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By
Milo with
contributions from Jan W
Back in the 1960s, when toys were toys and kids were
proud of them, the Ideal toy company released a series of dolls that
was well ahead of its time. Their "Glamour Misty" dolls predated the
recent series of "Barbie as (insert a range of character names here)"
from Mattel by 30 years. Misty was an 11.5-inch fashion doll that was
one of a family of characters released in the "Tammy" doll
line. Tammy was released in 1962 and the twelve dolls in the series
include: ·
 Tammy
(teenaged and grown-up versions)
Tammy's
Mom
Tammy's
Dad
Ted
(Tammy's brother)
Pete
(Tammy's little brother)
Pepper
(Tammy's sister)
Patti
(Pepper's friend)
Dodi
(Pepper's friend)
Salty
(Pepper's friend)
Bud
(Tammy's boyfriend)
Misty
(Tammy's glamorous gal pal)
The teenaged Tammy doll had a shorter, rounder body.
The grown-up Tammy used the same posin' body mold as Misty. The posin'
bodies had a wire armature in the legs and arms for posability. Incidentally,
this body is more accurately proportioned than Mattel's Barbie. As such,
Misty cannot wear modern Barbie shoes, as they are far too small. Many
clothes and accessories were released for use with Tammy and Misty.
The doll in the Tammy series most important to Bewitched
collectors is Glamour Misty. Glamour Misty was released with two body
styles: the posin' body and the standard body. The standard body had
the same soft vinyl arms as the posin' version, but came without the
internal wire armateur. The standard body also sported hard plastic
legs that could not be posed. Two styles of Misty faces were also released.
Legend has it that the original version of Misty, which had eyes glancing
straight ahead, was deemed too severe looking. Another version of Misty
was therefore released with side-glancing eyes and a softer, rounder
face. The first issue Misty with the straight ahead looking eyes became
the basis for the Samantha doll. Figure 1 illustrates close-ups of the
Ideal Samantha and Glamour Misty dolls.
Figure
1: Top Row is the Ideal Samantha and Bottom Row is Ideal Glamour Misty
The Bewitched Samantha doll was released in 1965 and featured
the same head mold as the (purported) original Misty, but with side
glancing eyes as shown in Figure 2. There is another Samantha face that
is slightly rounder with smaller lips (or possibly less lipstick) and
this may be the Sears exclusive version.
Figure
2: The Ideal Samantha Doll
Figure 3 illustrates a 1966 magazine ad for Ideal featuring the Samantha
doll, as well as one for Mary Poppins, who some consider to also be
one of children's best loved good witches.
Figure
3: A Vintage Ideal Ad for the Samantha Doll
There are some important distinctions between Samantha and Misty:
Samantha
has light brownish/blonde hair pulled back from the face that is secured
in back with a rubber band. Longer hair falls into curls down past
the shoulders as well. This is the hairstyle Elizabeth Montgomery
wore often in the first two seasons of Bewitched. All Misty
dolls have bangs, and were released with the various shades of blonde
and brown hair.
Samantha
was only released on a posin' body. Her arms and legs will have the
wire armature inside them. Misty can be found on a posin' body, but
will always have bangs.
Posin'
Misty was packaged in a plastic phone booth-styled case, and wore
a silver and white sleeveless jumpsuit along with plain white high-healed
shoes. A second version came in a larger cardboard box that included
three magic markers, which could be used to change the hair color
(to black, brown, and red). This Misty came in a bathrobe and short
frilly pajamas as shown in Figure 4.
Figure
4: The Ideal Posin' Misty
Samantha
wore a red sleeveless dress covered with multicolored sparkles. The
dress was made from velveteen with a smooth knit back as seen in Figure
5. A matching red witch hat adorned her head, which was attached with
a straight pin.
Figure
5: The Ideal Samantha from Back
There are rumors that Samantha was released in a black version of
the dress as well, but this is not confirmed nor widely known with
certainty how the doll was sold. Figure 6 illustrates the black-suited
doll. Either this doll was sold in a limited number or there are some
very talented seamstresses customizing dresses that replicate the
advertised red ones for the doll.
