50's Walking Doll with Teeth

eBay listing...VINTAGE  50'S WALKING DOLL WITH TEETH  18" TALL
EYES OPEN AND CLOSE
GLUED ON HAIR
WHEN SHE WALKS HER HEAD MOVES FROM SIDE TO SIDE
HER DRESS IS YELLOW SATINY WITH NET OVER IT. NOT SURE IF IT WAS HER DRESS
VERY PRETTY BLUE EYES AND RED CURLY HAIR
ONE OF HER LEGS IS SHORTER THAN THE OTHER WHICH LEADS ME TO BELIEVE SHE WAS A DISPLAY DOLL

WHERE DID THIS INFORMATION COME FROM???

Mouths:
 
In any identification study of hard plastic dolls, a surprising feature quickly emerges.  There are very few open mouth dolls.  An open mouth with teeth was a popular feature on composition and bisque dolls.  However, most dolls of the hard plastic era had closed mouths.  Some companies, such as Horsman made many dolls with open mouth and teeth.  Others such as Arranbee made only one or two.  There were very few dolls with open mouths when the companies turned to vinyl heads and rooted hair.  Another identifying feature is the number of teeth.  Typically, only the number of exposed teeth are counted.  Companies like Valentine had up to six teeth with one or more inside the head.  Caution must be used in using teeth for identification.  Children easily knocked out teeth which were then replaced at the local doll hospital.

This doll suffers from HPD in the shorter leg.  When it arrived we sniffed the leg and smelled a vinegary odor.  Rather than let the bad leg affect the rest of the doll we decided to amputate with a razor saw back to the hip joint.  Our plan is to replace the leg with  one made from balsa foam.