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Kaya
In July 2004, all of the Stories & Outfits Collection with Caddy were retired, including Kaya's.
In February 2006, all of the historical girl short story books were retired including Kaya's short story. This was the first item to be truly retired from Kaya's Collection.
In 2007, Kaya's Jingle Dress of Today and her Short Story Collection were retired. This marked the first outfit of Kaya's to ever be retired.
Felicity was the first doll added to the American Girl collection in 1991. The initial three, Kirsten,
Samantha, and Molly launched the collection in 1986. In 2002, Felicity and her outfits, accessories and
furniture were removed from the mailed catalogs and relegated to online ordering only. Since that time
several of her accoutrements have become sold out. In this way, Felicity has been effectively discontinued
as a full member of the American Girl collection.
This decision on the part of Pleasant Company has saddened many in the American Girl collecting community,
especially those who collect Felicity or were considering collecting her. So far, all of Felicity's
retired items have shown up for auction on Ebay. The rarest item is probably the rescue kit, but it
shows up once a month or so.
Notes about specific items: Felicity's Fashion Doll (which comes with the invitation to the ball) originally was a different design than is now available. Around 2000, the doll was replaced with a new version which some collectors regard as inferior to the original. Felicity's nighttime necessities set was first
offered in 1991 and the original set did not come with a story book. The book entitled The Little Pretty Pocket Book was added to
the set in 1993. Her riding habit and hat, work gown, dressing table, shoes and garters set and hair
ribbons were first offered in the 1993 Holiday catalog. This was also when the American Girl horse was
introduced. It was added to be Felicity's horse, Penny, but was called the American Girl horse so that
any girl (including modern girls) could call it theirs.
There are three versions of the Noah's Ark toy, the first two of which are now retired. The first version appeared in 1991 and the second version replaced it in 1996. The only difference between the two was that the 1996 ark did not have a light blue stripe along the bottom as the earlier version did.
Felicity's riding breeches and hat, which was
mentioned in her story "Felicity Saves the Day," was introduced in Spring 1998 and became sold out in Summer 2003 after being offered on the American Girl online store at the bargain price of $5 for several months. Felicity's 1997 Special Edition outfit was her Town Fair Outfit which came with a toy
windmill.
The prices of some of Felicity's items have skyrocketed, such as her little Trunk which was originally priced
$12, but sells routinely on Ebay for upwards of $120. Felicity's green wool Riding Habit and Hat was
originally priced $24 and now sells for around $180, with the hat by itself often fetching $55.
The holy grail of Felicity's retired items must be her Clothes Press which is an upright chest standing
25-1/4" tall and 15-1/8" wide and 8" deep. This cherry finished gem which was introduced with Felicity in
1991 for $125 and today it routinely goes for between $350 and $500 dollars.
In June 2003, Felicity's Stationery set became sold out.
In 2005, Felicity's Story Collection book was revised such that the illustrations and text refer to Elizabeth having blonde hair. This means that her original Story Collection is retired.
Most recently in deference to her appearance in the new TV Movie, Felicity's meet outfit was changed to be her lavender traveling gown outfit. Since her new meet outfit is the traveling gown, the traveling gown has been retired as a separate outfit, and her accessories set was modified. Also, the Felicity mini doll was changed to feature the new meet outfit thus retiring the mini doll with the rose garden dress.
Felicity's original tea lesson was replaced with the larger colonial tea set in September 2005. At that same time, her original party treats and Chocolate set were also discontinued.
In 2007, a number of items of Felicity's collection were retired including her Rose Garden Dress, Felicity's Movie Trading Cards, the The Making of the Felicity Movie book, her Short Story Collection and both posters.
Considering the fact that Josefina was introduced in 1998, she has had a lot of items retired. Many of her items (piano, winter wear, table/chairs, loom, birthday stuff, birthday outfit, summer story, toy farm, Santa Fe fun set and riding dress) were introduced in the Holiday 1998 catalog. Several of these items were retired in 2001 after being available for only 3 years. Not surprisingly, the retired toy farm, and Santa Fe Fun sets are not common on Ebay, and Josefina's piano has only been up for auction a few times on Ebay in the last few years. Of all Retired AG Items, the most rare and expensive must be Josefina's piano which sells on Ebay for around $650!
Since Josefina was introduced in 1998, she never had a Special Edition outdoor outfit or a Scenes & Settings book like the first five girls. Interestingly, the artwork for a proposed Josefina Scenes & Settings book was created and can be seen on the Items That Never Were page.
Josefina's Christmas Eve Set was retired in 2003.
