"Benjamin" from the 1996 "Faithful Friends Collection" by Heidi Ott, the "Artful Swiss Dollmaker", distributed by Dayton Hudson Corp. Benjamin is 19 inches tall and has never been removed from his box. He is wearing his original Christmas outfit.
The descriptive box reads: "From head to toe, you can be assured that your Heidi Ott doll is 100% handcrafted of the finest materials. We invite you to look closely and admire each feature of your new friend. You will see that her [sic] beautiful eyes, arching brows, rosy lips and blushing checks are all handpainted with loving care. Examine her clothing and find double-stitched, double-layered fabrics for lasting quality, plus beautiful extras like hand-iknitted lace and fine finishing on hems, seams and edging. Note the leather shoes and sparkling glass eyes. And appreciate that each doll is made with child-friendly, DOP free vinyl. Your new faithful friend from Heidi Ott comes with her [sic} very own Certificate of Authenticity. We recommend that you keep this certificate in a safe place for lasting verification of her [sic} one-of-a-kind hand-crafted quality."
Also, "We are pleased to introduce you to your new faithful friends, created exclusively for Target by the famous Swiss dollmaker, Heidi Ott. Each friend has her [sic] own personality-just like you-and her own stories and adventures to share."
And, "All over the world, Heidi Ott and her dolls are treasured for their quality and craftsmanship. To doll collectors, her dolls are some of the finest examples of hand painting done today. To Heidi herself, they are a reminder of simpler times when loving and caring for a doll was a little girl's pleasure. 'When I create my dolls,'s says Heidi Ott, 'it brings back memories of my childhood. I lived in the world of my dolls together with my brothers and neighborhood friends. Life passes by so fast today that I like to preserve those precious memories with my work.' The dolls' resemblance to real children makes them even more endearing and charmingly collectible-for wherever they go, these beautifully dressed dolls are capturing the hearts of children everywhere."
Heidi Ott's "Hannah" from the 1996 "Best Friends Collection". Hannah is 19 inches tall, she is in her original box, wearing her original clothes.
Heidi Ott's "Hannah" from the 1996 "Best Friends Collection". Hannah is 19 inches tall, she is not wearing her original clothes but instead is wearing a casual outfit by Battat. Heidi Ott dolls are well known for their high quality and detail. She does not have rooted hair, it is a wig.
Faithful Friend Benjamin is standing between his two friends.
Benjamin is third from the left.
Best Friends by Heidi Ott, Hannah is getting measured for new clothes.
Hannah from the Best Friends Collection.
Benjamin standing next to a very pretty friend.
This little girl came all the way from Rochester, New York. She looks hot and tired doesn't she? She may be a Faithful Friend, Maggie, and she arrived on August 7, 2001.
There is some uncertainty about whether this is Heidi Ott's Maggie or not. She has a yellow tag from Switzerland and may be one of the School Children Series. The only difference besides the yellow tag, is that she seems to have a smaller body than the other Heidi Ott dolls. The white dress that she was wearing when she arrived does not appear to be her original clothes. The dress is store bought and has a tag, it fits her and seems to be well made, but I don't really like it very much. Her underwear is homemade and her socks are too big. Chatty Cathy likes her socks, so she told her she could have those. Green-eyed cutie likes the dress, but wants it for a nightgown...so we are considering that.”
What a difference it makes just to get the dress washed and dried, pressed with a little starch, and a little elastic in the sleeves.......like magic she looks better. Well, maybe not that great but better since the dress was pretty dingy. Luckily her body was very clean, but she was definitely some little kid's toy and she was having a real bad hair day when she arrived from New York. I still need to work on the hair some but it looks a lot better than it did.
Modeling a new homemade petticoat just like the ones worn in the late 1950s is so kool.
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