I'm Honestly Not Entirely Certain As There Were Definitely Dolls Available In 1918 That Would Seem To

I'm honestly not entirely certain as there were definitely dolls available in 1918 that would seem to fit Ruth's criteria.

(source: Sears catalog, Fall/Winter 1918)

My best guess is that she was either referring to quality, and/or she wanted a doll with a bisque porcelain head and limbs - as that would have been the predominant style when her mother was a child.

By the late teens most doll heads/limbs were made of composition - a material consisting mainly of sawdust and glue. Composition dolls were marketed as "almost unbreakable" (as you can see above) which, considering how many late 19th/early 20th century letters to Santa involve stories of broken porcelain dolls, was definitely a needed innovation.

The most prized dolls at the time were made in Germany and France - which obviously meant that WWI severely interrupted the supply chain.

The fact that so many little girls coveted German-made dolls took a rather hilarious turn once the US and Germany were at war. I've found many, many dear Santa letters from children vehemently declaring that they would rather not have a doll at all than one made in Germany. Some went as far as to purposely break their German dolls in tiny fits of patriotism - such as Nancy from last year who had to request a new doll from Santa after she took her German-made doll and "chop it head off".

(source: Grand magasins du Louvre catalog, Christmas 1918.)

If you compare the Sears catalog dolls to dolls from a French catalog from the same period, you can definitely see the difference in quality - as well as the fact they more closely resemble dolls from when Ruth's mother was growing up.