A few days back, I visited an Antique Doll Discussion forum where a lady showed me an Annalee doll that she had got for $500. Thick and rigid, this doll has forged purple-colored ‘Annalee’ labels on her clothes, clearly a scam!
And when my inbox was full of similar emails, I realized it was a wider problem than I thought!
So, today, I’m going to help all antique doll lovers value old Annalee Dolls rightly for their authentic features and marks with this detailed value guide!
Key Takeaways
- A vintage Annalee doll’s value depends on its rarity, condition, collection, signs, and size.
- Old Annalee dolls with original packaging – box, styrofoam inserts, and bags- usually value $50 – 100 more than those without them.
- Old & authentic Annalee dolls will always have the brand’s labels, material marks, and loose, freely moving joints.
- Rare or Retired Annalee dolls can be worth $50 – 100 more than the typical elf and princess ones. Scroll down to know why!
The Interesting History of Annalee Dolls
Let’s take a trip down memory lane to find out the design history of Annalee dolls:
- 1930: Barbara Annalee Davis, a cartoon and whimsical puppet expert, started selling handmade dolls to brands like S.S Pierce & Co.
- 1950: Barbara established ‘Annalee Mobilitee Dolls,’ a handmade wire and cloth doll brand in Meredith. The first Annalee doll, a wire-framed skier doll with a felt body and ski clothes, emerged in 1955.
- 1960 – 1970: The company introduced new-age silk-screened human-like dolls in over 40 US states and started holiday & occupation mice dolls.
- 1992: Annalee’s sons, Chuck & Townsend, took the company’s control with a 96% stake but had to sell it to three partners. David Pelletier, Bob Watson, and the Imagine Company of Hong Kong later.
- Present: Annalee dolls are still made in Meredith, New Hampshire, and their unique facial features, marks, & patterns are silk-screened, using hand-drawn references and acrylic paint.
How to Value Old Annalee Dolls With 6 Easy Clues
Common, collectible, and in-circulation Annalee dolls are valued at around $30 – 200. But I have also observed rare, special or limited edition dolls fetching around $500 or more, such as this Christmas Elf doll, sold at $650 on eBay!
So, it’s obvious that the value of an old Annalee doll depends on several factors! Well, there are six of them, of which the collection, rarity & condition are the crucial ones!
1. Annalee Dolls Collection
Collectible Annalee dolls have two collections: common, in-circulation, and retired ones with limited-edition marks and signs.
Common & in-circulation character dolls usually value up to $200 with their original box and certificates of authenticity, while the retired ones like Jolly the Christmas Elf, Ghostly Witch Mouse, Crimson Crush Reindeer, and Halloween Witch fetch up to $300!
But how do you know if an Annalee doll is retired or not?
First, check the doll’s tag for any original retirement year or production number back stamp. Also, scroll through Annalee’s official website. If the doll’s name isn’t there, it’s likely retired!
I have also seen many retired Annalee models with unique rayon or acrylic bodies, elaborate updos, braids, and simple wool or blended clothes, unlike their other hand-painted cotton dolls.
2. Rarity
Apart from their regular and featured collections, Annalee made about 10 – 20 dolls for different co-brands and club members (Annalee’s Doll Society, ADS). These dolls are rare because of their limited availability and are valued more!
Peace & Pride Mouse, Snowman Winter & Big Game football mouse are some rare customized dolls worth around $200 – $600. The Ski Doll is another exceptionally rare doll worth $1,500 for its trademarked boots and ‘Saks Fifth Avenue’ tags.
Annalee Doll Christmas collection is another example that fetches up to $400 for its customized, bendable limbs, tags, and Holly-Berry reindeer-themed designs.
A few more customized dolls listed on Annalee’s official website include the Suzy Squirrel, Sailor Mouse, Kentucky Crazy Horse, Medical Mouse, and Nurse Mouse, all worth up to $100.
3. Condition
Recently, I stumbled upon a rare Mrs. Claus Annalee doll at a Sotheby’s auction. I was thrilled to find such a rare doll until I picked it up and realized it had a big rip and loose stitching at the back – a big no for antique collectors!
In fact, visible storage defects like rips, matted hair, and missing tags and limbs decrease your doll’s value by $50 – 200.
Back in September, I tracked two listings for the 26” tall Annalee Dracula doll on eBay. While the doll with visible blemishes and tears fetched $140, the one with perfect colors and stitches sold for over $300.
Wrap your old Annalee dolls in acid-free tissue paper and place them in a cool but well-ventilated cabinet to save them from damage.
4. Packaging & Inserts
Annalee dolls, with their original cardboard and plastic film boxes, styrofoam inserts, and gift bags, are usually worth $50 – 100 more than those without them. Also, most of these boxes have the doll’s name, number, and year of production, making verifying them easy!
