Campbell’s Kid dolls saw resurgence in 1950s

Terry & Kim Kovel

Q: I have a Campbell’s Kid girl doll dressed as a chef in a pink dress with a white apron and hat. She is still in the unopened Campbell’s soup can with a see-through side. How much is she worth?

A: The Campbell Soup Co. was founded by Joseph A. Campbell, a fruit merchant, and Abraham Anderson, an icebox manufacturer, in Camden, New Jersey, in 1869.

Illustrator Grace Drayton created the chubby-faced Campbell’s Kids in 1904. The first dolls were made in 1910, by the E.I. Horsman Co.

In 1928, the licensing rights went to the American Character Doll Co. The dolls were dressed in chef’s clothing like in the advertisements. The Kids weren’t used in advertising much from the mid-1920s to the mid-1940s.

But they were brought back in 1954 to celebrate their 50th birthday, and new dolls were made.

Your doll is from the 1998 “Junior Series,” a commemorative set of four dolls. They sell for $5 to $8.

CURRENT PRICES

Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary by location because of local economic conditions.

• Decanter: green cut glass, split concave leaf design, pattern cut stopper, Japan, 11 inches, $25

• Art deco figurine: woman holding crystal, silvered cast metal, signed, Max Le Verrier, 1900s, 10 ¾ inches, $235

• Vase: pottery, green, gray, stretched surface, lacquer lid, marked Makoto Yabe, 1980, 10 inches, $310

• Tall case clock: cherry, brass, tombstone arch door, 8-day, 1810, 83 ¾ by 16 ¾ by 10 ½ inches, $350

• Inkstand: bronze, parrots, penholder, letter opener, painted, onyx base, Italy, 1900, 9 by 18 by 18 inches, $440