How to Identify a 1930s Ideal Composition Shirley Temple Doll: Marks, Sizes, Eyes, Wigs and Pins
Before you start: is she composition?
This checklist covers the all-composition Shirley Temple child doll that Ideal made in the 1930s. Composition is a sawdust- or wood-pulp-based material. The Smithsonian describes Ideal’s version as glue mixed with sawdust. It was moulded, then painted a flesh tone. The child doll is a six-piece doll strung together with elastic: head, torso, two arms and two legs. A museum example in Sydney is described as held together by metal hooks hooped over elastic.
A few quick ways to sort her before you go further:
- Hard, slightly warm-feeling, painted surface with fine crackling (crazing)? Probably composition. Keep going.
- Soft, slightly squeezable body and hair rooted into the scalp? She’s vinyl. Composition dolls always wore a wig and never had rooted hair.
- Cloth body with a composition shoulder plate and bent baby legs? That’s the Ideal Shirley Temple baby. See the results table at the end.
- Cold, glossy and heavy? Probably porcelain, from a modern collector edition.
To set the date: Shirley Temple dolls were first announced in the September 1934 issue of Playthings, and the composition doll was sold until 1939. It was designed by sculptor Bernard Lipfert. The maker was the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company, which became the Ideal Toy Company after 1938.
Step 1: Find the head mark
The head mark is at the back of the neck, right at the hairline. The Powerhouse Museum describes its doll’s raised maker’s marks as partly obscured by the wig-line. Don’t pull the wig off. Lift the edge at the nape gently and use a flashlight held at a low angle, because these marks are embossed, not printed.
According to ShirleyTempleDolls.com’s markings history, Ideal’s marks changed as the doll took off:
| What you see | What it suggests |
|---|---|
| No Shirley name; “(C) 1934 Ideal Novelty and Toy Co.” (or just “Ideal”) inside the head | An early prototype from fall 1934, made before Ideal knew how well the doll would sell. That site’s author notes these have chubbier cheeks |
| SHIRLEY TEMPLE in a half circle | Marked Ideal Shirley |
| SHIRLEY TEMPLE in a half circle with IDEAL / N.&T.Co. inside, plus a COP mark (C with O and P inside, for “copyright pending”) | First year of marked production |
| SHIRLEY TEMPLE written straight across | Marked Ideal Shirley |
| Shirley Temple with IDEAL in a diamond below it | Marked Ideal Shirley |
An answer on JustAnswer citing Jan Foulke’s Dolls and Values gives the later head mark as “SHIRLEY TEMPLE COP. IDEAL N & T CO.”, used after December 1934.
Marks that point away from Ideal:
- “S.T. 2 1/2 CB Germany”: the London Museum holds a German-made composition doll with this mark, bought at Hamleys in London in 1940. The museum says “ST stands for Shirley Temple”, but the doll was not made by Ideal.
- “Reliable”: Reliable Toy Co. made Shirley Temple dolls for Canada (see Step 6).
- No mark at all: ShirleyTempleDolls.com’s advice is that an unmarked doll is probably a look-alike unless she’s one of the rare prototypes.
Step 2: Check the back mark
Turn her over and look at the upper back between the shoulder blades. On marked Ideal girls you usually find the name plus a size number. Recorded examples include:
- “SHIRLEY TEMPLE / 13” on the upper back, with the name also on the back of the neck (Santa Monica History Museum).
- “Shirley Temple, 22” at the top of the back, with “Shirley Temple” on the back of the head (auction lot).
WorthPoint’s summary: apart from the earliest dolls, composition Ideal Shirleys are marked SHIRLEY TEMPLE on both the head and back.
Don’t stop at the back mark. Ideal put the Shirley Temple body on other dolls, so a SHIRLEY TEMPLE back mark alone doesn’t prove she’s a Shirley. Doll Reference lists Ideal’s 18” composition Cinderella as marked Shirley Temple on head and back, and notes that Ideal’s Coquette may show a faint Shirley Temple mark on the back. Ideal’s Snow White and the Hawaiian “Marama” doll used the Shirley face mould as well. Dress, wig colour and hairstyle are what tell these dolls apart, which is why the later steps matter.
Step 3: Measure crown to toe
Lay her on her back with her legs straight. Measure from the top of the head (wig pressed down lightly) to the bottom of the heel. Then compare the result with the number on her back.
Ideal’s composition Shirley came in nine sizes:
| Ideal composition child sizes |
|---|
| 11”, 13”, 16”, 17”, 18”, 20”, 22”, 25”, 27” |
Collectibles Insurance Services says 13” and 18” were the most common. Expect to be off by a little. As one collector commenter points out, how tightly a doll is strung can change her height slightly.
If your measurement lands well away from these sizes:
| Measured size | Worth considering |
|---|---|
| 6”, 7” or 8” composition | Japanese-made, not Ideal |
| About 15” (sold as a 14”) | A Reliable Doll Company doll from Canada |
| 16” to 27” with a cloth body | The composition Shirley Temple baby (16”, 18”, 20”, 22”, 25”, 27”) |
Step 4: Look at the eyes
The 1934 Playthings announcement promised “double action glace eyes and lashes”. Descriptions of the composition doll mention hazel sleep eyes, which close when she’s laid down. Check for:
- Sleep eyes: the standard. Tip her back slowly and watch the lids close.
