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1950's Cosmopolitan Ginger doll in Sweden
In the 1950's the Cosmopolitan Ginger doll was the darling of Sweden. They along with their outfits and accessories were sold at exclusively at (NK) one of Stockholm Sweden's most fashionably department stores. In August of 1955 the 8" Ginger walker doll was introduced at the (NK) store by none other than Miss Kathryn Kay herself.
My friend Gunnel purchased her first two Gingers dolls in 1955 and she still has them today.
In 1997 Gunnel read an article in the Swedish "House Wives Journal" about doll collecting. The article gave tips on where to find vintage dolls. The article suggested places like "second-hand markets and old toys-shops". Up until the time she read the article she thought that she was the only person that still had dolls from the 50's and realized it was possible to find and purchase 50's Ginger dolls.
As a result of her playing with the dolls in the 50's and the many fond memories they brought back, Gunnel decided to start collecting the Ginger dolls in 1997. There were many vintage dolls available but Gunnel focused on the Cosmopolitan Ginger since that doll was the only one she remembers as being available in Sweden when she was young.
There were four Ginger booklets printed in the U.S. in: 1955, 1956 and 1957 plus one on Baby Ginger. It seems that the Cosmopolitan factory has been in three places during the Ginger era: Jackson Heights in 1954-55, Richmond Hill around 1958 then after that Jamaica. The Jamaica period is a difficult one in trying to identify outfits from that period. Ginger has always been a mystery for me so I have relied a lot on Gunnel's wisdom.
Gunnel's has been able to collect almost all of the outfits for Ginger, even though some of the pieces might be missing. I think there are around 200 dresses to be collected. She states: "I have counted 195 different outfits in my catalogues. I do have 140 of these and in addition some 40 color varieties for example the little velvet coats No. 960 in red, green and yellow. There is especially one dress I have never laid my eyes on and is very eager to have. The Indian princess No 1009 from the frontier land series.
Some of the outfits she has are the provincial costumes which were only made in Sweden for the Swedish market, one is particular is the Swedish Dalecarlia dress. The Leksand dress for unmarried young girls was the most famous. Midsummer is the second most celebration holiday in Sweden when this outfit is worn.
Another wonderful costume that was made for Ginger is the Disneyland, Mickey Mouse Club costumes. The Official Mickey Mouse Club outfit #S103, Official Talent Roundup, #S104 and Mousekarade outfit #S102. For the 50's this would have been special since everyone was familiar with Disneyland and the Mickey Mouse Club. Although it was not really so well known in Sweden Disneyland dresses still became extremely popular even there in Sweden.
In our conversations about Ginger's, what really stood out in my mind was hearing about the original furniture that was made for Ginger. The first group to appear was identical with the ones little Ginny had which was a lattice design wood in pink and white made in 1955. In Sweden the colors were red with the white lattice trim and also made in a cream white with red lattice trim. Gunnel was told that someone who was making the Ginny furniture also was coming over to Sweden to make the red and cream furniture for Ginger. It was very short lived possibly a year or so before it was discontinued possibly by Vogue, so they produced another completely different type of wooden furniture. This furniture is very nice, white with small flower decorations and Ginger name written on each piece.
Gunnel has the complete set in both colors of the discontinued furniture which consist of the wardrobes, tables, and corner sofas, chairs, including rocking chairs bed, chest of drawers, toilet tables and night stands. She also owns many pieces to the other white furniture and she has some of the baby Ginger furniture.
The story I enjoy as much as the furniture is when she shared with me about her Ginger House. She found this on one of her trips to Stockholm in 2004. She writes,'" you should have seen me in Stockholm last Saturday when getting my Ginger-house home. It was quite huge and heavy, so I had to bring it home on my little trolley on the train. Also it was so broad I couldn't get into the train with it so had to sit on the last seats, watching over it. "Then if that was not enough to make matters even more challenging for her once she did get it home she found she did not have the instructions for putting it together so it took her some time to figure out how to do that. The roof is on hinges and has a chimney on top. As you can see from the pictures, it did work out with all its challenges and it so worth it as it is beautiful. I love to see it in person.
As you can see I have enjoyed my Swedish Ginger friend so very much and it was very special to write about her. Dolls have been such a wonderful outlet for many of us who collect them and I know for me Ginger is a special doll and Gunnel has made it even more special for me. Some of us collectors have created our own websites for the dolls we collect and this has afforded us opportunity to play dolls online. For Gunnel and I, we have enjoyed shared pictures of our dolls and our stories for several years now. When she sent me ones from her collection, I would quickly scan them and add those to my website. I made an area on my doll site just for her dolls and furniture with as much information as I could find. I hope you will stop by and visit her dolls, as well as mine! Come join the fun and feel free to share your doll stories too. It is a wonderful way to make friends and share our passions of dolls.
In the future Gunnel plans on writing a book on Ginger. This probably will not happen until she retires but for me I can hardly wait to learn more about this beloved doll called "Ginger" who has won not only Gunnel and my heart but many of you other collector's out there too! She is a precious doll.
Sandi Winfrey
sewinfrey@comcast.net
http://home.comcast.net/~sewinfrey/index.html
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