If You're Serious About Small Vintage Dolls, This book is a Must-Have:

Virga Playmates

Virga began selling 8-inch toddler walking dolls in the early 1950's. 

Virga, one of the Beehler Arts Company subsidiaries, marketed a number of lines, including Playmates, Lolly Pop, Play-Pals, Lucy, and Schiaparelli GoGo.

Virga Lucy is the best-known of the Virga Playmates dolls, but other girls' names were used as well. 

Lucy was also the name of Virga's 9-inch Play-Pals doll.

Virga was one of only two companies to consistently make 8-inch dolls of color during the 1950's. 

PMA was the other. Ginny came in an African-American model for just a few months in 1953 &1954, and Ginger had a few Hawaiians, but that's about it. Some of the Virga dolls of color  have separate, individual fingers (like Fortune Pam)- unlike their "white" or "pink" sisters, who always have the middle two fingers fused.

Virga Dolls look like Fortune Pam, sharing the same body, legs, and head molds, and are quite similar to PMA dolls.

But Virga dolls have the PMA- style "standard" or "C" arm hook. 

Unlike the Fortune dolls, The plastic color of the arms matches their bodies, and - with the exception of some of the African-American Lucy dolls - the second and third fingers are molded together, with the index and pinky fingers pointing slightly up and out. 

Virga used a high-quality plastic for their dolls. The head's mold line goes behind the ear - unlike PMA and Fortune dolls. The feet have molded-on T-Strap shoes - usually not painted. 

 
Photo: My Collection

photo:Ebay listing

Virga Lolly Pops had pink, purple, silver, yellow, and green hair  

Photos: Ebay listings & my own

SPECIALTY VIRGA DOLLS:

Photo: Ebay listing

Virga Tiny Twinkle had pointed feet with toes
  
Photo courtesy of R. Lowrey

Virga's Fab Detergent Promotional Doll

Photo: Ebay listing

See ADVERTISING DOLLS 

Here's an early strung LustreCreme Starlet

Photos courtesy of Carol Stover - Doll now in my collection

OTHER VIRGA DOLLS:

Photo: Ebay listing
Virga's 9-inch Play Pal was also called Lucy

Vinyl-Head Dolls:

Photo: Ebay listing

Vinyl-head Virga Doll

Photo: Ebay listing

1956 Vinyl-head Virga

TEEN Dolls

Photos: Ebay listings
Miss Hi-Heel Teen by Virga is a slightly different genre from the "Ginny-types." She's a teen-aged Barbie pre-cursor. See TEEN DOLLS for more about these.

Virga Costume Dolls:

     
Photo: mine (left)                                

Virga, with Beehler Arts, produced a huge variety of fixed-legged display dolls. Many of these are quite wonderful, and quite collectible today.

Virga "Storybook"-Type Dolls: (5 - 6 inches tall)
These are like the 7 - 8" fashion dolls, only smaller. Nancy An Storybook Dolls are the most famous of this type, but they were also made by Virga, Duchess, Hollywood, and others.