Date: 1974
Manufacturer: Ideal Toys
Accessories: boots, dress, hat, booklet, (other accessories vary with different versions)
I have not been able to find much information about the Jody doll. Charming as she may be, she was only a blip in the toy time line and then she was gone. She was undoubtedly inspired by the success at the time of Holly Hobby dolls and Little House on the Prairie.
The doll was on my wishlist one year for both holidays and my birthday but I never got one. I was mainly attracted to her because I'm a fan of super long hair and Jody's hair goes down to her ankles! She's about 9" tall and has bendable knees. Her head is a fairly solid plastic, not the softer type that most Barbie dolls are.
The Jody doll was available in three varieties and she had three playsets available, too. I recently acquired a Jody doll at a doll show and hope that someday I might find a nice deal on a Jody playset or two. I have added photos of the playsets from the original Ideal pamphlet that came with some of the dolls of the time. This particular pamphlet was from a MIB Tiffany Taylor I acquired.
The store playset reminds me so much of Olsen's Merchantile on Little House on the Prairie!
This is a nice shot of the back of the doll. As you can see, even after all my work to try to condition the hair, the hair is still "fried" at the ends. She is also poorly rooted and I've given some thought to rerooting her, but it seems like a lot of work that I don't have time to do right now. Overall, this doll is in good shape and I have her displayed with a Holly Hobby and another doll with a late 1800's look.
I invite you to join us on the Oh My Dolls yahoo group. Our group is 100% SPAM FREE and always on topic, which of course, is dolls. Come post your doll pictures and information about dolls. You can also post information on doll shows and events. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/oh_my_dolls