Thursday, April 16, 2026

Composition Repair and Sandals for Scootles

Circa 1920s composition Scootles by Cameo, designed by Rose O'Neill (the Kewpie doll designer), looks almost perfect, but she had a few issues.


For years, I've desired an original 1920s composition Scootles, but passed on the few I've seen for sale for various reasons. I knew eventually, the right one would find me.

After viewing her online pictures, she was almost perfect except for some troubling areas where the composition had separated at a seam and had lifted in a couple of other areas. After the seller discounted the original asking price for me, I decided to bring Scootles home, and I'm happy about that decision.

What was done to repair my adorable dimple-cheeked, double-chinned Scootles is captured in the video below:




Scootles has been repaired and is wearing her new handmade sandals in this picture.

She is so adorable!  Each time I look at this little gem, I smile. She was so worth the wait. 

Read Scootles' Virtual Black Doll Museum installation here

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All photos and text are copyrighted and cannot be used elsewhere unless permission is granted by the author.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published. To contact me directly, go to the About page (visible in the web view mode); find and use the email link.

Visit and follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum for detailed installations of antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind black dolls. http://virtualblackdollmuseum.com

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

A Cute Potato Head Doll

A new doll, a dress, and shoes


What the website described as a "potato head" doll is the newest addition to my collection. A clone or knock-off of Nine d'Onil's 9-inch Mia, this doll arrived wearing only black vinyl Mary Jane shoes, as illustrated in the first picture. I ordered and received the brown and tan dress and brown faux-leather T-strap shoes, illustrated above. 

Because she did not have socks, and dolls wearing closed-toe shoes without socks is one of my pet peeves, I made her a pair of socks using two fingers cut from a white cotton glove.

She models her white socks and brown faux-leather T-strap shoes.

The clip-on hair bow was included with the dress. The dress package also included a pair of black vinyl Mary Jane shoes.

These shoes were in the dress package. The doll also arrived wearing an identical pair.


I love the closely-rooted microbraided hair.

Before deciding to purchase this doll, I had placed several versions into my cart. Realizing I did not need all four or five dolls in my cart, the microbraided hair was the deciding factor for choosing this doll. 

My two branded Nines d'Onil dolls posed with the new girl in the final AI-generated photo.

They display well together in real life, too!

The middle Mia, shown above, now wears a pair of the black Mary Janes that were included in this order. Originally, she had bare feet.

Related Posts



__________

All photos and text are copyrighted and cannot be used elsewhere unless permission is granted by the author.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published. To contact me directly, use the About page link, which is also visible in Web View mode, find, and use the email link.

Visit and follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum for detailed installations of antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind black dolls. http://virtualblackdollmuseum.com



Thursday, April 9, 2026

Learn Baby Learn Book Review


Learn, Baby, Learn the Shindana Toy Factory’s Legacy of Black Pride

By

Charlotte Watson Sherman

Illustrated by Esther J. Stimphat


My excitement about this book commenced when I learned of its publication by email from the author. The excitement increased after receiving my copy directly from the author, and it escalated even further after I viewed the front cover, which illustrates Black children enjoying Shindana’s dolls Kim in formal attire, Career Girl Wanda, and J.J., along with Slade Super Agent action figure.

After opening the hardcover and viewing the first three pages of colorful Shindana doll illustrations by Esther J. Stimphat, I was filled with joy to realize others, both familiar and unfamiliar with the company’s rich history, will rediscover or discover its legacy of Black pride and what prompted the founders to create this historic doll company—the first to mass-produce ethnically correct Black dolls.

Readers will discover the names of former businesses that operated in what became the Shindana Doll Factory. Sherman's poetic historical account of the people who migrated West from the South seeking better living conditions and what they found explains the conditions that led to the 1965 Watts Rising.

Learn, Baby, Learn: The Shindana Doll Factory’s Legacy of Black Pride tells the inspiring story of how a community’s despair sparked the creation of a company devoted to rebuilding hope—producing ethnically accurate dolls, action figures, and educational games that celebrated Black identity.

Hardcover and paperback versions are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and from other book sellers.

Visit the author's website www.charlottewatsonsherman.com.

__________

All photos and text are copyrighted and cannot be used elsewhere unless permission is granted by the author.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published. To contact me directly, use the About page link, which is also visible in Web View mode, find, and use the email link.

Visit and follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum for detailed installations of antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind black dolls. http://virtualblackdollmuseum.com