A Doll Remembered…

Before there was this Felicity…

(photo of Keri Russell, IMDB)

There was this one…

And sadly, both of them are now collector’s items on EBay…

I was thinking about my Felicity doll today as I tore through CW in hopes of getting a Shrewsbury Cake Cookie…(more later.) My Princess-Weary heart can’t wait to get my hands on my Felicity and Kirsten dolls and their corresponding historical fiction books and impose them on my daughters

One of my earliest memories of Colonial Williamsburg was for Felicity’s Tea Party. (Admit it, some of you were there, too.) In July of 1991 (the year Keri Russell got her start on The Mickey Mouse Club) thousands of  young girls descended on Williamsburg, with their mothers, and their dolls. It was the debut event for Felicity Merriman, spunky equestrian, cute brunette,  Champion of of the Revolution, and, yes, a doll.

The newest American Girl Doll in years, Felicity’s  premiere became a flagship moment for a  company  chasing a new vision in what “toys” could do, and, I hope, a heyday for summer tourism in CW. ( It would have been a well-deserved one. It was a visit to Colonial Williamsburg that had inspired Pleasant Rowland to start her company in 1986.)

I remember the discussion between my parents over the cost of this event.

IT COSTS HOW MUCH? FOR A PARTY? FOR A DOLL?

My mom held her ground,  my Dad held his tongue, and that summer has informed my views of marriage, financial partnership, and choosing to understand not understanding ever since.

I lost track of the American Girl Scene even before Pleasant Rowland sold the company in 1998 for $700 million to Mattel. And it seems the dolls lost track of history…Call me a purist, but a doll from the 1830’s or the 1940’s has more perspective to offer than a doll designed to look just like its owner. Joke’s on me, though…Mattel’s brand seems to be doing just fine – apparently not everyone is looking for perspective from their dolls.

I assumed that, at the least,  they still sold the original dolls. No, friends who are still with me on this topic, check out this site and feel the outrage. And according to the American Girl site , Molly is the only original one still available. She always was a bit trendier. Ruthie had her. Kirsten was my first and favorite, and probably the first to be discontinued.  We all knew that sweet, braided Pioneer Girl never stood a chance.

 As for Felicity Merriman, even though she was the only one to get her own weekend of celebration, and we can still visit her living history museum/town and rent her outfits in our sizes… she too has gone the way of Felicity Porter, to be remembered  in the hearts, and on the websites, of those who loved her.

What doll did you have? What doll did you want to have? Or did you just drive your Barbie Jeep past this whole scene? (Oh how I wanted one of those jeeps…)