These sets, comprising from one to six dolls, were issued to commemorate special or historic events or individuals, and were aimed at the more dedicated (and affluent!) collector.   The sets were issued in limited numbers, and were only made during their year of introduction.   They were usually only made available to members of the “Peggy Nisbet Doll Collectors Club”.   Even more than was usual with all Nisbet dolls, they were typified by an outstanding attention to costume detail, the use of high quality fabrics, and first-class workmanship.   In the early days the dolls in the Special Collectors Sets were taken from the Historical Series

From Special Collectors Set no.7 - "The Sun King", the dolls began to have their own series of numbers - the LE series.   The first LE doll was LE/50 King Louis XIV, "The Sun King"

Not every doll in the Limited Edition series was numbered - "The Investiture of the Prince of Wales", and the "King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn" are examples

At least one Limited Edition doll, "LE/87 - The Lord Mayor of London - Senior Robes" later appeared in slightly modified form as B313 - The Lord Mayor of London

Signature Editions were distinguished by a small sewn-in tag that was signed by Peggy Nisbet, or her daughter, Alison Nisbet.

Signature Editions were usually commemorative in nature, and issued to mark an event or occasion of note

Within this listing, you will see dolls that never made it past the prototype stage, as was the case with Doris Day and Vera Lynn.  

You will also see a set that was withdrawn before being placed on sale – (This was the Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco Wedding Set).  

Another Limited Edition set, (Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn), was quietly placed on sale for dedicated collectors, without any formal announcements being made as to its launch. 

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the complete Special Collectors Sets, Limited Editions, and Signature Editions Doll Collection has been listed in any readily accessible form.   Life being what it is, we are certain that some Nisbet collectors out there will question the inclusion of certain dolls in this listing, or point out others that they feel should also have been included, but aren’t!  

We have tried to remain true to the core aim of this section, by only including those dolls that were officially described in the Nisbet literature as Special, Limited, or Signature Editions.   

One thing remained unchanged - whatever series the “Specials” “Limited” and “Signature” editions were drawn from, they all retained the traditional Nisbet attributes of very high quality, and fine attention to detail