Maya Angelou Barbie

The Maya Angelou Barbie from Mattel's Inspiring Women Series is presented in a see-through box with a backdrop of a living area that includes a bookshelf filled with books.

My doll arrived from Target dot com on Tuesday, January 12, 2021. I opened the shipper to photograph the doll. 

As illustrated in this headshot and the next, the doll has painted facial features that include a gap between the two front teeth.

Designed by Carlyle Nuera, captured Maya Angelou's essence as the 41-year-old author of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings using a dedicated, sculpted-to-likeness facial sculpt.

The doll appropriately holds a miniature mock copy of the author's debut memoir.

Daintydolldivas on Instagram shared a picture of the doll without the headwrap that illustrates a short Afro.

Box Images

An image of Maya Angelou, circa 1970s, appears on the left lower corner of the front of the box along with the author, activist, and teacher's signature.

"Maya Angelou" is written on both side panels of the box.

The same circa 1970s image of Maya Angelou is at the top center of the back of the box. Her signature in white script is below the Image.

Back of box text:

Maya Angelou

Author, activist and teacher

1928 - 2014

'If you're always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.' 

Maya Angelou

...With a multi-hyphenate career as a writer, author, activist, and teacher, Dr. Maya Angelou used her unique writing style to connect with people through books, poems, songs, and film. After joining the Harlem Writers Guild in the 1950s, Dr. Angelou took on the challenges of writing her prolific autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, published in 1970 [sic]. Nominated for a National Book Award, the memoir was a gripping account of Dr. Angelou's early life in the segregated South and how she rose above racism, childhood trauma and adversity to find her voice as a woman and writer. In 1960, Dr. Angelou headed the New York office of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, one of the principal fundraising organizations used by Dr. Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. Angelou went on to further cement her place in history, becoming the first African American and female inaugural poet to speak at a U.S. Presidential inauguration in 1993. In addition to over fifty honorary doctorates, numerous awards and accolades, Dr. Angelou also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010, the highest honor for a U.S. civilian. Throughout her extraordinary life, Dr. Angelou endeared herself to readers around the world, and her indomitable spirit continues to serve as an inspiration...

Mattel's description indicates the copyright year of 1970 for Maya Angelou's first book. Random House lists the copyright year as 1969.

I am quite pleased with everything about this doll, which is described additionally by Mattel as follows:

• Label: Black Label®
• Designer: Carlyle Nuera
• Release Date: 1/14/2021
• Included with doll: Headwrap, earrings, dress, bracelets, watch, ring, book, shoes, doll stand
• Eyelashes: Painted
• Fashion: Headwrap and dress with floral print
• Fashion Sewn On?: No
• Body Type: Curvy Collector
• Doll Stand: Yes
• Facial sculpt: New - Maya Angelou (sculpted to likeness)
• SKU #: GYH04

At the time of this post, Maya Angelou Barbie is available at some Target stores and now as a preorder on Amazon.com and finally at Barbie.Mattel. It ships out in February from both sites. Target's online quantities appear to have been exhausted in some areas. So, preorder now from Amazon or Barbie.Mattel if interested in adding this "phenomenal" doll to your collection or as a gift for a child before quantities are exhausted everywhere and the price becomes cost-prohibitive on the secondary market.

dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

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Doll Gift: Norah Wellings Boy

Norah Wellings 11-inch Islander ZuZu boy circa 1929

Last year, in one of my Facebook groups, the administrator shared a photo of her Norah Wellings ZuZu boy that is documented in the Norah Wellings 1929 catalog. I expressed my desire to own a Norah Wellings boy because, until recently, I only had girls.

A few months later, I received an email from a woman who desired to find a new home for her dear mother-in-law's Norah Wellings doll. After contacting me and sharing photos, she had to look no further.

Full view of my doll identified as an Islander ZuZu boy by Norah Wellings illustrates the intact cloth tag on the doll's left foot that reads MADE IN ENGLAND/BY/NORAH WELLINGS.

My ZuZu boy has a brown curly mohair wig, brown glass side-glancing eyes, painted lips and teeth, brown velveteen head, arms, and legs, and wears gold velveteen suspender pants that are sewn onto his body. There is one pearlized white button at the front end of each suspender and two are on the sides of his pants.

One pant leg, unfortunately, is stained.

He arrived with a stain on one of his pant legs that I could not remove, so I added temporary felt pockets, one on each leg. 

