Shirley Temple Dolls by Year: A Collector's Timeline from 1934 Composition to Later Vinyl Issues

November 13, 2026

Start with the era, then the details

If you have just inherited a Shirley Temple doll, first work out which production run she belongs to. Outfits, wigs and boxes can be swapped over the decades. The material and the marks molded into the head and back are much harder to change, and they place most dolls within a few years.

Dolls have been made in Shirley’s likeness since 1934. Most of the dolls people find at home come from a handful of Ideal production runs:

• 1934–1939: Ideal composition dolls, plus a Baby Shirley
• 1958–1963: Ideal vinyl dolls marked “ST” plus a size number, and the 1960 Playpal-size Shirley
• 1972–1975: the Montgomery Ward reissue and the 16-inch Ideal doll
• Early 1980s: Ideal’s 8-inch and 12-inch dolls in movie costumes

After those come collector editions from other makers, which are covered below.

Shirley Temple dolls by year at a glance

Read across the row that matches your doll’s material and size, then check her marks. The “mark photo” column shows where a close-up of each era’s mark will go.

Sources for the table: WorthPoint’s Shirley Temple dolls guide, The Henry Ford, and Doll Reference’s Ideal pages for the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

1934–1939: the Ideal composition dolls

Shirley’s breakthrough came in Stand Up and Cheer (1934). After that, the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company secured a license from her family and dressed composition dolls in copies of her film costumes. The Henry Ford museum dates its example 1934–1939. It says the doll sold so well that Ideal became the most profitable company in America in 1935, and that baby and toddler versions followed. The Illinois State Museum, whose own example is dated 1935, credits the design to Molly Goldman and gives 1934 as the introduction year.

What the sources agree on:

• Sizes: ten sizes, from 11 to 27 inches. Collectors look hardest for the smallest and largest.
• Marks: the Henry Ford’s 13-inch doll reads SHIRLEY TEMPLE on the back of the head. Its listed materials include glass, for the eyes.
• Eyes: some of the larger dolls have flirty eyes that move from side to side.
• Faces: “high color” or makeup dolls have gray eye shadow and rosy cheeks.
• Baby Shirley: bent composition legs and a cloth torso, flirty eyes, and Shirley’s name marked on the head only. She was sold with or without a wig.

One caution: other companies made look-alike dolls in the 1930s. Collectors call these “Shirley types”, not Shirley Temple dolls. A curly-haired composition girl with no Shirley Temple mark may be one of them. The composition identification guide covers marks, wigs, eyes and pins in detail.

1958–1963: the Ideal vinyl “ST” dolls

Once Shirley’s films were showing on television and she was hosting a children’s TV program, Ideal brought her back in vinyl. The marks make these the easiest Shirleys to date. The head carries “Ideal” and “ST” followed by the doll’s height, for example Ideal Doll ST12 on a 12-inch doll.

Doll Reference gives this breakdown of the run:

• 12, 15, 17 and 19 inches, made 1958–1963. The 12-inch is the size most often found, and it had many extra outfits.
• 19-inch, 1958–1961. The walker version is marked Ideal Toy Corp ST-19-R and the non-walker Ideal Doll ST-19-1.
• 17 and 19 inches are harder to find and have flirty eyes.
• 26-inch, 1959–1963. All vinyl with rooted hair, very rare, and thought to have been used as a store display.
• 1962: the 12-inch was no longer offered. 1963: only the 15-inch was available.
• Separate wardrobes were sold for every size except the 26-inch.

A note on 1957 vs. 1958: many sellers and collectors date the first vinyl dolls to 1957. Both references used here give 1958 as the start. If your doll’s box or paperwork says 1957, compare it with the guide rather than treating either date as settled.

1960: the Playpal-size Shirley

Ideal made a life-size Shirley on its Playpal body for 1960 only. Doll Reference describes her as 35 inches tall, with a vinyl head and hands, a hard plastic body, rooted saran curls, sleep eyes and an open smiling mouth with teeth and dimples. Some have jointed wrists. She is marked Ideal Doll ST-35-38-2 on the head. WorthPoint gives her height as 36 inches. Most were sold in a nylon dress with floral appliqués, and a few came in a Heidi costume. The doll Doll Reference shows in the Heidi outfit is credited to Loretta, whose Shirley Temple site this one continues.

1972–1975: the reissues

• 1972, 15 inches: Ideal made a doll for Montgomery Ward that WorthPoint describes as a reissue of the 1950s 15-inch doll.
• 1973–1975, 16 inches: a new mold for general release, with non-sleeping eyes. Doll Reference describes brown painted eyes, rooted blonde hair, an open smile with teeth and a jointed plastic body. She came in the white dress with red polka dots from Stand Up and Cheer, and four more outfits were sold separately in 1974–1975.

The 16-inch doll is the classic trap for anyone dating by the year on the mark. Her neck reads 1972 IDEAL TOY CORP. ST-14-H-213 Hong Kong and her back 1972 2M-5534-2, yet she was sold from 1973. A year molded into vinyl is the date of the mold or its copyright, not necessarily the year your doll was made.

Early 1980s: Ideal’s movie-costume series

In the early 1980s Ideal issued a series of 8-inch and 12-inch dolls dressed in movie costumes. We haven’t yet confirmed the marks or material for this series from a reference source, so those cells in the table are left open. A clear photo of an original head mark would fill the gap.

1980s onward: collector editions from other makers

From the 1980s, Shirley dolls were increasingly made for adult collectors rather than children. WorthPoint names these makers and dolls:

• Dolls, Dreams and Love: large vinyl dolls in the 1980s
• Danbury Mint: several porcelain Shirleys, plus a 35-inch copy of the Playpal doll in 2005, with copies of the Playpal outfits
• R. John Wright: licensed felt dolls

When a Danbury Mint dress turns up on a 1950s or 1970s Ideal doll, it can make the doll look like a different issue. That is one more reason to date from the body marks, not the clothes.

Dating checklist: what to look at first

1. Material. Composition (a hard, wood-pulp-based material) points to the 1930s. Soft vinyl points to 1958 or later.
2. Hair. A wig is expected on composition dolls. Rooted hair, with strands set into the scalp, appears on the vinyl dolls described above.
3. The neck and head mark. “ST” followed by a number that matches her height places her in the 1958–1963 run. “ST-14-H-213” with a 1972 date is the 16-inch doll of 1973–1975.
4. Height. Measure head to toe and compare with the size column. Ideal’s numbers are close to, but not always exactly, the measured height.
5. Eyes. Painted eyes on a 16-inch vinyl Shirley point to 1973–1975. Flirty eyes on a vinyl doll suggest the 17- or 19-inch sizes.
6. Then the clothes. Use outfits, tags and pins only to confirm an era you have already found from the marks.

Once you know the era, the composition identification guide is the next step for a 1930s doll.

Sources

• Shirley Temple Dolls - Guide to Value, Marks, History (WorthPoint Dictionary)
• Shirley Temple Doll, 1934-1939 (The Henry Ford)
• At Home: Shirley Temple doll, 1935 (Illinois State Museum)
• Ideal 1950s Vintage Dolls Identified (Doll Reference)
• Ideal 1960s Vintage Dolls Identified (Doll Reference)
• Ideal 1970s Vintage Dolls Identified (Doll Reference)