| Beehler Arts 8-Inch Dolls of the 1950's
Beehler Arts was the parent company for Virga and Fortune, and possibly others. Clearly these companies and PMA (Plastic Molded Arts) were closely connected, although I do not know the exact relationship. Many small companies sold these dolls under their own labels. These include Kim, Niresk, Norma Originals, and Stashin. See "The Molded-On T-Strap Shoe Dolls" for more about these dolls.
Beehler Arts was one of the Ontario Plastics/Fortune/Virga Group. Judd and Judd, in their Hard Plastic Dolls Indentification & Price Guide say that Ontario Plastics was the manufacturer for Beehler, Fortune & Virga. Carol Stover, on the other hand, and another highly respected doll collector, doll historian and author, says that Beehler Arts was the master company for Virga and Fortune. Ontario's relationship to the others is not clear. Each company had its own doll line, with different names, but used dolls from the same molds. An interesting case is Fortune Pam and Virga's Playmate dolls. The heads and bodies are identical. However, Pam's arms are different from the Virga arms. PMA (Plastic Molded Arts) is another company that used these same dolls, only with their own variation - usually they painted on lower eyelashes, and often painted the shoes. Other smaller companies also used these dolls. Many Costume Dolls from the 1950's have wrist tags and boxes that say "Beehler Arts' on one side and "Virga" on the other. This clearly indicates a close connection between the companies. Beehler Arts was the company that made the clothes for the Fortune and Virga costume dolls. See Zendelle Bouchard's FASHIONABLE LADIES site for more about the Virga/Beehler/PMA fashion teen and costume dolls!
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!MEMBER OF WEBRING! !
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photos: Ebay listing 
photo: my collection
