DeadlyNova's A Doll WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - 2019 Edition

[DeadlyNova]

Chatty Cathy was one of the very first talking dolls! She was made by Mattel in 1959 and is actually one of the most well known dolls there is, even having eressions named after her. Like saying someone is being 'Such a Chatty Cathy.' when they talk too much.

[neon_jellyfish]

Chatty Cathy was one of the very first talking dolls! She was made by Mattel in 1959 and is actually one of the most well known dolls there is, even having eressions named after her. Like saying someone is being 'Such a Chatty Cathy.' when they talk too much.

Interesting! Cannot say I've encountered 'Chatty Cathy' as an idiom, but I've only been active in English speaking communities since 2014, so there's that. So this is a vintage doll?

[DeadlyNova]

Yep! Mine specifically is from 1960, if I remember correctly.

[neon_jellyfish]

Cool!

[Alliecat]

Cute! I remember hearing of Chatty Cathy but I don't think I've ever met one. Her outfit is sweet.
I don't know what the talk mechanism is... can you get, like, replacement parts on eBay??

[DeadlyNova]

You can, and I actually did get the replacement part I needed before I tried to fix her, but the issue is actually doing it, not getting the parts.
She has a pullstring and a voice box that's basically a tiny record inside of a box with an o-ring. The o-ring deteriorates over time, and that's why she stops talking. The issue is that Chatty Cathy wasn't meant to be taken apart. So to get to her insides you have to literally saw her in half on the seams along her sides, and then also cut open the voice box. But this particular Chatty is an older model, which is a lot harder to get into the voice box for than the slightly later ones. Even a lot of professional Chatty Cathy repairers don't offer to fix the older dolls because it's very hard to get into the box without completely ruining it.

I tried for several weeks to get into it before eventually giving up, and by then all the sawing I'd done on it had made her voice sound even worse. She made unintelligible garbles before, now it's just one tiny noise. But that's okay! I ended up buying a second one that had been professionally repaired and she sounds great. She's a couple of years newer than this one, from 1962 or 1963, can't remember which. So she has the later voice box and also actually says a few more phrases. My two have different hair and eye colors so they are pretty different dolls!

[Elfy]

I’ve also heard of, but never seen, Chatty Cathy. I think I read about her in old Peanuts strips, one of the girls, it may have been Lucy, had or wanted one.

[davidd]

What a lovely example of an early Chatty Cathy... even if she's not particularly chatty anymore.
The history... and the mechanical details... are fascinating!
So fun to see a "mid-century" vintage doll as part of your A Doll A Day 2019 project!

[Lejays17]

The print on the skirt is too cute. I never realised Chatty Kathy was an actual doll, I just thought it was a slightly-rude nickname

[DeadlyNova]

Thank you guys! You're gonna see a few other vintage dolls during this project, hopefully, but Chatty Cathy is the oldest one I have right now! I think my second oldest would be some of my Barbies, probably.

Here's day three!
ADAD 2019 3/365 by Haley, on Flickr
Living Dead Doll's The Unwilling Donor!

[werepuppy]

Awww, she's got a shy eression. Definitely not what I would have thought of for a ldd. She's really cute

[neon_jellyfish]

Such an adorable doll! And the lighting and the background are just perfect! Beautifully ghoulish!

[Alliecat]

Yes, she looks quite cute and friendly, although I'm not sure if she's "supposed" to, because I'm not familiar with these dolls either.

[davidd]

Oh my gosh! "Unwilling Donor." She's based on that kidney stealing urban legend! That is too funny!

[DeadlyNova]

Thank you guys so much! I'm glad my cat-scratched window screen makes a good background. LMAO

She's not supposed to look exactly friendly, but I agree she does look shy and friendly.

Living Dead Dolls are dolls that are supposed to be dead children. Fun fun fun!