Back home, Violet hired workers
to make this doll which had become known as Terri Lee. There was
no designated place for the manufacture of this doll. This became
a true cottage industry. Groups of women made wigs in basements
of homes and others made long trips to pick up fabrics, lace, and
patterns made of brown paper to sew up the little fashions designed
by Violet herself. The Terri Lee factory was born in Violet Gradwohls's
kitchen.
Montgomery Ward featured Terri Lee in their catalog
that year and 8,000 composition Terri Lees were sold. They were
off
to a flying
start with no preliminaries or experience. The success was phenomenal.
The factory moved into larger quarters and hired the Tip-Top Company
of Omaha to make the dolls in plastic.
The real Terri Lee (then Mrs.
Robert W. Taylor) gave birth to Connie Lynn and eventually the
Connie Lynn doll was sculpted and produced
in 1955, A second daughter was born September 20, 1948 and was named
Linda Lee. There was also a doll forthcoming named Linda Lee.
Violet
was constantly making improvements on the dolls. This doll, originally
made of composition (sawdust and ground up corn cobs),
was being made of plastic early in 1947. There was a whole array
of plastics with which they experimented. The Terri Lee came from
the molds in every color, some were green and others were ivory white
and every color in-between. It didn't matter as the plastic was painted
the correct color.
The Tennessee Eastman Company created a new plastic
called Tenite II This allowed the plastic to be tinted a flesh
color and painting
was no longer necessary. The Tenite II plastic dolls were a bit heavier
than the other plastic before or since.
The factory grew and was
moved several times. Violet hired Grace Hast, a young woman with
a mind for technical details to help manage
the business. Grace Hast was well thought of by the fellow employees
and as long as she remained with the company, it prospered. Grace
moved the company to Apple Valley, California in March, 1953. Grace
resigned her position with the company in 1958 and the company began
its downward spiral.
This was one of the chief reasons for the success
of the Terri Lee doll family. Doll clothes were made both in homes
and in the factory.
She was the world's best dressed toddler, sporting even a full length
mink coat. This coat was made of “silver-blue mink” a
mutation color that was very popular in 1940 and 1950. It is no longer
being produced today. The coats were made of the “sides” as
that was the shorter fur. There were 2 of these coats sold in 1953.
There
were only 13 sold during the lifetime of the company. The “lapin” coat
was made of French rabbit skins and the “leopard” coat
was made of stenciled lapin fur. At one time, Violet stated there
were over 100 garments for the Terri Lee.
Other dolls created from
the Terri Lee molds were Nanook, Terri's Eskimo friend, Guadeloupe
or Claypso, her Hispanic friend, her
brother Jerri Lee, and Gene Autry.
A 10” walking version of
Terri was introduced in November, 1955. A year later, Tiny Jerri
was introduced. A talking version
of Terri consisted of a record and record player with a jack hooked
up to Terri and the record player. There were a number of 45 RPM
records and 33RPM records made staring the real Terri Lee.
Collectors
will find it interesting to note that from its conception in 1946
until the end in 1962, the Terri Lee wig was always made
the same. The first fibers were very stiff and coarse and hard
to work with, but later became much finer and softer. Jerri's wigs
were
at first made of curled Celanese fiber, but by 1947 was replaced
with fur wigs. The caracul wigs used on the Jerris and Connie Lynns
are of lamb's wool. Terri Lee also wore a poodle cut hair do. This
was with the caracul wig. Don't be too quick to assume your Jerri
Lee is a cross-dresser!
Throughout its continuation, Violet Gradwhol
experimented with different plastics. Two of these plastics were
from Dow Chemical
Company and
were known as Celcon and Ethocel of the “ethy cellulose” family.
Dye was added to the plastics and there were dolls of many different
colors. Collectors should know that parts made of different plastics
in differing colors were spray painted and can be found combined
in one original doll. A flesh-colored automobile lacquer was used
so it was not important to use the same plastic throughout the
doll.
A characteristic of these early plastics is that
the ethyl cellulose plastic become brittle with age. Tell-tale
signs are
fine crazing
similar to what you might find in composition. So far, it has only
been found in the earliest dolls that have the mannequin wigs.
It happens to the white Terri Lee and also the other dolls made
in 1947
- Bonnie Lou, Patty-Jo, and Benjie. These dolls also have the patent
pending mark on their back and the interior of the doll has the
appearance of bubble gum- opaque and shiny. Fortunately, Violet
switched to
Tenite II by 1949.
Early vinyl dolls also had problems. The oil
that was added to the vinyl separated from the other components
and made the surface
sticky.
