Hello, and welcome to my Jesmar newborn doll information page. I crated this blog because I have always truly loved Jesmar dolls, and most of the dolls that very closely resemble them.  Most people have seen them at one time or another and they are amazing dolls!  But even among the world of doll collectors, restorers, and reborn artists where they are commonly bought and used-- there does not seem to be many people who know a lot about these lovable dolls.  Or any good information pages about them on the internet.  So I hope to change that, by posting all the information I was able to find.

Jesmar Dolls

Many people may not know the Jesmar brand, right off the bat.  But perhaps you do know something they made which is a bit more familiar?  Yes, for a while they manufactured the older “Cabbage Patch Kid” dolls, along with a few other companies.  Although now, yet another company has taken over.

But in this blog, I will be focusing on the “Jesmar Newborn doll” and the few companies that have made similar dolls.  Many of them were bought and sold through mail order, from television infomercials and related magazines.  They were made in Spain, and wonderful quality!

The first Jesmar newborn baby doll I ever heard of, was about 17” long (although some will say 15” or 16”, depending on how they measure).  It was more preemie to newborn size.   Very simply dressed.  It wore only a diaper, and a simple white sleeveless top that slightly covered the top half of the diaper.  Much like a dress top, or a tiny hospital gown.  The girl’s top had delicate pink trim, and the boy’s had blue trim.  They also came with a birth certificate, a hospital wrist band, a yellow plastic pacifier, and gauze bandage wrapped around the umbilical cord at the waist.  

But the one thing that always caught my eye was again, the pacifier—it was small, round and clear-yellow.  Some of them were double-sided (a nipple on both ends, NO ring) and some had a big yellow ring at the end, like a Cabbage Patch Kid pacifier.  It was made of hard plastic, and popped firmly and securely into the doll’s mouth.  

Now, in my search, I have found that over the years there have been a few dolls very similar to the Jesmar newborn.    As well as some similar dolls that came before it, but are somewhat related in the fact that they either have similar or identical features and limbs, and/or were mail-order.

I actually remember when I first learned of these types of dolls.  I was living in Europe.  Germany, to be exact.  We were an American military family stationed there, living on a U.S. military base.  

One year, when I was about 7 years old (1988), everyone received a small American magazine in the mail, which offered various items of interest for sale.  Kind of like one of those Harriet Carter magazines. On the back of the magazine, the entire page was a big advertisement for a Jesmar newborn baby doll.

There were 4 choices in ordering one of these dolls:

White Newborn Girl

White Newborn boy

Black Newborn Girl

Black Newborn Boy

The advertisement photo was of two young children (a boy and girl) kneeling beside one of the dolls, looking down at it.  The description listed off all the clothing and accessories that the doll came with.  The photo was clear and the colors were vivid.  Pretty much any little girl that saw it would have wanted it. 

And they did…  

As a matter of fact, nearly every little girl who lived on my base ended up getting one that year!  Well, everyone except me.

My parents told me they ordered me one, but they only said it because I carried that magazine around everywhere with me, obsessing over the doll.  I guess they wanted to shut me up about it.  But I kept the magazine, and I waited and waited for MONTHS.  I started seeing all the other little girls running around with Jesmar dolls, so I figured mine would be coming soon.  But the doll never came, and finally my parents admitted that they did not really order it…

 I really hated watching all the other girls walk around with the doll I wanted more than anything in the whole world.  So I made a promise to myself—when I was old enough, and had my own money, I would find one and buy it for myself. 

Unfortunately, they stopped making those dolls only a few years later.  

  

But I never forgot that little childhood promise I made to myself.  As an adult, I started searching for these dolls, only to find out that they were no longer being manufactured, and the only ones available were the pre-owned ones being sold on certain websites, like eBay.  Some were in terrible shape, and some were in perfect shape, still in the box!  Those were hard to find though, and very expensive.  So I just decided to go halfway on that—if I found one, it would have to be in decent condition, but also reasonably priced.  And it MUST be the original, 17” Jesmar newborn, from the late 1980’s only.

I finally found one—a girl doll, which I purchased from a seller in England.  So here is a picture of   MY Jesmar doll :)  

 It came fairly quickly, in soft, black plastic wrapping.  From the photos in the listing, I could see that the doll was in beautiful condition, no mars, stains, discoloration or disfiguring.   Although it did not have any of the original accessories.   

Since the most important accessory to me was the yellow pacifier, as the dolls mouth and the pacifier had been specifically designed to fit together-- I did a little bit of searching.  I found another seller who had 2 of those pacifiers for sale! I bought both of them, because I thought I might want to find a “twin brother” for my doll later.

I also bought 2 preemie-sized onesie outfits (one pink and one blue, in anticipation of the twin brother), and a 2-pack of newborn diapers with Velcro tapes, so they could be re-used, and would fit the dolls. 

When I opened the packaging of my female Jesmar doll, it was kind of like a sense of completion—it was something I had been searching for most of my life and I was very happy to finally have it, especially in such wonderful condition!  It seemed so small, but then again, I had grown quite a bit since the last time I had held one.  When I lived in Germany, there were a couple of girls who let me hold their Jesmar doll, so I wasn’t completely deprived…

I remember I used to love how one of the doll’s hands was partially opened, while the other hand was curled up into a tiny little fist.  I thought that was just the cutest thing ever, and I still do. 

Now that I had my own Jesmar doll, I was very happy, even though I was a grown woman!  But she seemed incomplete somehow, so I started searching for a twin brother for her.   I am looking at one now, so when I get him I'll take pictures and post them here too.