Figure
6: The Ideal Samantha Doll in Black Flying Suit
Samantha
came with a broom that was made from a wooden dowel rod with straw
bristles secured by white string (like kite string). Samantha's shoes
are low-healed red pumps without a bow. This is an important distinction
because red shoes were released for the grown-up Tammy and Misty dolls
that will fit Samantha, but these feature bows. There were two
styles (possibly more) of red Misty/Tammy pumps*:
1. Plain red pumps (no bow) with a higher heal than Samantha
wore (these came in white, green, red, etc.). There is no writing
on the soles of these shoes.
2. Red low-healed pumps with a bow. This shoe is distinctive
from the low-healed shoe Samantha wore, but will fit Samantha. The
word JAPAN is written on the soles of each shoe.
*Both styles of shoes are different than
Samantha's, but if you're looking for replacement shoes, either style
will work. However, beware that teenaged Tammy also had a pair of
red low-healed pumps with bows that are wider than the Misty/grown-up
Tammy shoes. They will not fit Samantha securely. There is also a
poseable Barbie shoe ( for flat feet) that is red with a strap that
will fit. While Samantha's toes show in the front because they are
slightly too big, they are an alternative.
Samantha
was sold in a large, aqua cardboard window box. Various pictures of
Elizabeth Montgomery adorn the box, as well as artistic renderings
of rooftops and trees. Samantha was posed in the box sitting on her
broom as if flying high over houses as illustrated in Figure 7. It
is believed that the Sears version of Samantha was sold only in a
plain brown cardboard box (typical of Sears exclusives at the time).
Figure
7: The Ideal Samantha in Original Window Box
All
Misty dolls, sometimes called Miss Clairol, will have bright turquoise
green eyes and matching eye shadow. Samantha has side-glancing (looking
right) light tan or olive eyes and matching eye shadow. See Figure
8 for a head shot of the doll. Like Misty, Samantha has bright red
lips. The head markings are ©1965/IDEAL TOY CORP./W12-3 for Misty
and ©1965/IDEAL TOY CORP./W12 - E - 2 for Samantha.
Figure
8: The Misty Doll with Turquoise Eyes and Shadow, Bangs, and Red Lips
A description of the Ideal Samantha doll can be found in collectibles
books about dolls and toys from the 1960s. Here are a few references:
Collector's Guide to Ideal Dolls, 2nd edition, by
Judith Izen, 1999, Collectors Books, a division of Schroeder Publishers
Co., Inc. Samantha, the Bewitched Doll is all vinyl, has KHAKI-GREEN/BROWN
SIDE GLANCING EYES. Two versions have been seen, with bending knees
and without bending knees. The Samantha whose legs do NOT bend is
marked IDEAL DOLL/M-12-E-2 (on head) and IDEAL in oval/1965 (on body).
Samantha has also been seen with bendable legs that can be posed with
markings of IDEAL DOLL/M-12-E-2 (on head and body). Both dolls have
dark blonde hair pulled back off their face and no bangs. This book
also makes it clear that there was never an Elizabeth Montgomery doll.
Collector's Guide to Dolls of 1960's and 1970's
by Cindy Sabulis, 2000, Hobby House Press, Inc. This book shows close-up
picture of difference between Ideal Misty and Samantha. In print,
it states that the Samantha doll's head is smaller and her lips are
not as full as the Misty doll. This author describes Samantha's eyes
as olive with olive eyeshadow. Misty has turquoise eyes and eyeshadow
with Misty having bangs.
Posin' Misty-style dolls were also released in 1967 as "Comic Heroines."
This series consisted of four DC Comic characters: Batgirl, Supergirl,
Wonder Woman, and Mera (Aquaman's wife). This line was a companion series
for the popular boys line of "Captain Action" figures. All these dolls
are highly sought after and are hard to find (at least cheaply). They
are commonly referred to as "Superqueens." All four characters
were released on posin' bodies and used the side-glancing Misty heads.
The eyes and eye shadow are the same turquoise green as Misty, but the
lips are a pale pink. None of the Superqueens have bangs or red lips.
