Tonner 10" Ann Estelle and Sophie

I was inspired by Lisa at Once Upon a Doll Collection to show you my two 10" dolls that are part of Tonner's Mary Englebreit collection. I have an Ann Estelle very similar to hers, except mine has straight legs. I also have a Sophie. Both dolls have strung arms and legs, which don't bend. Tonner eventually gave the ME dolls bending legs, and now his 10" Patsy dolls have bending arms as well. For a short period of time there was an opportunity to obtain a no-headed very articulated body from a 10" doll enthusiast. I believe Tonner also offered headless bodies briefly, with bending arms and legs. I was interested, until I read that the older Ann Estelle dolls, that I have, required some extra work on the neck knob first. I didn't trust myself to accomplish that correctly, as a complete newbie to Frankendollying, so my girls still have their original bodies.

This post will mostly feature Ann Estelle. You will see more of Sophie when I present the St. Patrick's Day dress that I made for her. Ann comes with a high-quality pair of glasses, as per the Mary Englebreit drawings, but I doubt my Ann will wear them much. I have to wear glasses and dislike doing so, so my dollies won't have to either.

I love Ann's eyes

Ann came in her original box and with her glasses, but otherwise nude. I got a great deal on her from The Doll Page's Show and Sell Site (RIP.) She is temporarily borrowing Sophie's romper that she arrived in, as a Sophie Basic.

I have two knitted cardigans that I bought off eBay. This is one is turquoise, the other is pink. I hope to be able to do this kind of knitting myself, with practice. The lighting in the second picture is terrible, but you can see the neat, even and tiny stitches.

Speaking of eBay, at one point many years ago, there was a seller who painted small wooden dressers in a Mary Englebreit style, and I snagged one. As you can see, the black and white stripes match those on Ann's romper. All the drawers open, and are untreated inside.

Here Ann is with her friend Sophie, whom I bought many years ago. I'd love to get more friends for her and Ann, but despite Tonner offering many dolls since the ME ones who share a body type, the ME dolls still command high secondary prices, so it will require some saving to add more to my collection. Of course, I waited a very long time until I found the deal on Ann, so I can be patient.