Doll:Betsy McCall "School Days" Costume

In May 1951, McCalls magazine, a popular periodical aimed at housewives, introduced Betsy McCall, a paper doll and her outfits. Betsy, a sweet girl of seven or eight years of age, became a feature of the monthly magazine, much as magazines of the turn of the century had offered Dolly Dingle and other paper dolls. McCalls licensed the American Character Doll Company to produce a 7 1/2-inch version of Betsy, capitalizing on the popularity of small dolls such as Ginny, Muffie, and the Alexanderkins lines. Eighteen different outfits were available for Betsy in her first year. Eighteen new outfits followed in her second year. McCalls, also a maker of sewing patterns, offered patterns for outfits for Betsy that matched patterns for the dresses and clothes that adorned her little owners. Thus, Betsy promoted not just the magazine but became quite a booster for the McCalls patterns as well. The doll came in larger sizes too, including this 14-inch version. In the 1960s, she appeared in a 36-inch size with patterns so that the doll and a little girl could exchange clothes. As the 1960s and 1970s progressed, various doll makers made Betsys as 'tweens and teens, but these failed to garner the popularity of the little girl of the 1950s. As baby boomers became well-heeled adult doll collectors, in the 1990s, the Robert Tonner company issued a collectible Betsy that mimics the first eight-inch Betsy.