I have a Tiny Tears doll that just has the word Character on the back of her head, but I can't seem to determine which year she was made as most of the dolls I have researched on Ebay either say American Character or those words plus Patent pending and a number. I beleive I received her in 1950, when I was nine. As she was one of the last dolls, I got as a child. Could you tell me if I have the right year? Her rubber body has completely gotten brittle and broken into pieces. So I was hoping to replace her. But as yet haven't seen one with just this word on the back of the head.
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The American Character Doll Company of New York produced high quality dolls from 1919 to 1968. Several of their dolls became very popular including the innovative drink and wet doll called Tiny Tears. She was the first doll who could not only drink and wet, but could also cry real tears. There were two little holes next to her eyes that cried tears when she was squeezed with her pacifier in her mouth. The company produced these dolls from 1950 to 1968. She came in four basic versions. From 1950 to 1955 they had a hard plastic head and a rubber body. Her hair could either be molded or a caracul (lamb's wool) wig. From 1956-1958 she also had a hard plastic head and a rubber body. She now came with rooted saran hair in an inset rubber skull cap. The hands on the rubber bodied dolls turned downward. From 1959-1961 the dolls had hard plastic heads and soft vinyl bodies. They also had rooted saran hair in an inset skull cap. The hands of the vinyl bodied dolls faced inward toward each other. The later dolls had rock-a-bye eyes. This was a unique mechanism that closed the eyes by rocking the doll back and forth to put her to sleep. From 1962-1968 the dolls were all vinyl. The most popular sizes were 11 1/2", 13 1/2", 16" and 20". They often came with two outfits, underwear and accessories (bottle, pacifier and bubble toy). These very sweet dolls have become very popular with doll collectors today.