Vintage Walking Dolls

What are Vintage Walker Dolls

Winnie Walker/Wanda Walker/Maybelle Walker/Betsy Walker/Tama Talking Doll/Mr. Atom

• Walkalon Manufacturing Co. Chicago, Ill cir 1950 -1952 (taken over by Advance Doll and Toys in 1953)

• Advance Doll and Toy Company West Haven, Ct. cir 1953-1956

Prices below are under the assumption that the Doll is in very good to excellent condition and has original box with all cardboard inserts inside box and the original instructions as well.

• 1950-52 Walkalon Manufacturing Co. Made the 22" plain red lettered box and inside a 21" 2.5 lb Betsy Walker Doll "She Walks Alone" as the box says. Little is known about this company, but some of the parts are virtually identicle as with the later Advanced Doll and Toy Co. Dolls. Early model production Betsies had rollers that looked like a garden hose over a brass pin, later models had all metal rollers, also early Betsies eyes opened and closed as well as moved side to side. Apparently a bit too much as far a linkage wear and tear so they opted for the simpler eyes open and close instead. At the end of the Betsy years, there seems to be a cutback on the thickness of the steel they used in the legs. maybe declining sales so a much thinner steel on such items was necessary.

• Betsy Walkers with box prices vary from about $100.00 to over $1000.00.

• 1953- Walkalon was absorbed or purchased by a new company. Advance Doll and Toy Company and their new Dolls. 1954 Tama the talking doll. Cloth body and a somewhat crude voice box sunk into her chest. This would be the after effects to the voice mechanism used in the 1953 Winnie Dolls. She didn't walk. These dolls are extremely rare!

• Tama with box prices  and instructions are from $125.00 to over $750.00

• 1953 the 24" hefty 4 lb Winnie Walking Doll appeared to have been the first to be produced via the 1953 patents on her. All hard plastic head, arms, legs, shoes and torso. She is the only doll to use a 3 1/4" record and a speed control or (governor). I assume its to make sure Winnie doesn't sound like a chipmunk. All inside a 25" green box., Early manufacture was made with hard plastic bodies. I assume it was around 1952 and possibly to the end of Advance in 1956. I have seen 2 more variations in body molds which include both a softer plastic which includes the grilled type body and one without grill that has the same pins as the early hard plastic models but with a new neck lip for a new vinyl head. All Winnie models seem to use the same hard plastic shoes, arms and legs. Heads were of hard plastic from 1951 to early 1955. Late 1955 were of a softer plastic and lighter color. 1956 seems to made of vinyl, smaller mouth and gone was the eye weights.Also noted that there was two colors of records used in the Winnie Dolls. A yellow and a black 3 1/4" "mini" record.Boxes were in 1953 smaller green and 25" long. 1955 they were still green but the words "she sings" was added to a longer 27 1/4" box. 1956 seemed to be an all white 27 1/4" box with the extra "she sings" still on the box.

• Winnie with box prices are from $40.00 to over $450.00

• 1954 also was the introduction to a new Advance Doll named Wanda and the later the other named Maybelle (late 1954 or 1955), which was the Black version using the second generation Wanda Doll and also in 1954 a soft bodied doll named Tama the talking doll. Tama seemed only to last one year and very sought after because of their rarity. Tama's were normally had the same dress, socks and white panties and a sash that beared the Tama name on it. Tama also had a green box that said "Tama the talking doll on the box". The Maybelle Walkers had their own green box and was labeled "Maybelle the walking doll" on the box. Little is known if the Maybelle's were continued on until 1956 since most are very rare. Wanda's in 1954 were made basically from the designs of two previous Dolls. The internal works from Walkalon's Betsy Walker and Winnie Walker. From the Betsy they used the heavy duty frame, leg supports and arms. From Winnie they used the leg to foot plate pins and joints. The shoulder and hip pins were a bit massive and I thing a bit overkill. Unfortunately this idea makes for a very tough but very heavy Doll. By late 1954 they had changed the internals to a lighter frame and pins were the same for every Doll they produced so tooling was less for all the Dolls. Late 1954 came the introduction of the smaller foot plate and the 2 rivet shoe. They still stapled the bow on the shoe but the shoe would be the for-runner to every other Wanda until 1956 other than changing the number of rivets used to secure the shoe to the foot plates. So if your Wanda has a bow stapled to the top lace and is a 5 total rivet shoe and the shoes are paper thin plastic, and very small rollers on the bottoms with steering via the front roller by turning the sleeve that the rollers are mounted to left or right, it's a 1954 first edition Wanda, so hang on to it....By 1955 the standard for the Wanda shoes were then 4 rivet and stayed that way until 1956. Unfortunately though when they reduced weight in the legs and foot plates they advertantly made the Wanda top heavy. So you will find most Wanda with face damage...

• 1955- Change over to a softer plastic torso and head, but the same hard plastic arms, legs and shoes. Green 27 1/4" box. Torso's had a tendancy to warp badly.

• 1956- Change again in torso construction to the newer slightly larger softer plastic with speaker holes in her side. These were notorious for warping. Soft vinyl head. Hard plastic legs, arms and shoes in a white 27 1/4" box. Also produced new in 1956 was the 18" - 4 1/2 volt Mr. Atom. Possibly a last ditch effort to increase sales to include Boys. Two different versions. Of the two, only the eyes were changed. First edition had bulged eye or "goldfish" type eyes and the second were flat. This was their only totally 4 1/2 volt (3 C-cell) battery powered robot toy. In the head was a screw-in old flashlight type bulb to lighten up the eyes and clear dome on top. By pushing the red button on the front of Mr. Atom a "dryer indicator" style buzzer would sound. The Legs, feet and rollers were used from extra Wanda ski dolls. The internal framework was it's own and being very small and using nylon gears opposed to the steel gears of the other dolls, also now with an electric motor atop the framework. Late 1956, Wanda in 1956 saw the rise of two variations. One was the Wanda Ski Doll and the other was Wanda the Majorette. On the bottoms of her shoes were two holes inside of the wheels. These were for snapping on the ski that was apparently an accessory of that time. These Wanda's were known as Wanda Ski Dolls. Unknown is the ski was strickly an accessory or that the skies came with the Wanda ski doll. I have seen the instruction sheets for installing the skies to the shoe.

• Mr Atom with box prices are from $200.00 to over $750.00

• Wanda Walker with box prices are from $40.00 to $300.00 and Wanda Ski Dolls with ski's can fetch $500.00+ with original ski's

• Maybelles with box can fetch $100.00- to over $500.00 with box and instructions.

• Wanda Majorettes can bring $500.00 or more with box and instructions.

• Advanced Doll and Toy vanished forever. Possibly unable to compete with the all plastic non metal dolls of that time. Most of the sloppy walking characteristics of Winnie and Wanda was the leg pins (made from flat metal rolled into a tube) becoming very loose causing her to fall and walk like she was drunk. Belly breakage is also common because the large coil drive spring finally pushing the belly plastic to break. They should have stuck to the Betsy framework. It had alot less problems, but they have worked there way into many hearts from that time.

• I have taken the liberty of posting a few Patents on the Doll pages. Please check them out as well.