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Italian dolls are fairly easy to find in Australia.
Many were sold here in the late 1940s and early 50s when British and American dolls were not easily come by in Australia. Others were brought to this country by their young owners who were immigrating with their families in the Post WWII era.
They were usually made of coloured bakelite, a type of hard plastic and painted in flesh tones. The more common ones are large walking types.Some have wheels built into their molded on shoes.
Many Italian  dolls are  easy to pick by their pursed lips and highly coloured faces. I also have black dolls in my collection which are often but not always exactly the same as their white counterparts except for the colour.
Some well known Italian doll making companies are Furga, Ratti and Sebino.
MY ITALIAN DOLLS
ABOVE:This spray painted hard plastic doll is probably from the 1950's. She was wearing this outfit which may have been a child's christening robe when I bought her
She has rollers on her feet which enable her to glide along the floor. I named her Loretta.
LEFT:This so far unidentified doll has a cloth body and limbs. Her eyes are painted. I know she is Italian but not who made her or when. She is very pretty though and when I saw her I just had to have her even though she was quite expensive by my standards. I call her Sophia.
ANNIE: right, is a cloth bodied doll with vinyl head and limbs. She is made by Sebino. I love her short, curly rooted hair. She has a battery compartment but I don't know what she did.