Three more of Lada Draskovic's Sweetniks dolls

Since 2011, I've felt an obligation for Papergreat to serve as a repository for all that we know about Lada Draskovic and her Sweetniks dolls. It's not much, but I hope that gathering it all here will prove useful to some future researcher or internet sleuth who can take the story across the finish line.

These are the Papergreat posts, from oldest to newest:

• Doll fads of 1960
• From the Notepad: Cool links, Lada Draskovic, Twitter and more
• Reader comments: Lincoln life mask, Sweetniks and more
• The Incomplete Lada Draskovic
• An addendum to "The Incomplete Lada Draskovic"
• Extremely rare Sweetnik doll by Lada Draskovic hits eBay
• Another Sweetniks doll by Lada Draskovic surfaces

And now there are three more Sweetniks dolls on eBay that I was previously unaware of. It's really amazing how no two of these dolls by Draskovic seem to be alike. And that so many of them have survived for more than a half-century. The eBay lots and their photos won't be around forever, so I want to post the images here for posterity.

1. This one is listed on eBay as "Vintage 1960’s Sweetnik Doll By Lada Draskovic blonde gold necklace"

2. This one is listed (and misspelled) on eBay as "VTG 1960's "Sweentnik" Beatnik Doll Saks Fifth Avenue Lada Draskovic Rome Italy"

3. And this one is listed on eBay (for more than $3,200!) as "Vintage Original Sweetnik Doll Handmade in Rome Italy In The 1960's by Lada Dras." The description states that it's 13.25 inches tall and adds: "The jewelry is really very cool. There are 3 different long dangle necklaces/chains that adorn her dress. Each one has a slightly different tone and texture. On her left arm there are 4 gold tone bangle bracelets. Her head is ceramic with glued yarn hair and hand painted face. Her face is just stunning in perfect condition. Beautiful long yarn hair is a pale pink color with really cute bangs. Her body is made of a stick, arms are made of pipe cleaners. Her dress is cardboard with navy blue ribbed cloth covering. Adorable navy turtle neck with long sleeves. She sports a pair of light blue cigarette pants that are made of corduroy. Her toenails are painted red on her wooden feet that are very cool sandals. The base of her feet is black velvet with a distinctive heel. This doll is just perfect. She is probably one of a kind."

October Postcrossing wrapup

Halloween went wonderfully here in Florence. We had about 120 trick-or-treaters, all in good spirits (pun intended). October was also a good mailbox month. I received several autumn-themed or Halloween-themed postcards through Postcrossing. And the U.S. Postal Service did a perfect job of handling my mail-in ballot for the presidential election.

Kasia from Hungary wrote on her postcard to me: "After a very hot summer, autumn has finally come and I couldn't be happier about this change. Soon we will be able to see views like the one on the postcard during weekend hikes in nearby forest." (I'm so jealous!!)

And a young woman from Ukraine wrote this message on her postcard: "Hello Chris! I'm 19 y.o. Ivanka from Kyiv, Ukraine. For me, Arizona is associated with 5C: cotton, climate, citrus, copper, cattle. This is also the state with sent McCain to the Congress. McCain Str is the one I love walking here in Kyiv.¹ As Russian scumbags destroyed most of Ukraine's energy generation, we spend long hours without electricity. Hence, this postcard is dedicated to energy workers who against all odds manage to keep the grid afloat. With best wishes, Ivanka."

Meanwhile, here are some of the emails I received in October from Postcrossers who received cards from me:

Kristina in the United Kingdom wrote: "Thank you so much for a spooky Halloween card! It reminded me that now's the time to compose a Halloween watchlist -- I'm not a horror person, but I do enjoy my fair share of Halloween-themed fantasy movies and TV shows. Happy Halloween to you and the cats!"

Satu in Finland wrote: "Thanks a lot for your nice Halloween card and stamps. We have quite nice weather now, but weather forecast has promised we will get snow soon. I hate winter. We have 4 Cairn Terriers and they love snow. Take care!"

Huang Yanju in China wrote: “I'm glad to receive your postcard. I really like these beautiful stamps. The building in the picture is very beautiful. It's also autumn here, which is my favorite season, but the climate is still hot now. There is no Halloween event here, but I really like to eat pumpkin. Good day.”

Footnote

1. Kyiv City Council voted in 2019 to rename Ivan Kudrya Street as John McCain Street. "John McCain, a U.S. senator who was a member of the Republican Party, was a strong supporter of the EuroMaidan protests in 2013-2014. He also visited the front lines in Ukraine near Mariupol after Russia launched its war on Ukraine in the Donbas in 2014," the Kyiv Post reported at the time.