In July 2004, Samantha, Molly, Kirsten, Josefina, Addy and Kit's "Stories & Outfits Collections with Caddy" were all retired.
In February 2006, all of the historical girl short story books were retired including all five of Josefina's short stories.
In 2007, a number of items of Josefina's collection were retired including her Herb-Gathering Outfit, Weaving Outfit, Picnic Lunch, Cocina Supplies, Nighttime Necessities, her Short Story Collection and both posters.
Kirsten, along with Sam and Molly are clearly the most popular historical American Girl dolls and so few items have been retired. Kirsten's 1997 Special Edition outdoor outfit was a skating outfit. Around 2002, Kirsten's Dirndl dress and Kerchief was discontinued along with the Winter Pastimes and Fourth of July Fun accessory sets. The snowshoes from the winter set are now available by themselves.
Originally, the mother cat and kitten available as Kirsten's pets were black colored, but in the Holiday 2000 catalog they were replaced with the current gray mother cat and kitten. That same year, the material that Kirsten's school dress was made from changed. Also, Kirsten's lunch tine (tee-na) was redesigned in 2000 with a more elaborate decorative design.
There have been two versions of Kirsten's Saint Lucia Christmas Tray. The original tray had handles that stuck out from the tray, and the new tray, which appeared in Summer 1995 and which is still available, had handles that stuck up along the sides.
In July 2004, Samantha, Molly, Kirsten, Josefina, Addy and Kit's "Stories & Outfits Collections with Caddy" were all retired. January 2006 saw the retirement of Kirsten's Plaid Dress & Shawl. One month later, in February 2006, all of the historical girl short story books were retired including all five of Kirsten's short stories. In December of 2006 Kirsten's Midsummer's outfit and her School Bench were retired.
With the exception of the black cats which are hard to find, the rest of Kirsten's retired items are readily available on Ebay and their going prices are fairly reasonable.
In 2007, a number of items of Kirsten's collection were retired including her Recess Set, Saint Lucia Tray II, Fishing Set, Pottery Set, Party Treats, Kirsten's Story Collection book, Short Story Collection and both posters.
Like Sam, Molly, Kirsten and Felicity, Addy had a Special Edition outdoor outfit in 1997.
Addy's special edition was a stilting outfit that came with a fun pair of stilts. Her red
Patriotic Outfit, which was introduced in the Holioday 1995 catalog, was discontinued in 2001.
With the exception of the Stilting Outfit, Sweet Potato Pudding Set and Bandbox which are quite
rare, Addy's retired items turn up fairly regularly on Ebay.
In July 2004, Samantha, Molly, Kirsten, Josefina, Addy and Kit's "Stories & Outfits Collections with Caddy" were all retired. Addy's Kite Flying Outfit, which came out in February 2004, was redesigned in January 2006 to become the Flower Picking Outfit. At that same time, Addy's Cape Island Dress was also retired.
With the exception of the Stilting Outfit, Sweet Potato Pudding Set and Bandbox which are quite rare, Addy's retired items turn up fairly regularly on Ebay.
In February 2006, all of the historical girl short story books were retired including all five of Addy's short stories. That same month, Addy's cutter sled was retired. Late December 2006 saw the retirement of Addy's Gardening set.
In 2007, many items of Addy's collection were retired including her School Suit, Striped Dress, Work Dress, Undies, Needlework Kit, Ironstone Compote Set, Tin Pail Lunch, School Desk, Story Collection book, Short Story Collection and both posters.
The first outfit of Samantha's that was retired was the Piney Point bathing outfit which was a Special Edition outdoor outfit introduced in 1997.
When originally introduced, Samantha's Summer Amusements set included a wooden
paint set with six tubes of paint (in two rows of three tubes each).
In 1994, the paint set was changed to one with a single row of five paint tubes. The Summer Amusements set was ultimately discontinued in 2001.
Samantha's Winter Amusements set, which included a pair of ice skates, was
retired in 2001 also, but the skates are still available by themselves.
Also, a revamped version of Samantha's Doll made its appearance in the Holiday 1993 catalog.
In July 2004, Samantha's Stories & Outfit Collection with Caddy was retired, and November saw the retirement of Samantha's Winter Party Dress that was featured in the "Samantha's Winter Party" Short Story.
January 2006 saw the retirement of Sam's Travel Outfit. One month later, in February 2006, all of the historical girl short story books were retired including all five of Samantha's short stories. Christmas 2006 was the last holiday season to feature Samantha's cute little gingerbread house as that item was retired December 2006.
