Knickerbocker Sleepy Head Dolls Cloth/Plush Toys

 

Knickerbocker Sleepy Head Dolls

While a number of dolls have been called sleepyhead dolls, Knickerbocker Toy Company made the official Sleepy Head dolls from the 1940s through the 1960s. Made of soft, plush terry cloth, these dolls were an early plush toy descended from rag dolls and perhaps somewhat influenced by Steiff stuffed toys.

Instead of sewn or drawn faces, the first Sleepy Head dolls featured hard plastic faces that later changed to rubber when it was discovered the plastic faces cracked off and became choking hazards. While it isn't hard to find a Sleepy Head doll with a rubber face, the hard plastic ones are much more difficult to find, because the thin plastic broke so easily. 

(The very-much-loved 70-year-old Sleepy Head doll on the left above lost its hard plastic face man yeas ago and is now truly a "rag" doll.!}

Some Sleepy Head dolls had pockets in the back. Others had music boxes. Still others had plain backs.

Knickerbocker Toy Company Sleepy Head Doll legal announcement

Knickerbocker apparently had some issues with other companies making knock offs of their dolls. This 1941 ad warns competitors not to infringe upon their Sleepy Head doll!

The Knickerbocker Toy Company went on to create Holly Hobbie, another cloth doll that became very popular around the world. Holly Hobbie may have the humble Sleepy Head dolls to thank for some of her success.

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