- Flirty eyes: these also glance side to side when you tilt her. Doll Kingdom mentions a flirty-eyed version in the larger sizes, and a 25” Ideal girl has been listed with flirty eyes that move side to side. Flirty eyes also turn up on the composition baby.
- Eye colour: hazel is typical, but not universal. The Smithsonian’s Ideal doll is described with blue eyes, and Doll Kingdom mentions a 27” blue-eyed version.
- Painted eyes: be cautious. A forum discussion of a 20” Reliable composition doll with painted blue eyes and no Shirley Temple marks shows how close the look-alikes can get.
While you’re looking at her face, check the mouth. The Ideal Shirley has an open mouth with six teeth and a felt tongue, plus her famous dimples. Cloudy or “crystallized” eyes are common on these dolls and are a condition issue, not an identification problem. Collectors note that the eyes tend to go cloudy.
Step 5: Check the wig
The Ideal Shirley wears a mohair wig in ringlets, described as golden blonde. Mohair is fine, soft and slightly fuzzy, unlike the shiny, coarser synthetic hair (saran) on later vinyl dolls. What to note:
- Glued-on wig over a bald composition head: correct for composition.
- Hair rooted in plugs: vinyl, not 1930s composition. An auction example of a 12” Ideal Shirley with rooted hair is a vinyl doll.
- Colour: blonde ringlets are the classic look. The original Playthings announcement offered a choice of brunette, blonde or auburn, so a non-blonde wig isn’t automatically a replacement. It’s still worth asking about.
- Re-set or replaced: many wigs have been re-curled over the years. A dealer may describe one as “nicely re-set”. Collectors value the original ringlet hairdo.
Step 6: Look for the pin and the dress tag
These are the extras that often went missing, so their absence proves nothing. If they are there, though, they help a lot.
The pin. The Smithsonian’s Ideal doll wears a pin with Shirley’s picture and the words “THE WORLDS DARLING / GENUINE Shirley Temple DOLL”. Reproduction pins exist. One dealer describes a 1980s 1.25-inch reproduction with the same wording and tiny “TOY TEX” lettering on the edge, so check the rim of any pin.
The dress tag. Look along the inside of the dress, at the back seam or the neck. Recorded tags include:
- An Ideal dress tag reading “Shirley Temple - Doll Dress, Ideal Nov.” with “NRA Code”. Dealers often call these “NRA tagged” dresses, and you’ll see NRA-tagged Shirley dresses for sale separately from dolls.
- A Canadian tag reading “A GENUINE / SHIRLEY TEMPLE / DOLL DRESS / RELIABLE TOY CO.”. In that case the doll was also marked Shirley Temple on the head and back and came in a Reliable box. A forum poster citing the Canadian Museum of History says Reliable was licensed by Ideal to make the composition Shirley for the Canadian market.
Dresses get swapped, so a tagged dress on an unmarked doll means the dress is genuine, not necessarily the doll.
What you probably have
Use your notes from the six steps:
| What you found | What you probably have |
|---|---|
| All composition, six pieces; SHIRLEY TEMPLE on head and back; size matches one of the nine; sleep eyes; open mouth with six teeth; mohair wig | A 1930s Ideal composition Shirley Temple |
| All of the above plus flirty eyes, in a larger size | An Ideal composition Shirley, flirty-eyed version |
| Same doll, but the head only says “(C) 1934 Ideal Novelty and Toy Co.” or “Ideal”, with chubbier cheeks | Possibly an early 1934 prototype. Get a specialist to confirm |
| SHIRLEY TEMPLE on the back only, with a different face, hairstyle or costume (hula skirt, Cinderella gown) | Another Ideal doll on the Shirley body, such as Cinderella, Snow White, Marama or Coquette |
| Composition shoulder plate and limbs, cloth body, bent baby legs, name on the head only | The Ideal composition Shirley Temple baby (marked on the head only) |
| Shirley-type face; Reliable mark, box or dress tag | A Canadian Reliable Shirley Temple |
| Marked “S.T.” plus “Germany”, or a small 6”–8” composition doll | A non-Ideal foreign Shirley doll (German or Japanese) |
| No Shirley Temple mark anywhere, any size | Most likely a “Shirley type” look-alike. Many companies made unauthorized versions, because many parents couldn’t afford the real doll |
| Vinyl, rooted hair, marked “ST” with a size number | A later Ideal vinyl Shirley. WorthPoint notes vinyl dolls marked with Ideal and ST plus a size number, in sizes from 12 to 19 inches, plus the 36” Playpal |
One tip from long-time collectors: once you’ve handled a real one, the look-alikes get much easier to spot. Until then, ShirleyTempleDolls.com suggests making your first composition Shirley one marked on both head and back.