Established in 1925, the Mary Hoyer Doll Manufacturing Company began as a crafts store in Reading Pennsylvania. The founder, Mary Hoyer, initially made knitwear for children and babies to wear. Later, she used a model doll to knit and crochet dresses from her pattern book. The dolls were initially supplied by Ideal Novelty and Toy Company with their rotating waist and torso function. Therefore, the first dolls were labeled with the Ideal brand. However, the doll’s clothes were labeled Hoyer.

In 1937, Mary enlisted Bernard Lipfert’s expertise in doll making to create her own line of dolls. The dolls were made of composition materials, sleeping eyes or painted eyes, real upper lashes but the lower part is painted and the mouth closed. The models were also manufactured by Fiberoid Doll Products Co .. The dolls were engraved with the label “The Mary Hoyer Doll”.

In late 1946, Hoyer dolls sported a hard plastic material that was marked “ORIGINAL Mary Hoyer Doll Made in USA.” This newer version had a mohair wig, sleepy blue eyes with lids, a closed mouth, and still had real upper lashes and painted lower lashes.

In 1937, the company began manufacturing its 14-inch tall boy doll with a full-composition body that sometimes comes in prince suits. The hard plastic version arrived around 1946, which also sported a jointed body, sleepy eyes, a short mohair wig, and a closed mouth. The boy’s doll was also produced in a limited number, so it is priced slightly higher than common female dolls. This also makes her one of the most sought after dolls by collectors.

Another character that was released in the 1950s by Hoyer was the Gigi doll. It comes in two varieties of size, 14 inches and 18 inches tall. It had an articulated rope body that was also made of hard plastic. The doll featured a hair wig, sleeping eyes, a closed mouth, and also a hard plastic head.

In 1957, the 10.5-inch Vicky doll was introduced and it came with a twisted waist, rooted hair, high-heeled feet, and a fashionable articulated hard plastic body. The doll was actually Uneeda’s Suzette doll so it has the Uneeda Doll Company branding on its neck as it was supplied by them. She was then repackaged and dressed in Hoyer’s clothing creations.

The Mary Hoyer doll company closed its business in the 1970s, but then recently relaunched with its new creations. The new editions of dolls are priced from $ 56 to $ 229. The dolls also come with a line of accessories and clothing and surprisingly a line of beautifully crafted wigs in different colors and styles.