Vintage doll Karen Kay holds lifelong memories

I’ve had Karen Kay as long as I can remember. She is a vintage 1950s doll. I was asking my mom recently how I acquired Karen Kay in the first place. I’m sure she was a gift, but no one can remember where she came from. So I thought the next best thing would be to find out what type of doll Karen Kay is.

Online, this doll style has been referred to as a rubber doll with molded hair into a bun, and the doll squeaks when you squeeze its head. I had wondered about that because today, when I got Karen Kay from her royal spot on top of the dresser, I noticed she has a hole surrounded by metal at the top of her back. I squeezed her head, but she no longer squeaks.

Karen Kay’s head moves right and left. Her molded hair is light brown, and she has eyes that open and shut. Her eyes open if she’s upright and close if she is lying down. Karen Kay’s body is molded with detailed fingers and toes and some cute dimples resembling baby fat. She has beautiful red painted lips, and she has one light blue eye and one light green eye.

When I was little, I took Karen Kay with me everywhere I went. There is a photo of me holding Karen Kay at the Pittsburgh Zoo, probably when I was around the age of 3. I am holding my baby very carefully by the neck.

Nearly 50 years later, Joe and I took Karen Kay back to the Pittsburgh Zoo to recreate the photo. This time I was holding Karen Kay very carefully for real in front of the bear habitat.

Back to the task at hand, I looked on Karen Kay’s back. She has VS-17-54 stamped on there and something that looks like a P15 on the back of her neck, and she has a V stamped on her lower back.

So, armed with this information and the all-powerful internet, how hard could it be to figure out?

Well, it’s harder than I thought. I took a few photos of Karen Kay so I could do a Google image search. That yielded a couple of other look-alikes, although they had different body lengths than my doll. Karen Kay is about 16-inches long.

I was surprised to find that people are talking about dolls and putting doll videos on YouTube.

I came across one video where I could see a Karen Kay clone front and center, but it was in Spanish. I clicked on it, but let’s face it, I was never good in Spanish class. And that was (mumble-mumble) years ago, so I don’t remember anything but “dónde está el baño,” which is “where is the bathroom,” because that could be a highly useful phrase depending on the circumstances.

There were a couple of antique pricing and selling websites that might have helped me, but you had to sign up for a free trial, which after a week turned into a paid subscription if you forgot to cancel. And I will forget.

I’ll keep searching, and maybe I can find a social media page that can help me out.

My husband, Joe, even got involved in the plight of Karen Kay. He wondered out loud about how hard it would be to take her head off so he could try to replace the squeaker.

Noooo! That is not happening. No one is taking Karen Kay’s head off for any reason, including a well-intended one.

Later, I came across a similar-looking doll as Karen Kay. She sold for $14. Another was listed at $54. Still not a great amount for a well-loved antique. But price doesn’t matter because Karen Kay is not for sale. She is a valuable member of the family.