Tonner Doll Company, Inc. was founded in 1991 by Robert Tonner under the original name Robert Tonner Doll Designs. Originally the company had only three employees: Tonner, his partner Harris Safier, and a part-time seamstress. In February 1991, RTDD made its public debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York City. Multi-jointed porcelain fashion dolls and jointed porcelain child dolls were displayed at the fair in limited editions ranging in price from $650 to $1500. Through the marketing of Safier, newly hired publicist Rebecca Plasker, along with Robert Tonner's quality of designs, RTDD saw exponential growth in its first year. By the end of 1992 RTDD was well on its way to becoming a prosperous enterprise. However, the massive demand would be overwhelming for the very small RTDD and only a fraction of the original orders would be filled. In 1995, Tonner Doll gained licensing rights for the recreation of the 1950s paper doll Betsy McCall, for reintroduction to the collectors market. To keep the cost down, Tonner decided to produce the doll in China. Made from vinyl, the Betsy McCall license was one of the initial mainstream commercial successes of the company. Over the coming years, RTDD began to grow the size of its staff to accommodate the rising demand. This growth would lead the company to be renamed the Tonner Doll Company; a move that Tonner felt reflected the growth of an independent artist driven company to what was becoming a professional business. By the year 2000, Tonner Doll employed 24 people including designers, marketers, and various sales and administrative staff. On New Year’s Eve, 2018, the Tonner Doll website, doll hospital, phone number, and e-mails were all shuttered. Yes, Tonner Doll has closed up shop and has receded into a remembrance of the doll world’s glorious, ever-expanding days. According to Robert, it was not an easy decision to make. He wrote to me and other collectors and friends about this difficult business move: “I was lucky enough to start Tonner Doll at a point when it seemed that everyone was collecting, making, buying, or selling dolls. At the same time, the Far East was willing and eager to produce whatever we wanted at a price that couldn’t be beat. High demand and inexpensive, quality production led to the golden age of the collectible dolls and the great success for Tonner Doll.”
In 2002 Tonner Doll purchased the Effanbee Doll Company, Inc. to obtain the rights to several classic characters from the company's century-old history. They gained exclusive rights to Bernard Lipfert's 1928 Patsy doll, Patsyette. Effanbee also had the rights to reproduce fashion dolls licensed by Tribune Media like the Brenda Starr, Girl Reporter series, and the comic strip, Little Orphan Annie. For the first few years after the buyout the Effanbee remained an independent subsidiary of Tonner Doll, however today the two have become a conglomerate run under a singular management. The Effanbee doll lines, while are designed, produced, marketed, and distributed by Tonner Doll, retain the Effanbee name.