Sleeping jesmar

Jesmar also made a variation of their newborn baby doll, called “sleeping Jesmar”.  These dolls were fairly cute too, manufactured with the eyes permanently closed.  They came with all the same accessories the regular Jesmar baby came with, but they are far more rare.  They may not have sold as well because its hard for a child to interact with a doll who’s eyes are always closed, and it limits play options, since a child could only pretend that the baby was sleeping.  But they are still a great addition to your doll collection if you can manage to find them:

 Tiernicito- Vintage Jesmar Soft Body

I have also seen Jesmars that are vintage, much older, from even further back than my childhood, with soft bodies.  Some were made this way, while others (usually newer ones) were altered into having a soft/stuffed body, by a reborn artist.  

Emson Dolls

Another company that made dolls very close (almost identical) to the Jesmar style is Emson.  I believe Emson is an American company though.  Emson newborn dolls were maybe an inch or so bigger than Jesmars, and while Jesmars had a slightly tilted head with the left cheek protruding out a bit more than the right—the Emson doll’s head was facing more straight up and down, with their cheeks equally shaped.  However, they do fit the same size outfits as Jesmar for the most part, and they are able to share pacifiers (they come with nearly identical ones).  But while the Jesmar usually came in cute packaging with a nice display window, the Emson babies were shipped in a simple, plain brown box, wrapped in a plastic bag.  Rather than a brand name stamped on the back of their neck, they had only “Made In China” with a number.  You cannot tell which company made them simply by looking at them-- unless you have done some research like I have, or you read their thank you notes and birth certificates.   These dolls also came wearing a diaper and a small layette top very similar to Jesmar.  While the Emson doll’s vinyl is somewhat soft, it is not nearly as soft as a Jesmar.  Particularly in the head.   

This company has been making these dolls for quite some time.  As a matter of fact, they are easier and more common to find than Jesmar.  If you see a doll like this on eBay, there is about an 80% chance it is an Emson.  Particularly if the seller did not find a Jesmar stamp anywhere on it, or says there is a “Made In China” stamp.

 I have seen older versions of Emson newborn dolls too.  They have the same exact body as the newer ones, but the head, mouth and face are very different.  Quite honestly, I never cared much for the older Emsons, because to me, their heads look a bit misshapen, and the eyes remind me of aliens, lol.  I’m not that crazy about the mouths either.  Their pacifiers were also yellow but slightly darker and smaller in the mouth piece.  

 Whitney Dolls

Whintey is another American company that made such dolls.  But its fairly easy to tell a Whitney doll if you can touch it, or compare it to others.  Although its also marked only with “Made In China” with a number--  it is quite a bit longer in the overall body than both the Jesmar and the Emson (about 20 inches, while Jesmar and Emson are about 17 inches).  And while the Whitney doll’s looks are identical in every way to the most recent Emsons, they are made of extremely hard vinyl!  Really, this doll’s vinyl almost feels like hard plastic, and has no give to it at all.  They tend to have more excess vinyl sticking out from the seems and creases.  You may also notice that with time, wide gaps form in the joints of the legs, shoulders and neck.  I think its because of the lesser quality vinyl.  It also has a slightly unpleasant factory smell.  I would say that the overall quality of the Whitney doll is less than the quality of the others.   The joints do move, but again, its just the bigger size and the very hard plastic with the smell, that puts me off.  They are shipped just like an Emson with similar packaging, but their pacifiers have the large ring behind them, like some of the Jesmar (and Cabbage Patch Kid) pacifiers.  Also their birth certificates are much smaller.   About the size and color of the Emson’s “thank you” note.  They too have a nearly identical thank you note, but theirs has a small warning on it (just like the Raffoler dolls below) saying that the doll may have a “slight odor” at first, but assures you that this is not dangerous, and it will go away.  Well, its been almost 20 years, and the Whitney dolls I have handled still have their odor, lol.  So I don’t know…

Migliorati / Natiora Dolls

Another wonderful version of a Jesmar-like doll.  The migliorati/Natiora brand is Italian, and they tend to box their dolls nicely, as Jesmar does.  They are mad of a vinyl that is about like Emson (not too hard, not too soft).  About the same length.  But you can usually tell them by not only the stamp on the back of their neck saying “Migliorati Made In Spain”, but also because their faces are a bit more “chubby” looking and square than a Jesmar.  Some of their outfits tend to be cuter though, a little more elaborate.  But I have seen some with only the simple layette.   Pacifiers are also yellow, but have the ring behind them.  I haven’t seen any of these with a birth certificate yet, but then again, I’ve never opened their boxes either.  So I’m not really sure what all is inside.  But these are great quality.

The top two are the most recent models, but the ones below are quite a bit older:

 

Raffoler  10 Inch Dolls

These are fairly popular too and I used to have one when I was a kid, I found it at a flea market .  I guess I saw it as a cheap little substitute for the Jesmar I wanted, lol.  They were these tiny little 10 inch baby dolls, made mostly in the style of an Emson, but with a disproportionately large head for their body size.  Their vinyl is medium firmness, not too hard, not too soft.  But they are not that realistic, they look more “cartoon-like”.  I always thought they kind of had “bug eyes”, very wide and deep set.  The structure of their face didn’t look very natural either, especially around the eyes.  But for some reason people tend to like them, and think they are cute.  Maybe it’s the tiny preemie size, and all the cute accessories.  They do come with the same yellow pacifiers as all the other dolls, along with birth certificates, diaper, layette, and sometimes even very small pillows and blankets.   They too have the thank you note mentioning an odor, but I never noticed an odor with any of the ones I have handled.  Or with mine.  Some of them are “drink and wet” though, while some are not.  So I suppose it would depend on which one you find.  

Well that's all for this blog, I hope you have found it fun and helpful.  Please comment and share!