Dolls by Beatrice Wright
(First published in Vol. 1, Issue 2, Spring 2002 of Black Doll-E-Zine, revised for this blog)
The company manufactured several different Black dolls and dolls representing other ethnicities, too. The most highly sought after Black B. Wright dolls are Christine and Christopher.
The dolls are 19 inches tall and constructed of Lyka skin, a type of rigid vinyl advertised as "the closest thing to nature's cover." They have brown sleep eyes and black rooted hair. Boys usually have straight hair with a side part. Essentially, the same mold was used for the dolls that are reported to have been named after Ms. Wright's family members. The dolls are either marked B. Wright or Beatrice Wright/©1967 and can be found on the secondary market.
It is uncertain when the B. Wright Company closed its doors, but some of its molds were sold to Totsy. Manufacture of the dolls continued under Totsy throughout the late 1980s and possibly into the early 1990s.
B. Wright Doll Sightings on the Internet
(They do all look alike.)
dbg
I have a Christine doll that looks like the 2nd sighting!She came with her original box(in -fair condition)!
ReplyDeleteBonnie
The reason they all look alike is that they were all cast from the same mold,which was made by my grandmother using my sister Patricia as a model.
ReplyDeleteHi Valarie - thanks for your comment. Casting dolls from the same mold, restyling the hair, and changing the fashions continues to be a common practice among doll makers.
DeleteAny additional information about your grandmother's dolls will be greatly appreciated.
dbg
The reason all the dolls look alike is because my grandmother,Beatrice Wright, used the same mold for all of them. The mold was made by my grandmother using my sister Patricia as a model.
ReplyDeleteMaybe someone could help me. I have a black doll with a wedding dress on. On the box in red pencil it says Hattie Wright 1960. I am trying to find information on her. My aunt gave her to me 33 years ago. She has rooted hair, real feeling skin, moving eyes and she is in the box. I don't know if this post is still being monitored.Thank you, Tia
ReplyDeleteHi Tia,
ReplyDeleteDoes your doll look like the dolls featured in this post? If not, I would need to see a picture to help you identify it.
dbg
I could not view the pictures. I looked for them. I can email pictures I just took. I looked up the Wright dolls and they look as if the doll could be related.
DeleteFind my email link under the About tab of this blog. Scroll down to the end of the About page.
Deletedbg
Hello Valarie, I would love more information about your grandmother for The Walker African-American Museum here in Nevada that will soon reopen.
ReplyDelete