Name: Sweet April
Year: 1971
Manufacturer: Remco (later Miner Industries)
Accessories: varies with version; came in a case that turns into a swing. "Press her button and she cries".
Information and Description: Sweet April is an adorable baby doll only 5" tall. She has a lever on her back so her arms can come up and her hands can "wipe" her eyes when she cries. Her mouth has a small hole to give her water and her eye have holes so she can "cry". Some versions of the doll have the additional ability to walk (with assistance). I've been told there was a Black/African American version of the doll, but I have never seen one. Even going through many pages on a google image search turned up only a few pictures of an actual Sweet April doll and they were all the blonde one like the ones pictured below.
I scoured the web and was not able to find any page (like this one), with any sort of real information about Sweet April, though everyone agrees on the 1971 starting date. There were lots of pages of dolls for sale, but no pages with any real information about the Sweet April line.
I also ran into a 1979 Sweet April clothing package listing by a company I didn't recognize but with the same Sweet April font and logo. I had no idea anything of Sweet April could be found so late, but according to the book, "A Collector's Guide to the Dolls of the 1960's and 1970's" by Cindy Sabulis, Miner Industries marketed the doll in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Her book is somewhat incorrect, however. She mentions that Remco "went out of business". Actually, in 1964, long before Sweet April was introduced, Remco was bought by AHI in New York. Later it was bought from AHI by Jakks Pacific in 1997. So technically, Remco is not out of business but it doesn't stand alone as it did prior to 1964. As of April 2009, Jakks Pacific does mention Remco on its company history timeline along with its other owned brand names. Therefore, Miner Industries, (who I could find no information on at all), was most likely a division of AHI or they came and licensed Sweet April from AHI. Today, Flatsy is being made by another company, but its the same side doll and body mold. These things happen all the time.
You might have noticed, by the way, that this site is (so far) filled with mostly hard to find, obscure dolls. I did this on purpose. I wanted to have information available that is not found on any other doll site. In this case, even Wikipedia doesn't have a listing or entry of any kind for the Sweet April doll. The only other interesting thing I discovered was a cool video on youtube of someone demonstrating the Sweet April Amusement Park playset. I had one as a child.
Growing up, I had two Sweet April dolls. One was a curled leg kind and one was a straight leg kind. The dolls with straight legs came with a walking stick that fastened around the waist and protruded out behind the doll. You held the stick and pushed her and she walked. Or, she would walk in the plastic walker. I don't recall having the walker, but I might have and it might have gotten broken or was given away with the "swing cases".
Sweet April came in a case that was a swing. When you opened it, the doors would open out on the front and back to lay flat and act as a base. The doll could then sit and swing. She also came, as I mentioned, in a curled leg version who could not walk. Both versions had the same head mold and hair style. The walking doll came in a green version of the original outfit.
You have to understand that this doll's clothing and accessories were not made of the most durable plastics and fabrics. The amusement park set I had was on a base made of that super thin, cheap plastic that was used rampantly in the early 1970's and it doesn't hold up. Its brittle and snaps easily. If you ever had a Crissy tote case, then you know that plastic I am talking about. Even her furniture was not very strong, though it was better than the plastic I just referred to. I did take good care of it all so it survived. But the amusement park was falling apart just from gently playing with it and eventually, my mother got rid of it. I don't have this set now and frankly, haven't tried to hunt one down because its very large and I am cramped for space.
Below are the photos of my Sweet April collection. Commentary is found under each photo with more information. The set is in storage at the moment, but I'm 100% sure that both of my dolls are the original Remco versions. The later Miner version had legs that were not really straight but not really curled and the skin tone was much more tanned. The face paint also looks different. Also, I'm sure I didn't get a Sweet April after 1975.
Feel free to join us on the ohmydolls Yahoo group if you'd like to talk about Sweet April or share more info. Our group is 100% spam free and VERY quiet: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/oh_my_dolls
The box is in reasonably good condition. I have all the pieces pictured.
An overview of the playset pieces and dolls. Crib, rocking horse, high chair, clothes and dressing table, hangers and wash cloths. The straight leg doll came separately and I do not have her carry case. The curl leg doll is from the playset. All the pieces are clean, unbroken and odor free. I'm not sure what this lot would be worth, but in this condition, I'd say it would fetch whatever the higher end would be for Sweet April.
This is a curled leg Sweet April. She is wearing an outfit that came with the playset shown above.
This is the straight leg Sweet April wearing the turquoise blue romper that the curl leg version doll came in. The straight leg doll came in a green version of this romper.
Close up of Sweet April doll face.
A better view of the clothes I have. Notice the hangers on some of them, which comes with the playset.
In this photo, you see the sticker that lines the play pen. The spokes on the playpen are molded to look very decorative. Notice, also, the green romper is visible. That was the walking doll's original outfit.
The hangers were fairly well made. They snapped onto the rod and didn't fall off, but sometimes the clothes did. So you'd open the door to find the clothes on the bottom and the hangers still in place. The rod is very fragile plastic. One must apply delicate pressure when placing the hanger on it.
A rather small tub isn't it? Not to scale, I guess. But it does fit inside the dressing table, along with the washcloth and towel hanging on the side rods. The sliding doors on the table do work. I was always very gentle sliding them around.
This outfit is very clean and crisp. Its like new. The box is in great shape, too. Notice, it is Remco. I don't recall when I got it, but its probably one of the original outfits for the doll.