Thum Things Doll by Uneeda

I dunno if you know this but I have a bit of a thing about 3 faced dolls or expression changing dolls if you prefer...

I have two that I posted about a couple of years back, you can check it out here if you like: Vintage 3 Faced Dolls  last week I added another to my collection - this time I know more about her, although I didn't at the time of purchase, I just liked her quirkiness. 

She's a Thum Things doll by Uneeda from 1973, she stands at 5 inches tall and unlike the other two 3 faces I have she doesn't have a "top knot" with which to rotate her facial expressions.

The image above is of my girl showing her smart or as Uneeda marketed it; her "Thmart" face.

The gimmick with these dolls is you use your thumb to roll her face around and thereby change her facial expressions.

Here she is showing her sleepy or "Thleepy" face

I'm sure there must be several of these dolls whose faces have "rubbed off" due to excessive play as their facial expressions are the result of transfers which have been used to give them eyes, eyebrows and mouths depending on the face.

Her final facial expression  is her silly or "Thilly" one.

I'm pretty sure that she is wearing her original clothing as her outfit fits her perfectly and although it has what looks like a press stud at the back of her dress it doesn't undo and a home made or even shop bought dress would have to have an opening and closing stud.

Her body is moulded into a humanoid shape and has no moving limbs.

After I'd unpacked her and had a little play, I put her down on the bed and moved on to the rest of my mail when...

In walks Aaron and spots her... "What a weird looking doll" he says, grabbing her and attempting to "make her work".

 I was engrossed in my mail and wasn't keeping an eye on him - well he is 20!

When suddenly ... "Ooh how weird, It's got 3 faces! ... So how come you can't get to it's faces without taking it's hair off?"

"Omg, you what, Aaa?"

I look over and see her hairless pink ball of a head going round and round under his fingers!

Did I mention he's 20?!

Anyhoo, after the obligatory "STOP, move away from the doll Aaron." - I was ignored by the way!

But it didn't matter as he got it back on quick enough and after being told how it's supposed to work, had a quick go, got bored and has left her alone ever since!

Image found on vintagedollcollector.com (original source Ebay Seller bouchy.)

I found these photographs of the front and back of their original boxes (source credited in captions) and found them interesting as they have all the information you need to know on them.

Image found on vintagedollcollector.com (original source Ebay Seller bouchy.)

One other thing I've discovered about them which is not shown on the box is that when I googled them before and after finding out their name, the search only netted images of Blonde and Brunette versions, so I think my Redhead must be quite a rare commodity!

Oh wait I tell a lie, I just found this one on Etsy entitled " if you thought blythe was a weird doll just wait until you see this..."!

Unknown Vintage 3 faced dolls

I have 2 different versions of  3 face dolls, which I suspect must have been kind of popular in the early 1960's, as mine are definitely not the only type of 3 face doll made back then.

I have seen 2 other examples, but they do seem to be quite rare nonetheless, and no one I've asked seems to know very much about them at all, neither does Google! so I'd appreciate any info anyone has on this pair.

Enough preamble ... Here's my two:

Vintage 3 faced standing Doll.

Here's what I know about her...

She has 3 faces which you bring to the front by turning the little hair patterned topknot on her head.

Her outfit looks to be original or at least made for her as it has a split on top to allow her topknot to poke through.

She stands around 8 inches tall and due to the restrictive nature of her outfit, she cannot sit down!

Other than that I'm clueless lol so would love some info if anyone has any?

Vintage 3 faced Native / Eskimo? Sitting Baby Toy.

Made in Hong Kong circa. 1960.

She's made of rubber &  plastic.

She's 4.5" tall.

The black pompom on top of her head changes her facial expression when you twist it!

     

                                                       ***   UPDATE   ***

23/09/2014

I'm not exactly sure how it happened as one search inevitably leads to another and another, but the upshot is, I've found out a couple of things about my tallest girl:

She was made in 1979 by Fun World Toy Company.

Her outfit is definitely her original one.

There are several versions of this outfit available - I've seen at least three other versions made from different patterned fabric and also one cut from yellow fabric.

If I manage to find out anything else, I'll keep you posted...

Watch this space!