Rushton dolls dominated toy isles for decades

In 1957 the Coca-Cola Co. gave their bottlers plush Santa Claus dolls made by the Rushton Toy Company at Christmas time. 
They were dressed in red suits with fluffy white fringes, a black belt around the waist and black boots. The red hat was topped by a white pom pom. The Santas’ faces were vinyl, hand painted with a twinkle in their eye and reddened checks. In their hand was a tiny Coke bottle. 
Through the 1950s and ‘60s these promotional dolls were available in stores for $3 each. Today one in good condition is worth upwards of $125, according to the Coca-Cola Co. 
The Rushton Santa reflects the story of Atlanta’s Rushton Toy Company. Mary Phillips Rushton founded the company during World War I. At the time she worked as a commercial artist. As a result of the war the popular European dolls were no longer being shipped to America. Rushton overheard one of the neighbor children talking about how much she missed them. She stitched together a stockinet doll for the little girl. Soon all of the neighborhood children wanted one and their mothers were willing to pay. 
The then-Mary Waterman Phillips hired a few employees and founded Mawaphil Company, a contraction of her name. She opened a factory and started manufacturing dolls en masse. After she married W.W. Rushton she changed the company to Rushton Toy Company because she got tired of explaining the name “Mawaphil.” 
She quickly rose to become the “Queen of the Toy Makers,” a name bestowed by her competitors out of respect. By the 1950s her factory in Atlanta was turning out 10,000 plush toys a day for distribution in the United States and abroad. The 100,000-square foot factory was one of the largest of its kind. The company also had a factory in Haiti. 
They made stuffed animals representing every creature conceivable from skunks to elephants to bears. The company benefited greatly from deals with the influential television industry as well. Through contracts with National Broadcasting Company and Columbia Broadcasting System Rushton Toy Company created Howdy Doody, Jackie Gleason, Zippy the chimpanzee and Davy Crockett dolls among others. 
One of the distinguishing features of the dolls was the use of vinyl for the faces. Rushton was an incredibly successful business woman but she was an artist first and foremost. The vinyl, hand-painted faces allowed her to capture expressions and looks that had not been seen before. She found inspiration in nature and in children’s faces, she told a newspaper back in 1958. 
My grandparents always had a few Rushton dolls at their homes on Brighton Road and in North Carolina. I remember in particular being terrified of Zippy the chimp with his multi-colored beanie and his permanent mischievous grin on his plastic face. It wasn’t until I was doing research for this piece that I realized he was a Rushton toy. 
The company continued creating plush toys into the 1980s. I found a magazine clipping about Rushton making large shark dolls in conjunction with the “Jaws” movie, for example. 
Mary Rushton lived in the home that is known as the Mary Patterson Goodrum house on the corner of West Paces Ferry and Habersham roads. I believe she was responsible for the peacocks that made the home infamous. 
She will always be known for her dolls and her incredibly lucrative company, which ranked in the top three in terms of plush toys along with Ideal Toy Company and Gund. Her creations were so well made they have a strong following among collectors today.