Introduction      In 1986, Pleasant T. Rowland, a former educator and publisher of educational materials, founded Pleasant Company which is headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin. Pleasant Company produced and marketed three 18-inch dolls dolls each of which was from a different period in American History. Each of them had an elaborate background story which were told in several professionally-written books. The three girls, Samantha, Kirsten and Molly had a number of historically accurate outfits and accessory sets which tied into and were depicted in the various stories. The American Girl Collection was originally exclusively available only through mail-order catalogs. Over the next several years, five more historical dolls and their stories were added for a total of eight girls spanning periods in U.S. history from 1764 to 1944. All of the accessory items were imaginative, well designed and of the highest quality. In the Fall of 1997, an online store (AmericanGirl.com) was launched. In 1998, Pleasant Company was acquired by Mattel, Inc., the world's leading toy company. Pleasant Rowland took a seat on the Mattel Board as an acting VP for two years, but today she is no longer associated with the company.    Around 2000, my daughters Chelsea and Phoebe were given Samantha and Molly American Girl dolls and soon they became very involved in collecting accessories and furniture as well as playing with the dolls. I was soon enlisted to hunt down retired Samantha and Molly items on Ebay. In 2002, the family decided to get Felicity and her accessories for our baby daughter, Chloe, to play with when she was older. Many Felicity items have been discontinued recently and so to round out the collection I again turned to Ebay. After researching the American Girl collection for the past year I decided to create a web site to allow others to benefit from the wealth of information and images that I have obtained pertaining to this excellent line of imaginative toys.    The list below links to individual pages in this site which are devoted to each American Girl doll. Also listed below is a description and link to the Retired Item Finder page, Wish List page and Guest Book page within this site.    At the top and left of each page within this site are navigation bars. The top bar features images of the several girls that link to their various pages.    So to all who visit this guide to the wonderful world of American Girl dolls, Welcome and Enjoy...

Curt Danhauser May 10, 2003

	Samantha Parkington is a bright, compassionate girl living with her wealthy grandmother in 1904. Along with Molly and Kirsten, Samantha was one of the three American Girls that launched the collection in 1986.

	Molly McIntire is a lively, lovable schemer and dreamer growing up in 1944. Along with Samantha and Kirsten, Molly was one of the three American Girls that launched the collection in 1986.

	Kirsten Larson is a pioneer girl of strength and spirit growing up in Minnesota in 1854. Along with Samantha and Molly, Kirsten was one of the three American Girls that launched the collection in 1986.

	Felicity Merriman is a spunky, spritely girl growing up in Virginia in 1774, just before the Revolutionary War. Felicity was the first doll added to the American Girl collection in 1991. In 2002, Felicity's collection began to be phased out by the Pleasant Company.

	Addy Walker is a proud, courageous girl who escapes from slavery with her mother in 1864. Addy joined the American Girl collection in 1993, and was the second girl to be introduced after the series was launched in 1986.

	Josefina Montoya is a girl of heart and hope growing up in New Mexico in 1824. Added in 1997, Josefina was the sixth American Girl, and the third to be added after the series began in 1986.

	Kit Kittredge is a clever, resourceful girl growing up in Cincinnati in 1934. Kit was added to the collection of American Girls in 2000, the same year that Felicity and her items began to be phased out. Kit was the fourth girl added after the collection began in 1986.

	Kaya (KY-yaah) is an adventurous Nez Perce girl growing up in 1764. Kaya is the newest American Girl to be added to the collection. She is rightly termed the "first" American Girl, and she made her appearance in 2002.

	Nellie O'Malley is a resourceful, smart and resiliant orphan girl growing up in New York in 1906. Nellie was added to the collection of American Girls in June 2004. Even though Nellie is the ninth historical girl to be added after the collection was launched in 1986, she is really part of Samantha's collection.

Elizabeth Cole is a bright, quiet, unassuming 10-year-old girl growing up in Williamsburg Virginia after she and her family moved from England in 1774. Elizabeth was added to the collection of American Girls in September 2005. Even though Elizabeth is the tenth historical girl added after the collection was launched in 1986, she is really a part of Felicity's collection. Just like Nellie, Elizabeth is not a limited edition doll.

Emily Bennett is a nine-year old English girl who was evacuated from England and who came to stay with the McIntire's in 1944. She and Molly soon became the best of friends. Emily was added to the collection of American Girls in September 2006. Her book is entitled Brave Emily and was written by Valerie Tripp and illustrated by Nick Backes. The book (96 pages, ISBN: 1593692110) was published on August 21, 2006. Even though Emily is the eleventh historical girl added after the collection was launched in 1986, she will really be part of Molly's collection. Just like Nellie and Elizabeth, Emily will likely not be a limited edition doll. Emily will be getting a ten-card trading card set just as Nellie and Elizabeth did.

