Black Dolls on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
A Black doll is a
Several 19th-century European doll companies preceded American doll companies in manufacturing Black dolls. These predecessors include Carl Bergner of Germany, who made a three-faced doll with one face a crying Black child and the other two, happier white faces. In 1892,
American entrepreneur Richard Henry Boyd founded the National Negro Doll Company in 1911 "after he tried to purchase dolls for his children but could find none that were not gross caricatures of African Americans."
American companies began including Black dolls in their doll lines in the early 1900s. Between 1910 and 1930, Horsman, Vogue, and Madame Alexander included Black dolls in their doll lines. Gradually, other American companies followed suit.
In 1947, the first African American woman cartoonist
National Black Doll Museum of History and Culture
in Mansfield, Massachusetts. While open to the public, it featured over 6,000 Black dolls and its mission is to continue to nurture the self-esteem of children and preserve the legacy of Black dolls. In January 2021, Black-doll collector, historian, and author on the subject of black dolls, Debbie Behan Garrett founde
DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
"the first and only virtual Black doll museum where antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind Black dolls are celebrated 24/7."
''Racial Innocence: Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights,''
by Robin Bernstein, 2011 * See also Robin Bernstein
''Children's Books, Dolls, and the Performance of Race; or, The Possibility of Children's Literature,''
''PMLA'' 126.1 (2011): 160-169.
Baby doll, Acme Toy Company, ca. 1925, in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collections Database
{{Authority control Dolls African-American culture Stereotypes of African Americans
doll
A doll is a physical model, model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and ...
of a black person
Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...
. Black doll manufacture dates back to the 19th century, with representations being both realistic and stereotypical. More accurate, mass-produced depictions are manufactured today as toys and adult collectibles.
European manufacture
Several 19th-century European doll companies preceded American doll companies in manufacturing Black dolls. These predecessors include Carl Bergner of Germany, who made a three-faced doll with one face a crying Black child and the other two, happier white faces. In 1892, Jumeau
Jumeau was a French company, founded in the early 1840s, which designed and manufactured high quality bisque dolls.
It was founded by Louis-Desire Belton and Pierre-François Jumeau in the Maison Jumeau of Montreuil-sous-Bois, near Paris, France. ...
of Paris advertised Black and mixed-race dolls with bisque heads. Gebruder Heubach of Germany made character faces in bisque. Other European doll makers include Bru Jne. & Cie and Société Française de Fabrication de Bébés et Jouets
The Société Française de Fabrication de Bébés et Jouets ("French Concern for Manufacturing Dolls and Toys" often referred to by its initials. S.F.B.J.) was a large doll making consortium founded in France by the union of a number of major Fren ...
(S.F.B.J.) of France, and Kestner and Steiner of Germany.
American manufacture
American entrepreneur Richard Henry Boyd founded the National Negro Doll Company in 1911 "after he tried to purchase dolls for his children but could find none that were not gross caricatures of African Americans."
American companies began including Black dolls in their doll lines in the early 1900s. Between 1910 and 1930, Horsman, Vogue, and Madame Alexander included Black dolls in their doll lines. Gradually, other American companies followed suit.
In 1947, the first African American woman cartoonist Jackie Ormes
Jackie Ormes (August 1, 1911 – December 26, 1985) was an American cartoonist. She is known as the first African-American woman cartoonist and creator of the ''Torchy Brown'' comic strip and the ''Patty-Jo 'n' Ginger'' panel.
Early life and ...
created the Patty-Jo doll, which was based on ''Patty-Jo 'n Ginger'', the cartoon panel she penned for newspapers at the time. The doll was a realistic Black doll, breaking the mammy doll stereotype.
Beatrice Wright Brewington, an African American entrepreneur, founded B. Wright's Toy Company, Inc. and mass-produced Black dolls with ethnically-correct features. Also an educator, Wright began instructing girls in the art of making dolls in 1955.
During the 1960s and in the aftermath of the Watts Riots in Los Angeles, California, Shindana Toys
Shindana Toys, a division of Operation Bootstrap, Inc., was a South Central Los Angeles, California cooperative toy company in business from 1968 to 1983. It was launched as a black empowerment and community rejuvenation effort following the Wa ...
, a Division of Operation Bootstrap, Inc., is credited as the first major doll company to mass-produce ethnically correct Black dolls in the United States.
