Tama
Tama was purchased on eBay and came with original clothing as well as her box and a very frail set of instructions. Tamas are quite rare, this is the first one we have seen come up on eBay after several years of watching.
Patent: US2695472 (This is the patent for the Advance Doll and Toy Company's Winnie doll which has a similar but not identical clockwork sound system. It is not clear whether another patent was filed for Tama. The patent was issued to Anthony G. Ardolino, a brother of Edward - Tama's designer).
"Phonograph Dolls and Toys" by Joan and Robin Rolfs (published by Mulholland Press, Inc. in 2004) has the most complete information on Tama dolls that I have come across. The following information is a brief summary of key points from the book. Production of Tama started in 1954. The doll was named after the daughter of one of the designers, Edward Ardolino, for the Advance Doll and Toy Company. The 3" records were intended to be interchangeable allowing the doll to talk, sing, and pray. Edie Adams provided the voice for Tama.
After we cleaned and repaired the sound system (damaged record not withstanding), we got the doll to tell us her name, recite 1...2 Buckle My Shoe and several other phrases. I should have written them down but didn't think of it at the time.
Patent: US2695472 (This is the patent for the Advance Doll and Toy Company's Winnie doll which has a similar but not identical clockwork sound system. It is not clear whether another patent was filed for Tama. The patent was issued to Anthony G. Ardolino, a brother of Edward - Tama's designer).
"Phonograph Dolls and Toys" by Joan and Robin Rolfs (published by Mulholland Press, Inc. in 2004) has the most complete information on Tama dolls that I have come across. The following information is a brief summary of key points from the book. Production of Tama started in 1954. The doll was named after the daughter of one of the designers, Edward Ardolino, for the Advance Doll and Toy Company. The 3" records were intended to be interchangeable allowing the doll to talk, sing, and pray. Edie Adams provided the voice for Tama.
After we cleaned and repaired the sound system (damaged record not withstanding), we got the doll to tell us her name, recite 1...2 Buckle My Shoe and several other phrases. I should have written them down but didn't think of it at the time.
Clothing
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Cleaning
While I investigated the clockwork speaking mechanism, my sister undertook vinyl cleaning and hair styling operations.
Repair
My part of the project was to document the doll and to address any issues with the phonograph system.
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