Posin' Misty dolls are often mistaken for Superqueens, but the bangs
are a sure giveaway (it is easy to fake the pale pink lips, but not
the bangs). Each character breaks down as follows:
Batgirl
- She was released in two hair colors: black and light blonde. The
blonde-haired Batgirl was sold exclusively by Sears (the only figure
to be released as a variation). Both versions have hair parted in
the center and combed into a flip curl. Batgirl came dressed in a
black one-piece, long sleeved leotard-type suit (with bat emblem),
blue boots, gold belt (with a second bat emblem), blue vinyl cape,
blue mitten-like gloves, and a blue full-head bat cowl. Her accessory
was a blue Captain Action batarang.
Supergirl
- She had side-parted (on the left) honey blonde hair. This color
is easily distinguishable from Misty's platinum blonde hair. Supergirl
was released in a long sleeved blue mini-dress (with super "S" emblem),
gold belt, red boots, and red vinyl cape. Her accessory was a plastic
dog "Krypto" complete with his own tiny red cape with "S" emblem.
This is the same Krypto super-dog released with the Captain Action
Superman set.
Wonder
Woman - She featured dark brown hair brushed back from her forehead
into a long flip. She came dressed in a one-piece bathing suit style
costume (a red top with gold foil eagle crest, blue shorts with white
stars, and white vinyl belt). She wears red shoes with calf-length
laces, bracelets, and gold tiara. Wonder Woman's accessory was a Captain
America shield.
Mera
- She has distinctive bright red hair that is parted in the center.
Her hair is long, falling past the shoulders into a flip. She wears
a one-piece green sleeveless leotard, which has a black water-like
pattern. She wore yellow flippers and a gold crown. Mera's accessory
is a yellow Captain Action Aquaman trident.
There is a rare picture of the entire series of Superqueen dolls
here.
The body markings on the Superqueens, Bewitched Samantha, and
Posin' Misty have ©1965/IDEAL TOY CORP./W12-x located on the back of
the head. Branded on the right hip is © 1965, the IDEAL logo, M-12,
and the number 2.
The value of Ideal dolls varies, of course, depending on which character
you want. The following estimates are based on countless auctions and
sales being monitored, and are not official appraiser's guides.
The
Posin' Misty in phone booth box usually sells for $50 - $100 depending
on condition. Extremely mint examples with the hair still wrapped
in plastic can go even higher.
The
regular Misty in the cardboard box with hair color pens generally
goes for $40 - $80. Again, particularly mint copies may sell for more.
Loose
Posin' Mistys sell from $3 - $30 depending on condition (especially
if they are dressed and have shoes). The standard bodied Misty follows
the same pattern. The forward glancing Misty usually sells for $25
- $60.
Loose
Samantha dolls without any original clothing generally sell between
$50 - $150 depending on condition. The closer the hair is to its original
style, the higher it tends to sell.
Samantha dolls with some or all of their original wardrobe will bring
anywhere from $150 - $350. Especially clean examples complete with
hat, broom, and shoes can go as high as $500.
Mint
in box (MIB) Samanthas will rarely sell for less than $1,500. One
recently sold on eBay.com for more than $3,000. That's how rare these
are. Unless you happen to have a nice aunt who has one tucked away
in a drawer somewhere; MIB Samantha dolls are nearly impossible to
find.
The
Superqueen dolls are so rare even loose and naked ones will sell for
$100 - $200. The more complete the doll is, the higher the price.
Generally, near complete ones will sell between $500 - $800. Mint
in box Superqueens usually start at $1,200.
Additional Sources:
For more information on spotting the authentic 1967
Ideal Comic Heroines or "Superqueens" dolls: http://members.aol.com/sarahdyer/collect.htm
For more information on what these dolls are actually
selling for in the market today: www.ebay.com
Read an article by John Mederios about the Comic
Heroines series and see a picture of the Wonder Woman Superqueen
doll here: http://www.bigredtoybox.com/articles/sqindex.shtml
For more information on the Comic Heroines with
value information: http://www.krause.com/corner/corner20001027.html
For more information on Bewitched collectibles:
http://www.tvtoys.com/library/bewitched/
And, of course, visit Harpiesbizarre.com pages The
Value of Bewitched Collectibles and the Collectibles
Doll Gallery.
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