Lee Middleton had believed that her artistic talent was a gift from God, and Reva Schick holds the same belief, continuing the charming custom of including a tiny Bible in each doll box. However, out of the heartbreak came an unexpected twist with the discovery of talented Canadian doll artist, Reva Schick, who would not only carry on the Lee Middleton tradition of creating exquisite dolls, but would take the company to new heights. Naturally, her employees were devastated. Then, in 1997, tragedy struck – Lee died from a heart attack. Her dolls went from strength to strength. Lee Middleton changed the way collectors felt about vinyl dolls before, most designers had insisted on working with porcelain, but Lee’s dolls helped show that vinyl could be just as collectable. In fact the Mayor of Belpre declared the city to be “The Baby Doll Capital of the World.” Larger premises were needed, eventually leading to the opening of a manufacturing facility in Belpre, Ohio, in 1989, and soon the company were producing more baby dolls a year than any other manufacturer in America. She received her first nomination for a DOTY (Doll of the Year) Award in 1985. Lee’s talent was obvious, and before long she had formed a company, finding herself in charge of a cottage industry. Very soon, relatives and friends asked Lee to sculpt dolls of their children, too. She sculpted those first dolls on her kitchen table. It all began in 1978 when the founder, Lee Middleton, from Ohio, wanted dolls resembling her own children, and she decided to make them herself.
I began collecting them comparatively recently, with my first acquisition dating only to 2001, but in fact the company has been active for twenty-five years. Many collectors have a soft spot for Lee Middleton Dolls from the Lee Middleton Company beautiful babies without the ugly wrinkles and creases which many manufactures feel obliged to mar their creations.
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