Meet my baby doll. I don’t remember her name.  And she’s long since lost her outfit. But, when I hold her, she evokes happy feelings. Pretty powerful for a 1970s plastic known as dublon vinyl.

Truth be told, I didn’t save this doll. My Mum did.  As an elementary school teacher, Mum made good use of my outgrown toys in her classroom. After she retired, many of these treasures came back to me including:

• Star Wars figures
• Rubik’s Cube
• 1980s space LEGO
• Sesame Street figurines

And this baby doll.

To find out more, all I had to go on were the words engraved on the back of the doll’s neck. They read “(c) 1971 Mattel Inc Mexico.”  My next stop was Google search.

Mattel (better known for another plastic doll named Barbie) made a series of baby dolls in the 1970s. Trouble is most of them have blonde, rooted hair. My doll is unique with her plastic hair. Thankfully, the Doll Collection Connection came to my rescue with details about the variety of Baby Tender Love dolls manufactured in the 1970s.

My doll is a Tiny Baby Tender Love. Marketed in 1972 and 1973, these 11 1/2″ tall dolls were the smallest dolls in the Baby Tender Love series.

Now, to find a seamstress to make her an outfit!