It also caused the dolls to shrink. Most of the early vinyl dolls
- Terri Lees and Linda Lees - were disposed of because of the sticky
substance, making them scarce today. When the problems were worked
out for Linda Lee, she was reinstated into the family of dolls
after the move to California. Her name was changed to Linda Baby.
Later,
So Sleepy (a closed eye Linda) was added. Then came along Cocoa
(a brown Linda) in the open and sleep eye versions.
Terri Lee had
a life time guarantee and many of these vinyls were returned to
the factory and were replaced with hard plastic dolls.
Once the problems with the manufacturing had been solved, Violet
turned her attention to her first love - fashion.
Disaster struck
the company, still located in Lincoln, Nebraska, on December 15,
1951 when fire engulfed the second and third floors
of the building that housed the Terri Lee Company. The building
was a total loss. Fortunately, Violet was covered by insurance.
Despite
rumors stating the factory was leaving Lincoln, it resumed operations
temporarily on “O” Street. This location became the
permanent headquarters of the Terri Lee Fashions, Inc. Violet did
finally go
to Apple Valley, California and purchased property to build her
new factory. Throughout it all, the wiggers and sewers in Lincoln
carried
business on as usual. For seven more years, that part of the business
would stay there.
1951 saw the introduction of the platinum blond
wig, single stroke brows, and Violet decreed that her dolls would
have five upper
eyelashes on the right eye and three on the left. The artists were
left to
their own imaginations as to how long, how curly the brows and
eyelashes. The variations are many. Later, the artists would start
marking the
dolls with a dab of color at the base of their hair line or on
the crossbar inside the head as a form of signature.
March 6, 1952
the company broke ground for the new doll factory in Apple Valley.
They hired between 150 and 250 employees. New
molds
were purchased and the “patent pending” was removed
from the back of Terri Lee. The plastic became lighter in weight.
New
artists were hired, giving Terri a new look. One hundred thousand
dolls were produced. All was looking rosy. Then…
A new problem
surfaced - the new and improved plastic split at the seams. The
new molds (dies) were not true or exact. The new
plastic
had memory which prevented it from being successfully glued together.
Tiny Terris and Connie Lynns had another problem. The plastic used
for the eyes and the plastic used for the heads were not compatible,
thus preventing the eyes from moving freely.
To top it all off,
Violet had hired a secretary, Kathryn Kay Fassel, who was untrustworthy.
Ms. Fassel left the company and began to
market a Terri Lee look-a-like with sleep-eyes and a walking mechanism.
This doll caused serious damage to the Terri Lee company during
1953.
A settlement of dispute removed the Mary Jane doll from department
store shelves and Ms. Fassel's company had to destroy the offending
look-a-like head mold. She then replaced it with a soft vinyl head
with rooted hair and continued on her merry way into 1956.
An extensive
expansion program was planed for April, 1957. The loan for this
expansion put the company into great debt. Violet
Gradwhol
was spending outrageously. Her attention to business had lessened
considerably. Most of running the business was left up to Grace
Hast.
Grace left the company when a disagreement arose
between her and Violet. Violet then sought out the advice of Marvin
Miller,
a financial
adviser from Los Angeles who, in essence, was a shyster on probation
for embezzlement and falsification of corporate records. She paid
Mr. Miller a $1000 to audit her books on November 14, 1958 and
fire destroyed the Terri Lee Factory No 2 on November 20, 1958.
Mr. Miller
was arrested and convicted for arson. Because of her involvement
and testimony in behalf of Mr. Miller, Violet's reputation was
greatly damaged. Because of her involvement, the insurance companies
refused
to pay off. Finally, April 29-30, 1960, the Terri Lee Plant was
auctioned off.
There was a very short period of time when Magna
Enterprises sold Terri Lee merchandise. Then Mar-Fan stepped in
with a succession
of other companies following. Somewhere in this mess, around August
1, 1961, someone made the Talking Terri Lee. Mar-Fan claims responsibility
for it. In October of 1962, Violet demanded that all her molds
be returned and production to cease.
Litigation followed that would
make a seasoned lawyer pull his hair out. The molds were tied up
until March, 1965. Once given
back to
Violet, it was just too late for her to start over. The era of
hard plastics had ended. The Terri Lee Doll business died in litigation.
But — Those of us who knew Terri, had her for a playmate
and a friend, we have dusted her off, cleaned her up and now display
her proudly. All of this information can be found in the blue Fashionable
Terri Lee Dolls book written by Peggy Wiedman Casper. I hope you
have enjoyed my “Readers Digest” synopsis of the Terri
Lee Story. Thank you for visiting. Please come back soon.
Sherry
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