Get ready for an American Girl Throwback! I found a 1991 American Girl Pleasant Company catalog and it is SO COOL. I took lots of pictures and it was hard to choose which ones to share, so I will be breaking this up into two parts. Ahh, I love nostalgic stuff!
Here's Mia with the catalog. It's of Spring 1991 (3 years before I was born!) In 1991, only three American Girl historical dolls were available; Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly. Plus there were Bitty Babies, that were then called "The New Baby Collection". But, no modern dolls yet. Later in 1991, Felicity would come out and be the newest American Girl doll.
When you open up the catalog this is what it says:
"This collection is for you if you love to curl up with a good book . It's for you if you like to play with dolls and act out stories. It's for you if you want to collect something so special that you will treasure it for years to come. This collection is about three lively American girls who lived long ago. You can read about their adventures in a series of eighteen beautifully illustrated books. The books are the heart of The American Girls collection, but they are only the beginning. There are also loveable dolls that have beautiful clothes and accessories. They make these stories of the past come alive today for American Girls like you. Read on and meet Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly. You'll learn what growing up was like for them: the friends they made, their struggles and successes in school, their Christmas secrets, birthday surprises, and the fun of their Summer and Winter adventures. You'll see that some things in their lives were very different from yours. But others--like families, friendships, and feelings--haven't changed at all. These are the important things that American girls will always share."
Aww, I just love that!
Moving right along, Kirsten Larson is on the next page. At this time, the dolls were $82.
There were many outfits, but even more accessories!! And, they were pretty reasonably priced, only $18-$22 for the outfits. Accessories were between $15-$30.
I love this fishing set!
And her Winter set is just gorgeous. You could also buy the ENTIRE collection for $425...still pricey, but it's for everything, wow.
What was even cooler, is every single outfit made for the dolls was available for girls to wear too! Even shoes and hats!
Here's a little note about the inspiration for Kirsten's dresses.
Next up is Samantha Parkington!
Samantha's Birthday Set is so extravagant! You could get the entire set together for $235, which was everything shown on the page.
Sooo beautiful!
Here are all of the Samantha outfits that girls could wear.
And, the little note about the inspiration for Samantha's dresses. I love how they added bits of history reading in the catalog.
Next week we'll take a look at Molly's old collection and a few other extras!
I hope you enjoyed looking back with me! It's interesting to see how modernized the American Girl historic line is now compared to 1991. The times change, but one thing that doesn't is the beauty of creativity and imagination with dolls! :)
