Maudlynne Macabre
A look at a doll that's time on the market was too short.
Of all of Robert Tonner’s works, Maudlynne Macabre is my absolute favorite. Produced by Tonner Toys in 2012, Maudlynne was ahead of her time. Standing at 15.25 inches tall on a vinyl body, Maudlynne’s aesthetic is best described as gothic chic. Designed to be the introduction of a brand new play line doll range and in line with other Tonner doll releases, Maudlynne’s introduction doll’s backstory hinted to many potential releases to expand on the line. Unfortunately, this sole doll was all that was released in the series, leaving many of us collectors wishing for more.
As described on the official website, “Our favorite 10 year old resides in a Victorian mansion in Upstate New York and favors dark chocolate, black cats, moonlight walks on lonely beaches, all nocturnal creatures and musty attics-particularly those frequented by her best friend (and ghost) Victoria and her side kick Edgar Allen, the talking Raven. Although generally shy, she aspires to have a career as a TV or internet clairvoyant, a role in which her modern Victorian Chic style will prevail. Come, enter Maudlynne’s truly macabre world and prepare for some other-worldly adventures.”
So far as I can tell, Maudlynne’s sculpt was designed by Jason Reilly, partner and creative designer at Tonner Toys. Maudlynne has straight long black hair with bangs. Her purple eyes are round, making her look a bit like she stepped out of a cartoon— but in a good way. Her face is reminiscent of the character dolls back in the 1930’s in that respect. Her dress has a Victorian/gothic vibe to it and is a deep red. The look is finished off thing blue finger-less gloves, blue tights and black shoes. During Collector’s Call, the expert Kate, mentioned something about the shoes splitting, which was news to me.
Char from the Doll Diaries covered the play line Tonner dolls a lot back when she was blogging (2013, 2014, 2015) and shared some photos of what could have been, had the line continued. In 2013, for example, Tonner Doll Company brought a very early prototype of Victoria, Maudlynne’s ghost friend, to the show.
At Toy Fair, Victoria was basically a blonde Mauldynne, which leads me to believe that this was a very early prototype since she didn’t have a unique face sculpt. One post mentioned they were experimenting with trying to make the body, trying to make it translucent to make her a bit more ghost like. Alas, nothing came to be besides these prototypes.
Maudlynne was also shown in a variety of outfits that, alas, were never produced. The Toy Fair photos were taken by Char. I also found an outfit on eBay (green in picture below) that apparently was purchased when Tonner Doll Company was liquidating in 2018. I love these fashions and can see them on so many dolls. Not all of them fit the gothic vibe of the doll, but they’re all very chic. I love the one with the sailor neckline. Her striped jacket is chic, as well!
Maudlynne’s full retail price was $79.99 ($59.99 when I blogged about her at their release), but she was originally sold at an introductory price of $45.00 and eventually was liquidated out at $30.00 by 2016, in conjunction with the closing of the Tonner Doll Company. I kick myself for not realizing she was being sold so cheap when the Tonner Doll Company came to a close. I’d love to have an extra doll to dress up in different fashions and looks, but won’t pay the crazy prices people want online for a play line doll. Fun fact, this doll was featured on my episode of Collector’s Call on TV. you can read more about the show and the experience here on the blog.
I’ve kept mine mint, while taking her as my occasional travel doll, but it would be nice to have one that I could buy cute outfits for and not have to worry so much about keeping her pretty. The pictures in this post were taken a few years back, when Maudlynne was my travel doll to Cass Lake, MN. She had a love/hate relationship with the beach.
So, why did she fail? My personal feeling was that $79.99, the price listed on the last saved version of the Tonner website, was too high for her, which potentially led to her early demise. Only sold online, she was a hybrid between play line and collectors doll. The target audience was muddled. For parents, the doll would have been too expensive a buy and for Tonner collectors, Maudlynne’s play line appearance may have been too cutesy.
I think the biggest thing to hurt the doll brand was that she was just sold online. Tonner Toys Little Miss Matched was on sale at Toys R Us for a while, which was nice, because you could see it. Maudlynne, unfortunately, was not. You had to know she existed to, well, know she existed. Maudlynne’s almost like the Little Miss No Name of the 2010’s, underappreciated when she was out, but sought after once people realized how cool she was.
Another factor might be that Tonner Toys almost, in hindsight, seemed like an experiment— that ultimately never took off. Besides Maudlynne, the company released a few other doll lines, City Girls, Little Miss Matched, Prettie Girls Tween Scene (produced by One World Dolls in collaboration with Tonner). All three lines are ‘one wave' wonders, with no follow up waves released (but some teased).
Barbee0913 and I talk about Tonner’s attempts at breaking into play line dolls in this video, which we put together for the Virtual Doll Convention. This is probably one of my favorite convention videos we did, as it introduced me to so many dolls I didn’t know about, but wish I had!
Considering the popularity of the TV show Wednesday and the attention it brought to dolls with a similar aesthetic, I believe Maudlynne would be a much more successful doll if sold today. With a lower price point and an easier way to purchase her, I have a feeling she’d catch the eye of collectors and kids alike. And who knows? Maybe one day, Maudlynne will make a comeback. Ellowyne did, so who’s to say that everyone’s favorite future TV clairvoyant or her ghost friend won’t, either?
Do you remember Maudlynne Macabre? What are your thoughts about her? Share them in the comments.