Pretty Girl Bunny Is Over 40 Years Old
A friend of mine in Oklahoma found a Mary Meyer Pretty Girl Bunny we made in 1971. She send me a photo of this 10″ high White plush bunny we made over 40 years ago. This was one of my favorite bunny rabbit designs. Mary Meyer probably manufactured about 5,000 of these bunnies. It was a White plush bunny with Pink plush ears, a Pink check gingham skirt, and a Pink felt hat with Pink flowers cemented onto the hat. The final decoration was a Pink satin neck ribbon. The Pink and White colors matched beautifully.
Pretty Bunny
The facial decorations – felt eyes, nose and tongue – were cemented on. This cute Pink and White Bunny was a very popular bunny design. It sold for many years during the Easter season at toy and department stores, hospital gift shops and card shops.
This cute Girl Bunny retailed for $3.98 each and today is hiding in many attics, closets and basements through out the USA. During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s Easter was a very popular season for giving stuffed bunny rabbits to youngsters. Mary Meyer and other American stuffed toy manufacturers created an assortment of different Easter design including chicks, ducks, plus many sizes, shapes and decoraated bunnies. Mary Meyer’s 1971 Easter wholesale catalog showed 44 different Easter designs.
The Pretty Girl Bunny shown above also had a companion “Pretty Boy Bunny”. It was quite similar to the girl, except he had a Blue felt vest in place of the Pink check skirt, and a blue hat with Blue satin neck ribbon. The Girl and Boy Bunnies were made to compliment each other and were quite attractive as a pair. They were quite popular as an Easter decoration in many homes. Mary Meyer also made other Dress Girl and Boy couples in larger sizes.
Mary Meyer was established in New York City in 1933 and moved to Vermont in the mid 1940s. Today it is still owed and operated by the third generation of the Meyer family in Townshend, Vermont.
If you have a Mary Meyer stuffed toy and are interested in knowing it’s history, you can visit marymeyervintage.com and contact us with your questions. We are always happy to help owners of our toys find out about their toy’s history.
by Walter Meyer
Townshend, VT 05353
walter_meyer@marymeyer.com
Photo by Linda Laughlin
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