Other popular collectible Black dolls include manufactured play dolls past and current, manufactured dolls designed for collectors by companies such as Madame Alexander and Tonner Doll, artist dolls, one-of-a-kind dolls, portrait dolls and those representing historical figures, reborn doll
A reborn doll is a hand made art doll created from a blank kit or a manufactured doll that has been transformed by an artist to resemble a human infant with as much realism as possible. The process of creating a reborn doll is referred to as rebor ...
s, and paper dolls
''Paper Dolls'' is an American primetime television soap opera that aired for 14 episodes on ABC from September 23 to December 25, 1984. Set in New York's fashion industry, the show centered on top modeling agency owner Racine (Morgan Fairchild) ...
. In addition, American Girl
American Girl is an American line of dolls released on May 5, 1986, by Pleasant Company. The dolls portray eight- to fourteen-year-old boys and girls of a variety of ethnicities, faiths, and social classes from different time periods throughou ...
has also released Black dolls portraying girls of color from various points in American history such as Addy Walker and civil rights-era Melody Ellison, as well as those from the present day.
Mattel Toys
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
created the first Black dolls in the popular Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration.
...
line, Francie and Christie, in 1967 and 1969 respectively. This caused controversy at the time they were released.
Black Doll Museums
ThePhiladelphia Doll Museum
The Philadelphia Doll Museum is located in Philadelphia at 2253 North Broad Street along the Avenue of the Arts. It is the only known museum in the United States that emphasizes the collection and preservation of black dolls as artifacts of histo ...
was founded in 1988 by Barbara Whiteman. While the museum was open, roughly 1,000 Black dolls were on view. The Philadelphia Doll Museum is now closed.
To honor the history of Black dolls, in 2012, three sisters named Debra Britt, Felicia Walker, and Tamara Mattison opened thNational Black Doll Museum of History and Culture
in Mansfield, Massachusetts. While open to the public, it featured over 6,000 Black dolls and its mission is to continue to nurture the self-esteem of children and preserve the legacy of Black dolls. In January 2021, Black-doll collector, historian, and author on the subject of black dolls, Debbie Behan Garrett founde
DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
"the first and only virtual Black doll museum where antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind Black dolls are celebrated 24/7."
See also
*African American culture
African-American culture refers to the contributions of African Americans to the culture of the United States, either as part of or distinct from mainstream American culture. The culture is both distinct and enormously influential on Ameri ...
* Golliwog
The golliwog, also spelled golliwogg or shortened to golly, is a doll-like character – created by cartoonist and author Florence Kate Upton – that appeared in children's books in the late 19th century, usually depicted as a type of rag ...
* Topsy-Turvy doll A Topsy-Turvy doll is a double-ended doll, typically featuring two opposing characters. They are traditionally American cloth folk dolls which fuse a white girl child with a black girl child at the hips. Later dolls were sometimes a white girl child ...
* Philadelphia Doll Museum
The Philadelphia Doll Museum is located in Philadelphia at 2253 North Broad Street along the Avenue of the Arts. It is the only known museum in the United States that emphasizes the collection and preservation of black dolls as artifacts of histo ...
Black Doll Reference Books
*''Collector's Encyclopedia of Black Dolls'' by Patiki Gibbs, Collector Books, 1986 *''Black Dolls an Identification and Value Guide 1820-1991'' by Myla Perkins, Collector Books, 1991 *''Black Dolls an Identification and Value Guide Book II'' by Myla Perkins, Collector Books, 1995 *''The Definitive Guide to Collecting Black Dolls'' by Debbie Behan Garrett, Hobby House Press, 2003 *''Black Dolls Proud, Bold & Beautiful'' by Nayda Rondon, Reverie Press, 2004 *''Collectible African American Dolls Identification and Values'' by Yvonne Ellis, Collector Books, 2008 *''Black Dolls: A Comprehensive Guide to Celebrating Collecting and Experiencing the Passion'' by Debbie Behan Garrett, 2008 * "The Scripts of Black Dolls" i''Racial Innocence: Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights,''
by Robin Bernstein, 2011 * See also Robin Bernstein
''Children's Books, Dolls, and the Performance of Race; or, The Possibility of Children's Literature,''
''PMLA'' 126.1 (2011): 160-169.
References
External links
Baby doll, Acme Toy Company, ca. 1925, in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collections Database
{{Authority control Dolls African-American culture Stereotypes of African Americans