In 2007, many items of Samantha's collection were retired including her Bird-Watching Outfit, Lawn Party Outfit, Tea Outfit, Play Dress, Valise, Christmas Sleigh, Nature Paraphernalia, Samantha's Ocean Liner Adventure, Samantha's Mystery Party Game, Samantha's Christmas Crafts, Samantha's Wedding Memories: A Scrapbook of Gard & Cornelia's Wedding, Samantha - An American Girl Holiday: The Complete Script Book, Short Story Collection and her Meet Poster.
In July 2004, all of the Stories & Outfits Collection with Caddy were retired, including Kit's.
In February 2006, all of the historical girl short story books were retired including both of Kit's short stories. Then, at the end of April 2006, Kit's delightful Waffle Iron set became sold out. The Waffle Iron set was the first item to be truly retired from Kit's Collection, since Kit's Short Stories were re-released as a single volume in August 2006.
In 2007, several of Kit's items were retired including Cincinnati Reds Fan Outfit, Tree House Outfit, Hobo Camp Supplies, Kit's Railway Adventure book, Kit's Friendship Fun, Kit's Mystery Party Game, Stationery Set, Short Story Collection and her posters. This marked the first retirements of any of Kit's outfits. December 2007 saw the retirement of Kit's cute swimming outfit.
Prior to the Holiday 1994 catalog, Molly's Evergreen Velvet Dress had no buttons on the front and
had a wider band of lace at the sleeves and neck, but starting with that catalog, her velvet dress
featured 6 buttons down the front and narrower lace trim.
Molly's 1997 Special Edition outdoor outfit was a cute tennis outfit complete with tennis racquet.
A very adorable Halloween hula costume which was introduced prior to 1991 was retired in 2001. To tie-in with Molly's new Halloween Craft Book, the Hula Costume was reintroduced in July 2004. The grass skirt in the new Hula costume is shiny plastic, whereas the original costume's skirt was made from paper.
From the time it was introduced through 1997, Molly's Winter Activities set was comprised of a Miss
Victory costume, paper dolls and a kaleidoscope. In 1998 the set was redesigned. Gone was the costume
and in its place an alarm clock, ear drops, a box of kleenex and a war poster were added.
This new set was later retired completely in 1999. In the Spring of 1999, the Miss Victory costume
became available by itself as it still is today.
Originally, Molly's school lunch featured a brown paper bag, but in Winter 2000 it was replaced with
a nifty metal lunchbox. Molly is the only American Girl doll to have had her table and chair set
replaced with a new design. Her first set was a wooden drop-leaf table and matching chairs.
In Spring 1999, the wooden chairs were made available separately. The wooden set was retired and
replaced by the current chrome set in Spring 2000.
Revamped versions of Molly's Christmas Stocking and Christmas Box made their appearance in the
Holiday 1994 catalog. Originally the ballerina doll that came with the Stocking was an articulated wooden
doll which was replaced with the current white plastic one. Molly's Christmas Box set originally
featured a real glass spherical snow globe with a wooden base. In 1994 the globe was replaced with a plastic
dome style globe with a red plastic base. Also, the nurse doll included in the Christmas Box set was redesigned
in 1994. Finally, another item that went through a change was the Disney flipbook in
Molly's Christmas stocking set. The book featured Donald Duck in 1993, Mickey Mouse in 1994 and from
1995 to present it featured a scene from the movie "Fantasia" which was originally released in 1940.
Molly's Radio was retired after becoming sold out in February 2005, and in August, Molly's Victory Garden Dress was retired.
January 2006 saw the retirement of Molly's Route 66 Outfit and her bicycle and in February 2006, all of the historical girl short story books were retired including all five of Molly's short stories. Molly's Miss Victory costume was retired in April 2006. June 2006 saw the discontinuation of Molly's original Bed, Aviator outfit and Party Treats. Her bed was retired in favor of a slightly redesigned version as was her Nighttime Necessities set.
Finally, December 2006 brought the retirement of Molly's After-school Outfit and her Dude Ranch Outfit.
In 2007, a number of items of Molly's collection were retired including her Umbrella and Galoshes, Route 66 Accessories, Plaid Suitcase, Christmas Stocking III, Embroidered Cowboy Boots, Classic Brown Oxfords and large Trunk, Molly's Route 66 Adventure, Have A Molly Halloween, Molly's Mystery Party Game, Molly's Movie Trading Cards, Lights! Camera! Molly: A Behind-the-Scenes Movie Guide, Story Collection book, Short Story Collection and both posters.
 Email: cdanhauser@yahoo.com |
