History
The first set of Dawn dolls was released by Topper Toys in 1970 and included Dawn, Angie, Gloria, and Dale. The second set of Dawn dolls added Jessica, Longlocks, Gary, Ron, and Van to the bunch. This second set also introduced the "Head to Toe", "Dancing", and "Flower Fantasy" themes. The first set of dolls was also released under these themes. The last wave of dolls came out under the "Model Agency" and "Majorette" themes. The “Model Agency” theme introduced new dolls, Dinah, Denise, Melanie, Daphne, and Maureen. The "Majorette" theme brought in Connie, April, and Kip. The Dawn dolls provided a good amount of competition for the more expensive Mattel Barbie doll. Due to the lower price of Dawn dolls, it was easy for consumers to amass a relatively large portion of the collection for little money.
However, Topper Toys went bankrupt in 1973 and Dawn dolls were discontinued. Although the dolls achieved a huge amount of initial success, it was difficult to maintain. The small size of the doll made it hard for the manufacturers to get enough detailing onto the clothing to substantially innovate the styles.
After Topper shut down in the spring of 1973, dolls were packaged to be sold from the scraps of the leftover inventory. Thus, a doll might be packaged in outfits and/or boxes made for another doll character. For example, a Dale doll might come in Angie's "Model Agency" outfit in a box printed with Longlocks' name. Dolls were also manufactured from leftover parts, so a buyer might get Dawn with Jessica's hair.
Checkerboard Toys then took over the Dawn doll market and began making reproductions of Dawn, Gloria, Angie, and Dale as a 30th anniversary commemoration to the first Topper Dawn dolls. Checkerboard also released three new dolls, Shannon, Macy, and Denise. However, the new dolls never really caught on and Checkerboard made its last Dawn dolls in 2003. In 2004, Toy O Rama rereleased a line of Dawn dolls, but met with little success and shortly discontinued manufacturing.
| Theme | Description |
|---|---|
| "Head To Toe" | Short hair with three interchangeable wigs |
| "Dancing" | Legs move when you move the arms |
| "Flower Fantasies" | Doll comes standing among plastic flowers in flower pot |
| "Majorette" | In marching band uniform with glow in the dark baton |
| "Model Agencies" | More elaborate and formal outfits with a wide range of names such as "Buttercups 'n' Moonbeams, Dance 'Till Dawn, Gold Go Round, Silvery Pompoms, etc" |
Read more about this topic: Dawn Doll
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