Doll Show Finds: Baps Identity Mystery, Caco Dolls and a Tiny Town Scot

A Baps lookalike with unanswered questions

The most intriguing find from the doll show is a group of dolls that may be Baps after all. At the table, I took them for Baps dolls, then noticed their feet didn’t match the examples I knew. The dealer said they belonged to a friend who collected Baps dolls and were lookalikes. The friend, who had about 100 Baps dolls, agreed. I bought them anyway: they were interesting as possible knockoffs, and the dealer had already lowered the price before offering me a further reduction.

Looking them up afterward changed my mind. Their unusual legs and feet resemble those on Baps puppet dolls, and the soles carry the marking “Made in US zone Germany,” which also appears on Baps puppets from the same period. There’s a catch: puppet feet should have a hole for the control rod, and these don’t. That leaves a real identification question. The markings and construction suggest a connection, but I can’t settle the attribution from those clues alone.

The two smaller characters look like Hansel and Gretel. Examples I found online share several telling details: Hansel carries a bag, while Gretel wears a head scarf and has a bent arm in a similar pose. On the examples, a felt purse or bag hangs from Gretel’s arm; it’s missing here. I haven’t found a matching figure for the woman who came with them, so the group’s identity is still an open question.

Caco construction tells its own story

The first purchase of the day was a pair of Caco dolls. The mother figure stands about 5 inches tall and needs the wrapping on one leg redone, a repair I can handle. Both dolls have lead feet, while the mother has plastic hands. Those differences help place the pair relative to other Caco dolls in my collection: Kay and Jeffrey have plastic hands and feet, so they’re younger than both of these.

The smaller doll looks like a boy, despite wearing pink with blue trim. He’s roughly Kay’s size, perhaps a little bigger, and much larger than Jeffrey. His hooded snowsuit gives him a strong look, though it may limit how easily I can place him in a dollhouse scene or a story. For a collector, that’s part of the fun: the outfit shapes how the figure can be displayed and used.

A small suitcase was another appealing mystery. At $3, it came with some contents, and its “Road” movie travel stickers point toward a possible association with a Bob Hope or Bing Crosby doll. I haven’t located a matching doll online, so that connection remains a guess rather than a confirmed pairing.

A silk handkerchief cost 50 cents. Its fine, light fabric could make a delicate dollhouse curtain, giving this inexpensive extra a practical use in a display. It’s the sort of small accessory that can add texture and a lived-in touch to a miniature room.

A Tiny Town Scot rounds out the haul

The final doll is a Tiny Town Scot, a type I’ve wanted more examples of since finding a couple at unexpectedly low prices. This figure comes with the traditional Scottish outfit and accessories. The face is hand painted, a detail associated with Tiny Town dolls; the faces are said to have been painted by the same woman who painted the Nancy Ann Storybook dolls. This one also has lead feet.

The dealer offered a good price, saying Tiny Town dolls don’t sell for what they once did. I still see them listed at strong prices online, so the two impressions don’t quite line up. Either way, this was a welcome addition to a small collection, especially with the hand-painted face and complete outfit.

The show’s best finds weren’t just the dolls themselves; they were the clues in their materials, markings, clothing and scale. The Baps group still needs a closer match, while the Caco pair and Tiny Town Scot bring clear details to compare with the collection at home. I left with three favorite kinds of dolls, a small repair project and a few accessories that already have a place in the dollhouse.