I wanted orange pockets, but I did not have orange felt available. The tan felt pockets are temporarily applied with double-sided tape.

He arrived from Wellesley, MA with a beautiful handwritten note dated December 5, 2020, that reads:

Dear Debbie,

Thank you for adopting my mother-in-law's Norah Wellings doll. We know little about its history. My mother-in-law recalls that it was her mother's, as she had quite a doll collection. Other than that, we know nothing...

Please enjoy the doll with our compliments.

Regards,

The xxxx Family.

P.S. Hope this note finds you, your family, loved ones, and friends safe and healthy.

From L-R: Circa 1930s 14-inch Norah Wellings Dudu #119 Islander, 11-inch Islander ZuZu circa 1929, circa 1940s 14-inch Norah Wellings doll with painted eyes, and a circa 1930s 14-inch Norah Wellings Nassau, Bahamas souvenir doll.

My ZuZu boy fits in quite nicely with the girls who have all welcomed him with open arms. 

Much gratitude to ZuZu's previous family for their kindness.

dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Redressed and New Dolls

Redressed Family Dollar Fashion Dolls

Happy Second Week of January 2021! I pray this week will be better than last week!

All my Christmas decorations are stored (I actually began taking them down on December 26th). The few dolls that I redressed for Christmas now wear their original clothes or something non-Christmassy. The two Creatable World dolls are back in their boxes in their underwear, and their Christmas sweaters have been stored with the rest of the Christmas sweater ornaments.

The two dolls in the first photo, found at Family Dollar in December 2020, had been dressed in Christmas sweater ornaments and leggings as seen here. The Fresh Dolls fashions they wear now (Sleek Snake Print Dress and Ring My Bell Sleeve Cocktail dress) fit them quite well. 

Fashionista #82 as Mrs. Santa

In December 2020, I participated in a Mrs. Santa doll redressing event where I was to redress a doll as Mrs. Santa. I chose to redress Fashionista 82 as a fierce and fabulous Mrs. Santa as seen above. 

Mrs. Santa bore gifts -- a wrapped gift for a boy and an unwrapped doll for a girl.

Mrs. Santa held a wrapped package in one hand and a doll in the other. No red matronly-looking Christmas fashion would ever do for her. 

Fashionista #82 after Christmas

After completing her Mrs. Santa duties, Fashionista #82 (Bea) now wears one of her favorite fashions -- the Reproduction of Barbie Matinee Fashion #1640, as shown above. She also wears a wig that I made for her using my mother's hair.

New Dolls

Fashionista #162 is on an unarticulated body. He has rooted curly brown hair on the top and a painted "fade" on the sides. He wears a multicolored knit top and multicolored cotton-blend shorts with yellow low-top sneakers.

Fashionista 162 is one of the last doll purchases I made in 2020. I ordered two because he had been difficult to find at the regular price of $9.99. Some folks were delusionally asking $25 for this doll, even on Amazon. Finally, Amazon replenished their own stock with a retail price of $9.99. He wasn't available to ship at the time I ordered in late December, but I didn't mind waiting the couple of weeks it took for them to ship. I refuse to pay scalper's prices for dolls that are still on the market. I know how and do not mind waiting for stock to replenish. One of these will eventually be redressed in more appropriate clothes. 

By the way, I knew his face looked familiar. It is a variation of Zig and Zag Barbie's head sculpt as confirmed here.

I received the following dolls and ornament as Christmas gifts.

I was asked by a friend what was on my Christmas list and I told her the Mattel 75th Anniversary Barbie was the only doll I desired at the time. She came through. (Thank you DR!)

I always receive the current Holiday Barbie ornament from the same friend who purchased the 75th Anniversary Mattel Barbie. This year, she sent the 2020 Holiday Barbie ornament that I photographed temporarily outside the box. It is back in the box now.

This is a close-up of the 2020 Holiday Barbie ornament. Mattel did a good job with this one.

Last but not least, I was surprised with a 13-1/2 inch Paola Reina Asian doll whose complexion places her into the ethnic category of Blasian in my collection. 

Maylin by Paola Reina

I will photograph Maylin later with other dolls made by Paola Reina in a separate post where she will be fully described. Thank you again, BA.

I will create separate posts of my last 2020 doll purchases to include one doll that was sent to me by a stranger and as of this writing, I have already made three doll purchases for 2021! I am not making a resolution, but I know my doll spending will be on a steady decline this year and in the years to come. 

All things considered, I hope your year is off to a great start. 

dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!