Dolls Of The Past – The Richwood Dolls

In the 1940’s, one of the most popular dolls in the market came from Richwood Enterprises.  It was a family-owned company that was established in Highland, Maryland USA and primarily produced and sold hard plastic dolls.  Some collectors believe that the company purchased the Mary Hoyer doll molds bearing only a generic mark of “Made in U.S.A.  Their dolls were primarily distributed in the East Coast.

The dolls may have been redressed and perhaps painted with more vibrant colors compared to the dolls of Mary Hoyer.  The company’s most popular doll was the Cindy Lou that typically came with a fashion booklet showing Cindy Lou’s wardrobe.

Here are the descriptions of some popular dolls created by Richwood Enterprises:

1)      Sandra Sue (1940’s to 1950’s) –

The typical size for Sandra was from 8 to 9 inches tall.  The doll was made of hard plastic and came with sleep eyes.  The doll was characterized by its slim shape as a walking or regular type doll with either flat or high-heeled feet.  The markings on these dolls were usually found on the legs or under the arms with a mold number.  Several Sandra Sue dolls found on the online are seen with their original elegant gowns and dresses.

2)      Cindy Lou (1950’s) –

Cindy was Richwood’s most popular fashion doll that was known for its wardrobe booklets.  The doll usually measured 14 inches tall and still made of hard plastic.  The doll came unmarked or some only have a circular mark with the words Made in USA.  Collectors will still find a lot of Cindy Lou’s in online auctions and vintage doll shops.  It looks similar to the Mary Hoyer doll and was generally a walker version doll. 

Generally the Cindy doll came with sleep eyes, jointed body, hip-pinned legs, head-turning mechanism; saran wigged head, closed mouth, and dressed in a myriad of clothing styles and outfits.  Her outfits were categorized into school, daytime, evening or nightgown, Sunday, beach outfit, and sports dresses.  The dolls also came with accessories such as lingerie, socks, shoes, itsy bitsy curlers,

3)      Tina Lou (1950’s) –

Tina came with a short painted molded hair and a vinyl head.  Its body was still made of hard plastic and it also came with sleep eyes.  This baby doll had a light blush on its cheeks with a tiny closed mouth painted with vibrant red and thinly painted eyebrows.  Tina measured 8 to 9 inches tall and also came in different outfits.

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