5. Artist or Designer Signs
Old Annalee dolls with their original artist names and signs on the doll’s legs, neck, and head are more valuable and desirable than others. So check your doll for designer signatures of artists like Annalee Thorndike, Charlotte Thorndike, Dee Thorndike, or Glenn Crider.
6. Doll’s Size
Based on my past auctions, I have seen that large 25 – 30” Annalee dolls are valued more than the 5 – 10” dolls of the same type, design, and condition.
For example, Annalee’s Skeleton Kid Doll sold for over $110 for a 30-inch model and about $15 for a small, 7-inch model with the same features. So yes, the doll’s size is important.
How To Date Old Annalee Dolls? (3 Identification Features)
Apart from their creepy eyes, mouths, and facial expressions, you can identify and date old Annalee dolls with brand marks and logos on their labels and tags.
But make sure those tags have a hand-embroidered or printed script, or they might be forged!
1. Identify the Marks & Tags
The Annalee Mobilitee Dolls started making unique, wire-framed cloth dolls in the 1950s. However, it started adding production date stamps and tags only in 1987.
So, is it possible to date a vintage pre-1980s Annalee doll yourself? Well, yes! The trick is to analyze its marks and branding logos!
You can find Annalee paper tags either sewn or glued to the dolls, with printed branding logos and location marks that tell when the doll was manufactured!
For instance, the early 1930 – 1940s Annalee dolls (aged 83 – 93 years) had simple block or hand script-style logos over white or light green satin tags. I’ve drawn the 1930 – 1940s Annalee logos below for your better understanding:
Then from1954, Annalee used a simple red-colored script logo over white, beige, or light green satin tags with location marks, as I’ve hand-drawn below:
Post-1970s, Annalee used non-woven folded & sewn labels with license and registered trademarks. I’ve created a reference list for post-1970s Annalee dolls marks below:
| Vintage Annalee Doll’s Mark | Years | Annalee Doll’s Age |
 | 1970s | Over 49 years |
 | 1980 – 1990 | 33 – 43 years |
 | 1997 | 26 years |
 | 1998 | 25 years |
2. Materials & Marks
You can spot old & REAL Annalee dolls by their material tags, like the ‘All New Materials’ or ‘100% Cotton Blend or Polyester’ labels on their sides.
Besides, they’ll have a simple fabric body, with polyester or fiberfill stuffing for a huggable body. Yes, the filling might heap or loosen up with age, but it’s still bouncy compared to traditional kapok stuffing.
But fake Annalee dolls don’t have these material tags and use non-buoyant or lop-sided wool, micro-fiber, or acrylic stuffing with thin and flimsy stitches.
3. Structure & Body Joints
Cup your hands around an old Annalee doll’s limbs and try moving them; if it’s real, it’ll have freely moving arms, legs, and ears with simple wire joints.
You’ll also see external stitching around all the joints, especially the shoulders, elbows, knees, and hips.
I have encountered many bogus Annalee dolls, all with fake or loosened plastic joints with little articulation and stiff movements.
5 Most Valuable Annalee Dolls To Spot!
Now let’s look at the top five rarest & most precious Annalee dolls that fetch a much higher value than others due to their rare and unique features:
1. Store Display Easter Bunny
Annalee’s 4’ 3” tall Easter Bunny is an upright, standing doll with a picnic basket, placemat, pink top, bloomers, and choker.
Topping off prices in the $500 – 800 range, this figure brings the highest amount in its pristine condition and box. For example, a rare Pink Easter Bunny with a box is listed at $1,400 on eBay.
2. Lord & Taylor Pink Mermaid Doll
Lord & Taylor Pink Mermaid is an exclusive artist doll with a sequined body, flowing tail, pink yarn hair, and white pearl necklace. Overall, the doll is around $400, even without its box and original styrofoam inserts.
3. Annalee Dolls Mr. & Mrs. Claus
Annalee Mr. & Mrs. Claus dolls is a set of two 17 – 30” dolls with typical red Christmas dresses and a lot of accessories – boots, pipes, and wreaths. These dolls cost $250 – 300 for small, 17” dolls, with higher prices of up to $350 for similar, 32” dolls, as seen on Mercari!
4. Annalee Dracula Doll
Annalee’s Dracula is a rare, vampire-like doll with dyed black yarn hair, a black cape, a white shirt, and a mischievous fork-teeth smile. Being a unique, Halloween-themed doll, it fetches over $300 for large 26” models and up to $100 for small, 9-inch models.
5. Halloween Witch with Apple & Broom
Annalee’s Halloween witch doll depicts a hand-painted witch with a black hat, cape, and dress, holding an apple and a broom. But since it’s a one-of-a-kind, retired doll, it fetches a high auction value, the last being $300 in October.
Antique Annalee dolls are literally a collector’s paradise if they have the brand’s original logos, tags, boxes, and marks. But even those without them fetch up to $200, based on their size and condition, as discussed above.
But does the same hold true for other branded Effanbee dolls and Goebel figurines? Find out in my detailed guides.