Julie is free-spirited, talented and loving nine-year-old girl living in San Francisco in 1974. She and her friend Ivy were the best of friends. Julie was added to the collection of American Girls in September 2007. Julie is the twelfth historical doll, and she was the first historical doll from a new era since Kaya was introduced in 2002. Julie got her own trading card set like the rest of the historical girls.

Ivy Ling is the middle child in a busy Chinese American household. Her mother has gone back to school to become a lawyer, and her father has two jobs to keep the family afloat. And if that's not enough, Ivy's best friend, Julie Albright, has moved to another part of San Francisco. Ivy was added to the collection of American Girls in September 2007. Even though Ivy is the thirteenth historical girl added after the collection was launched in 1986, she will really be part of Julie's collection. Ivy is the first historical doll with Asian features. Inexplicably, Ivy is also the only historical doll without a mini doll and without her own trading card set. She also has no furniture and only two outfits in her collection.

Ruthie Smithens is Kit's best friend and she is loyal, understanding and generous. Like Kit, Ruthie is growing up in Cincinnati in 1934. Ruthie was added to the collection of American Girls in 2008. Even though Ruthie was the fourteenth historical girl added after the collection was launched in 1986, she is really a part of Kit's collection. She was the fourth friend doll released along with an American Girl movie.

Rebecca Rubin is a nine-year-old living in New York in 1914. Growing up in the "melting pot" of the early 20th century, Rebecca learns about the various traditions that her neighbors and schoolmates celebrate. She lives in a row house in New York's bustling Lower East Side with her Russian-Jewish family. Rebecca dreams of being an actress one day, but her parents and grandparents have different ideas of what a young lady should do. Rebecca will be added to the collection of American Girls in May 2009. Rebecca is the fifteenth historical doll, and she was the most recent historical doll from a new era since Julie was introduced in 2007.

Retired Girls of Today Items
	A page describing and depicting Lindsey and Kailey, the limited edition Modern American Girls made by Pleasant Company. Lindsey was introduced in 2001 and Kailey was introduced the Summer of 2003. Both are now retired. This page also describes and depicts the Girls of Today items produced by Pleasant Company since 1993 that have been retired and which are no longer available.

Retired Item Finder

The Retired Items Finder page lists for each American Girl the items that are no longer available through Pleasant Company. Information about each doll and when items were discontinued are given along with a picture of each item. Links are provided to aid in the obtaining of each item which are often available through online auctions such as Ebay and through online bookstores such as Amazon.com in the case of retired printed items.

Special AG Items

Back in the late 1980's and early 1990's, when there were only three, four or five American Girls in the American Girl Collection, Pleasant Company offered several special items that went along with the American Girl dolls, outfits and doll accessories. These special items were both historical in nature and modern, and included the Doll Travel Basket, Book slip cases, Family Album, Puzzles, Trading Cards, Computer CD-ROMs and more. Also listed on this page is the majority of AG Items produced and sold by Hallmark including ornaments, bookends, figurines, charms, cookie tins, and more. Finally, this page lists the several exclusive AG Items such as special giveaway outfits, and those items only avaiable Online or at the AG Places in Chicago and New York.

Dress Like Your Doll
	A page which depicts and describes the several Girl-Sized Historical Dresses and Dress Patterns that were produced by Pleasant Company beginning around 1990, most of which have been retired and which are no longer available.

AG Trading Cards
	A page which depicts and describes the various sets of American Girl trading cards which were produced by Pleasant Company beginning in 1994, including complete checklists. There have been a total of about 690 different cards featuring all eight American Girls. The different trading card packages, albums and boxed sets are also shown and described.

Items That Never Were
	A fun page which includes images of several items that should have been, but never were produced by Pleasant Company. This page answers such questions as "What would Josefina's Scenes & Settings book look like" and "What if they made Kirsten's Art Studio or Felicity's Caddy?"

Gallery of Images
	A page featuring over 100 American Girl images spanning almost 20 years, including more than 90 mail order catalog covers spanning 1988 to 2001. Those girls new to AG Dolls have missed some very beautiful catalog covers and some of the catalog page spreads from the early catalogs are truly breathtaking as well. Most of the images in the Gallery are links to very large versions of the image.

Make Your Wish List
	This page allows users to select from a list of American Girl dolls, outfits, accessory sets and furniture and then create a nicely-formatted printable Wish List or Collection List which gives the names and pictures of the selected items.

For Help Collecting Other AG Product Lines,
I recommend these Sites by Meg and Johanna:

Visit My Other Sites:

These products are appropriate for children 8 and over. The American Girls Collection and The American Girls Collection logo are registered trademarks of Pleasant Company. Copyright 2001-2015 Pleasant Company. All rights reserved.

Email: cdanhauser@yahoo.com