessica Kosinski has been a freelance researcher and writer since 2001. She developed a passion for 1980s pre-1980s TV and films as a kid, and she has never grown out of it. Recently, she turned that
passion into a retro TV and film blog. Follow along with her at https://medium.com/@jkos_writing, as she dives deep into the characters, actors, quirks, and trivia that brought us some of the greatest
films and shows in TV history and also discusses some of the more obscure films and shows most of us may have forgotten.

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