Pleasant Company Samantha Scenes and Settings

Mr. BTEG has been scrolling Facebook Marketplace for things for himself for several months, as a way to pass the time. He happened to see the long-retired Samantha's Scenes and Settings book for a good price, so we picked it up. This was a very large book made for each doll available at the time, which showed some of the important settings from her books, as well as the picture of her home on the cover, and a map of her local area on the back, as well as a few bits of historical information. It was meant as a way to enhance doll play acting out some scenes from the books. Samantha's book featured the kitchen of her home, her bedroom, her schoolroom, the ice cream parlor in New York City where she has ice cream with her grandmother and Aunt Cornelia, and Piney Point, which also figures in 2026 Girl of the Year Raquel's story. Some of the accessories that you could buy for Samantha, like her school lunchbox, her doll stroller with her teddy bear, and the basket and butterfly net she carries at Piney Point, are included in the images. For those not familiar with American Girl dolls, Samantha measures 18" (45cm) tall so you can see how large this book is.

I had quite a lot to say over at RagingMoon's blog about the new historical girls dressed in modern day clothes that are based on their historical meet outfits. I think the main thing I want to say is that history is important, play can be a good way to learn, and we shouldn't expect Mattel to carry on what Pleasant Rowland started as a passion project. I love reading, so I devoured books like the Little House on the Prairie series as a child, and liked to pretend that I was Laura. The old-fashioned school desk from my last post played a big part in the play. I will also point out that ironically, Rowland had to have had some decent funding behind her to start Pleasant Company. I've dreamed about starting my own line of historical dolls, but 1. Mattel would very likely sue and 2. There's no way I could get the money to get it off of the ground. Would any of you like to create a doll from another time?

Meet Elizabeth Gabrielle

My friend RagingMoon is a big Cabbage Patch doll fan. I don't collect them now, but I do have one from when I was a teenager. I told RM and fellow collector Treesa that I'd put pictures up of my doll when I found her, because she got mixed in with my daughters' toys. I finally came across her when organizing boxes, so here she is. Oh, and her name was given to her by me.

Originally, Elizabeth Gabrielle came in a gray tracksuit with green stripes and a cat on it, but I don't think I have that anymore. Her dress is Cabbage Patch brand, but the elastic in the sleeves is shot, and there were baby bloomers that were supposed to be worn with this, but I don't know where they are either. Her shoes and socks might still be around somewhere. I bought her apron at a craft fair back in the day. My daughter put the glittery pipe cleaners in her hair at some point when playing with her as a child. I also have a couple of photos that I took of her in 1986 when I was a senior in high school too. I like to think I was made to be a doll blogger from way back.

 

RagingMoon and Treesa, I'm sure that you know a lot more about my doll than I do, so I'm interested to hear what you have to say! Anyone else like the Cabbage Patch line?