Doll Gifts Part 3

A gift of dolls from Leslie Foster includes a Topsy Turvy doll, three souvenir dolls, two Black Americana dolls, a composition doll, and an oilcloth mask-face doll.

This is part 3 of a 3-part doll-gifts series to acknowledge dolls that I have received recently from doll friends and people who do not know me personally.

These eight dolls were a gift from Leslie Foster, who happened to find me through this blog.  These were purchased, she indicated, over several years because she found them interesting.  I also find them interesting.

Each doll has been photographed individually and its description recorded in my doll inventory workbook.  They are as follows:


Topsy Turvy, also known as Two-Sided and Double-Sided Doll

Circa 1940s Topsy Turvy, black side up

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this 11-inch circa 1940s doll is a Topsy Turvy.  The black doll has a machine-painted face that is made of black cloth.  She is dressed in a red and white polka dot dress and wears a red headscarf tied in a top knot.  She is missing one of her gold-tone earrings.

Topsy Turvy, white side up

The white doll has a lithographed/screen printed face and yellow yarn for hair that is underneath a blue and white gingham sewn-on bonnet.  Dress color and fabric match the bonnet.  Both dolls' eyes side-glance to their left.

Spice Lady Caribbean Souvenir Doll

Spice Lady Caribbean Souvenir Doll

Still enclosed in a sealed plastic bag, this circa 1960s 7-inch cloth doll has a spice-filled skirt.  A faint scent of the mixed spices is still apparent.  The face is drawn with black ink.  She wears a red bonnet that is tied on with a piece of rust-colored yarn at the neck.  A tag stapled to the end of her scarf reads, "Sunny Caribbe" with "Spice Lady" written below that.

Black Americana Cotton Picker

Black Americana Cotton Picker

Circa 1930s-1940s 9-inch doll has black cloth head with lithographed eyes, nose, and mouth.

He has salt-and-pepper hair.

Black and white yarn create the "cotton picker's" salt and pepper colored hair. His arms are made of wire with black felt used for his hands.  His body, legs, and feet are black wood.  He wears a striped cotton shirt with blue cotton bibbed pants, no shoulder straps. Clothes are stapled on.  

There is real cotton is in his burlap bag.

The Cotton Picker carries a burlap cotton-filled bag.

Trinidad and Tobago Lady Souvenir Doll

Trinidad and Tobago Cloth Lady Souvenir Doll

This circa 1940s 11-inch cloth doll made from heavy canvas-type brown fabric has painted eyes and mouth and a sculpted nose.  

There are creases in her lovely face and some of her lip color has faded.  I want to remove the creases, but I am not sure how.

She has short hair made from black yarn.  Silver beads are sewn to her ears for earrings.  Different cotton printed fabrics were used for her headscarf, shawl, and dress.  A yellowed slip shows underneath the dress.  Trinidad and Tobago is stamped over St. Thomas near the bottom of the slip.  Apparently, this doll or the fabric used for the doll's skirt was also used for St. Thomas souvenir dolls. 

This Trinidad and Tobago Souvenir Lady carries a basket on her right arm that has red, orange, and blue pieces of felt glued to the outside.   Heavy cardstock creates soles which are glued to the bottom of her brown cloth feet (not shown).

Black Americana Boy

Circa 1940s-1950s cloth boy

This 16-inch circa 1940s-1950s Black Americana cloth boy made from black fabric has handpainted side-glancing eyes, a red-painted nose, and a circle-shaped mouth.

He has half-moon-shaped sclerae and seems to be surprised about something.

He has copper-colored yarn hair underneath a red felt cap.  His overalls were made from mattress ticking.  There is a floral fabric patch on the right knee of his overalls that can be seen in his first photo above.

Composition Topsy

Topsy

Circa 1920s 9-inch unmarked composition Topsy has three yarn braids with yellowed ribbons on the ends.  

Topsy has painted side-glancing eyes (the paint has faded).  She is spring jointed and wears a pinned-on white jersey-knit diaper.  The top layer of the composition has flaked off in several areas and continues to flake.  I plan to apply a sealant to prevent additional flaking.  The right arm will not remain inside the socket.  I will try to remedy this as well. 

Jamaica Souvenir Doll

Jamaica souvenir doll

This 9-inch circa 1940s Jamaica souvenir cloth doll has a basket of faux fruit attached to her head.  The fruit is made from balls of colored tissue paper.  

A closer look at the fruit basket

She has a hand-painted face.  The head, arms, legs, and body are made from black cloth.  Multiprint fabrics create the headscarf, dress, and apron.  "Jamaica" is written on the waist of the dress.  This doll is similar to two others that were given to me in 2015 by another woman named Lesley (different spelling, however).  The other two are a couple of inches taller than this one.  This doll is also made similar to one of the dolls given to me by Ms. Grace Anderson.  All three similar dolls can be seen here.

Oilcloth Mask-Face Doll

Circa 1930s Oilcloth Mask-Face Doll

The final doll from Leslie is a 12-inch circa 1930s oilcloth mask face doll with painted facial features.  

She has a charming face.

The eyes glance to the doll's right.  Mohair bangs are underneath a light pink headscarf which is tied in a knot at the top of the doll's head.  Underneath the pink scarf is a red, white, and blue striped scarf made from the same material as the skirt of the doll's dress.  The doll's arms are made from blue fabric that has multicolored diamond shapes.  She wears a white blouse with a red, white, and blue striped skirt, and red felt sewn-on shoes.  She is now my second oilcloth mask-face doll, the other one having been purchased many years ago.

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Thank you again, Leslie, for your generous gift of dolls.  I had actually forgotten how many dolls you were sending.  My mind was focused on receiving only four dolls from you.  After I opened the package and continued unwrapping the well-packed dolls beyond four, I realized I had received a double blessing!

Related Links
Doll Gifts Part 1
Doll Gifts Part 2
Topsy Turvy dolls (recently updated)

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