Kat's Favorite Dolls - Mibs by Louis Amberg

I fell in love with Mibs when I first saw her photo featured on the cover of a doll reference book I'd purchased (pictured left), the Collector's Encyclopedia of American Composition Dolls, 1900 - 1950, by Ursula R. Mertz.  Her sweetly shy, wistful expression touched a spot in my heart and I just knew I had to add her to my doll collection.  I soon discovered how difficult that would be!  Mibs is a rather 'rare' doll, and isn't offered for sale very often.  I routinely searched the web and kept a custom search running in eBay, looking for Mibs.  Eventually one was listed on eBay, and though I bid as fast and furiously as I possibly could, I still lost that auction.  The search continued, and a few years later another Mibs doll was offered.  This time, thanks to my auction sniper and some funds from a yearly 'bonus', I managed to win the auction...and the package arrived in time to be placed under the Christmas Tree.  What a wonderful gift that was to open!  At long last, Mibs was truly mine!  "Yes, Virginia [and Kat] ...there is a Santa Claus."

Mibs is described as a 16-inch "personality doll", and she is definitely that!  The doll was designed by Hazel Drucker, copyrighted in 1921, and manufactured by Louis Amberg and Son.  Also referred to as a "Phyllis May Doll" (after Hazel's daughter), Mibs is constructed of a cloth body and a composition shoulder-head with molded painted hair, painted eyes, a closed mouth, composition arms to above the elbow, and specially designed composition legs that are pin-jointed at the hip.  It is the position of the head relative to the shoulder plate that makes this doll so unusual, as the head tips slightly downward and to the right, rather than facing straight ahead as with most other dolls of the period.  This head position and sculpt, along with the hand-painted facial features, gives Mibs the winsome expression that makes her so endearing to collectors everywhere...including me! 

Squishy Dolly Hugs,
-Kat