It took nearly 10 years to settle on the 17 dolls that would grace the “Classic American Dolls” 15-stamp panel released in 1997. That was the dilemma that long-time stamp designer Derry Noyes and photographer Sally Andersen-Bruce faced in the late 1980s when the U.S. Postal Service decided to print a set of stamps featuring American dolls. The dolls pictured on the 32-cent stamps were gathered from collectors and museums around the country. They included a Native American hide doll, rag dolls, composition and modern plastics dolls – but no Barbie. (Although Barbie was designed by an American, she was manufactured in China, and that disqualified her as a truly American doll.)