Historical Mini Dolls As an Accessory (1995-2000)

The first mini dolls were released in 1995 and originally were advertised as dolls for the American Girl Dolls of Today. The five available at the launch were Felicity Merriman, Kirsten Larson, Addy Walker, Samantha Parkington and Molly McIntire. Each came with a mini-pamphlet and abridged, hardback copy of the character's meet book that were not sold elsewhere.[1] Each 6" doll had fixed glass eyes, wigged hair, and came in her meet outfit at a cost of $20. A set of all five was available for $90. Mini dolls, like their larger counterparts, had soft cloth bodies, neck strings and jointed vinyl limbs. Clothing was fully removable. The Molly mini doll came with small silver plastic glasses, but no other accessories were available for mini dolls, such as miniature meet accessories. A mini Josefina was available after her release.

As a Separate Line (2000-2014)

With Mattel's purchase, the dolls were modified both in marketing and features. Dolls were advertised as smaller versions of the full sized dolls as well as remaining as dolls for dolls. The most striking difference between Pre-Mattel and the original Mattel mini dolls are that Mattel dolls had painted on eyes and rooted hair. The mini dolls were not easily rewiggable. Clothing was modified to fit on a smaller, less bulky scale; for example, Kit's sweater and cardigan came as one piece. Mini dolls for Kit Kittredge, Kaya'aton'my, Julie Albright, Rebecca Rubin, Cécile Rey, Marie-Grace Gardner, and Caroline Abbott were each released at the same time as the main doll was launched. When Felicity Merriman's meet outfit was changed in 2005, the outfit on the mini doll was changed to match. Dolls were also released for the Best Friend Characters: Ruthie, Emily, Nellie, Elizabeth, and Ivy.

Around 2005, the buttons on some clothes was replaced with embroidery. Book covers changed to match the full sized versions and remained hardback even when larger hardback books were phased out. The price on mini dolls eventually rose to $24. Originally, it was possible to purchase all the mini dolls at a discount as each new doll became available, with the group price rising to include the new doll. After Julie was launched, only the Historical Characters were sold as a group at a cost of $183. This was discontinued with the release of Rebecca's mini doll and dolls are now only available to be purchased individually.

BeForever and Historical Mini Dolls (2014-present)

With the launch of BeForever, Mini Dolls were changed to all vinyl with flange joints and all older Mini Dolls were retired. If a character was not part of the BeForever line, the mini doll was not initially rereleased in a new form. Cécile and Marie-Grace's mini dolls were retired entirely. New outfits were released for dolls that changed meet outfits and will fit on older dolls. Costs rose to $25. Dolls are bundled with an abridged copy of the first volume in their Classic Series. Josefina's Mini doll was not initially available. As characters are released, so are their mini dolls, including rereleased characters; however, no mini dolls have been made yet of any characters released after or including Courtney Moore. Felicity, Kirsten, and Molly's mini dolls were rereleased with the BeForever modifications in the Classic Meet Outfits and an abridged copy of their one-story meet books for a limited time in 2016. Felicity and Molly were later rereleased in their newer outfits and remain available. Kirsten remains available in her classic meet outfit.

As Part of Courtney's Collection

In 2020 with the release of Courtney Moore, her collection included at launch a mini doll of Molly in Courtney's Pleasant Company Doll, as in her stories Courtney receives the doll for Christmas 1986. The doll is dressed in Molly's classic outfit, unlike the available Mini Molly Doll; however, it still has the newer traits of modern mini dolls (and the BeForever Style mini Molly) such as an all-vinyl body and painted eyes.

25th Anniversary Limited Edition Historical Mini Dolls

For the 25th anniversary in 2011, American Girl released a collectible Mini Doll line. One doll was released each month, along with the Mini Doll Display Shelf. Retail cost of the shelf is $48. It was advertised as having a place to put the nameplate stickers that came with each of the holiday dolls. Each doll was dressed in their holiday outfit[5] and came with an abridged copy of their Holiday books.[6] Retail cost of each doll was $22. The dolls were retired at the end of 2011, but the shelf remained available until it was retired in 2014.

• January: Samantha Parkington in the Cranberry Party Dress with Samantha's Surprise

• February: Felicity Merriman in the Christmas Gown and Stomacher with Felicity's Surprise

• March: Kirsten Larson in the Winter Skirt and Blouse with Kirsten's Surprise

• April: Addy Walker in the Tartan Plaid Dress with Addy's Surprise

• May: Molly McIntire in the Evergreen Velvet Dress with Molly's Surprise

• June: Josefina Montoya in the Christmas Dress and Mantilla with Josefina's Surprise

• July: Kaya'aton'my in the Adorned Deerskin Dress with Kaya's Hero

• August: Kit Kittredge in the Christmas Outfit with Kit's Surprise

• September: Julie Albright in Julie's Christmas Outfit with Happy New Year, Julie! and Rebecca Rubin in Rebecca's Hanukkah Dress with Candlelight for Rebecca

• October: Cécile Rey in Cécile's Special Dress with Meet Cécile and Marie-Grace Gardner in Marie-Grace's Party Outfit with Meet Marie-Grace

30th Anniversary Limited Edition Historical Mini Dolls

In 2016 for the 30th anniversary, American Girl again released several Special Edition Mini Dolls of the BeForever characters. The mini dolls are dressed in alternate outfits that had not been released on mini dolls before.[7] Caroline and Melody are the exceptions as Caroline was archived and Melody had not yet formally debuted at the time of the release. The 2016 Special Edition mini dolls came with abridged copies of their My Journey Books and a unique stand that poses the doll in a walking style (similar to the poses on the first edition meet books). Each cost $28.

The Special Edition mini dolls are dressed in the following outfits:

• Kaya'aton'my in the Adorned Deerskin Dress with The Roar of the Falls: My Journey with Kaya

• Josefina Montoya in the Feast Day Finery with Song of the Mockingbird: My Journey with Josefina

• Addy Walker in Addy's Sunday Best with A New Beginning: My Journey with Addy

• Samantha Parkington in Samantha's Special Day Dress with The Lilac Tunnel: My Journey with Samantha

• Rebecca Rubin in Rebecca's Holiday Outfit with The Glow of the Spotlight: My Journey with Rebecca

• Kit Kittredge in Kit's Reporter Dress with Full Speed Ahead: My Journey with Kit

• Maryellen Larkin in Maryellen's Birthday Dress with The Sky's the Limit: My Journey with Maryellen

• Julie Albright in Julie's Mix-Print Maxi Dress with A Brighter Tomorrow: My Journey with Julie”. (American Girl Wiki, 2024)

Click each photo below to explore each item in this display.