OVERVIEW: Girls of Many Lands

Isabel

I LOVED these books when they came out. Being a big American Girl fan, I was obviously excited about them both branching out into other countries and upping the target age for the books (and dolls). I bought all five books and zipped through them. The first five released were Isabel, Cécile, Minuk, Spring Pearl and Neela in 2002. Kathleen, Leyla and Saba followed in 2003.

I really wanted to love these dolls, since I adored the books and characters so much. But Helen Kish is...an acquired taste. I just couldn't bring myself to buy the dolls, although I was mightily tempted around 2004/2005 when they were all severely discounted. I came to dearly regret this because Kathleen is the one that almost got my money and then she became the ridiculously hard to find one.

Cécile

It wasn't until 2008 that something made me begin a collection of these dolls. I don't know what specifically. It's not mentioned in the old LJ entry I got this date from. But it was May 2008 when I began my collection. I mentioned in that entry that I had several on my ebay watch list and expected to be able to get a lot of the collection for $20 or less.

I don't remember what I paid for Isabel, but she was my first one. Likely under $20, because I remember her being one of the least popular when I was searching for these. I don't know why, because her dress is absolutely gorgeous and detailed like crazy.

Cécile was a lucky Craiglist find. Very very lucky in fact because the same seller sold me 2 Céciles and SABA. Saba was not as cheap as the others and I got them all for only $10 apiece. I sold my extra Cécile to an LJ friend. I grabbed both, because I figured I'd have better luck getting her a good home than the nice lady on Craiglist and I totally did. Cécile is probably my least favorite of the line. Her face is...unusual. That dress and those accessories though! The detail on this line really is unbelievable.

Saba

Gah, Saba is gorgeous.

About the same time, I got an incomplete Leyla on ebay. Leyla was my instant favorite after I finished her book, but her doll was a bit pricier. I got a deal on mine, because she didn't have her kaftan or fan, but I decided to take the deal and buy a boxed one later on. Then I got Spring Pearl and Neela, I believe from the same ebay seller.

I don't know what the delay on Isabel was, but the first ones to arrive were Leyla, Cécile and Saba with Isabel, Spring Pearl and Neela following not too long after. By the end of May, I only needed Minuk, Kathleen and an upgrade Leyla.

I adored the details on them, but the faces took awhile to get used to in some cases.

Minuk shows up in my LJ on June 13th, so I really did zip through collecting these girls. No mention of where I got her, but I'm certain it was ebay.

Spring Pearl

American Girl really took a bit of a risk with this line. They're not designed to be play dolls, because you can't even remove the clothing on several. They sold a display case and nice shelf with additional risers you could add for more dolls, although I never bought any. The little stands they came with were enough for me. They're easy to use and my dolls never fall off them and they're subtle enough that it's not like "HEY! STAND!"

But the line never took off. Maybe people didn't like the $50ish price range for dolls meant for display only. I don't think the target age group really picked up on them either and even now, I don't see a lot of adult collectors with them. Maybe it was the Helen Kish acquired taste thing. I mean, it did take me six years before I wanted them!

Neela

One thing I really love about GoML that's always a bit of a sticking point with me and 18" American Girl is that these girls look the 12 years old they're supposed to be. AG 18" dolls do not look 9-11. They just don't. As I've said before, some look a bit older like Julie and Rebecca, but mostly they do not look the right age.

Minuk

Anyway, back to my collecting. Almost a year later in April 2009, I decided I really needed that complete Leyla. I changed the clothes of my incomplete doll and made her a modern girl which she was for many years. It was only before I moved in 2013 that I returned her to most of her stock. But finding Leyla and being able to afford her at the same time that she turned up on ebay turned out to be a bit difficult. I continually missed her and the one time I had the best shot at it, I didn't get her and a friend did. Finally though in April 2010, yet another year later, Leyla came home.

The stunning Leyla

That left me with one final task, the most daunting one: acquiring Kathleen. Kathleen regularly sold for over $100 and was the only GoML that was even remotely in that price range. My luck with her was similar to my luck with Leyla. When I had the money, the only Kathleens on ebay were overpriced at $300. When I didn't have the money, the bargain $125 ones would appear. I vowed in 2010 to spend part of my tax return getting Kathleen. Didn't happen. I vowed again in 2011. Didn't happen. But finally in February 2012, there she was for an $85 Buy It Now and that girl was MINE.

Kathleen

These days you can still collect these pretty easily and at a fair price. Leyla and Saba remain the mid-level priced ones and Kathleen is still the highest.

I highly recommend these to anyone who likes dolls from around the world and I definitely really recommend everyone read the books. They're one of my favorite collections and I really wish I had some space for the display shelves because they're pretty cheap on ebay!

PHOTO CREDITS: All mine.

RECOMMENDED SITES:
http://americangirl.wikia.com/wiki/Girls_of_Many_Lands