Free valuations of Sindy and Barbie at The Auction Café

Consign now for our next auction on Wednesday 28th May

FREE valuations of Sindy and Barbie dolls are being offered in Staffordshire this spring.

Richard Winterton Auctioneers' toy specialist Jon Price will be at The Auction Café in Lichfield on Wednesday, April 23, for drop-in valuations between 10am and 12.30pm and then for valuations by appointment that afternoon at The Lichfield Auction Centre.

Call 01543 251081 to book at Fradley or email office@richardwinterton.co.uk.

Jon will also be offering valuations of Sindy and Barbie at The Tamworth Auction Rooms, Church Street, on Wednesdays April 30, May 7 and May 14 by appointment between 10am-4pm each day – call 01827 217746 to book or email tamworth@richardwinterton.co.uk for enquiries.

A collection of more than 100 vintage Sindy dolls sold at auction recently for £12,545.

Highlights included a boxed Marx Toys Sindy Gayle doll selling at £620, a boxed Pedigree Sindy western doll fetching £340 and a boxed Pedigree Sindy space fantasy selling at £280.

The collection featured figures, clothing and accessories from the 1960s to 2000s and included the rare 1982 McDonalds Sindy, Patch and Sindy’s boyfriend Paul.

As well as through decades of Sindy and Barbie there were also celebrity dolls, US brands such as Ideal Crissy and Tammy’s Family, and dolls of Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin from cult 1960s TV show The Man From U.N.C.L.E., which totalled £230.

With already two decades of doll production in its history, by the early 1960s toy firm Pedigree decided it was time to introduce their own trendy fashion doll to the market.

American toy manufacturer Mattel offered Pedigree a licence to produce Barbie but the British firm turned it down due to market research showing Barbie to be unpopular in this country.

Instead, Pedigree manufactured its own model based on another American doll, Tammy, and even – with permission from Tammy manufacturer The Ideal Toy Company – borrowed the slogan ‘the doll you love to dress’.

The new doll was almost named ‘Cindy’ but the spelling was changed for the purposes of trademarking.

So the legendary Sindy was created – and her ‘girl next door’ style saw Sindy become more popular in the UK than Barbie.

Richard Winterton Auctioneers' next sale focussing on Sindy and Barbie takes place on May 28 at The Tamworth Auction Rooms.