Black Doll Collecting: February 2022

Thursday, February 24, 2022

Virtual Black Doll Museum In the News

In January 2022, I was interviewed by Molette Green, News 4 Anchor and Community Reporter for the Washington, DC-based NBC station about my Virtual Black Doll Museum. The interview, which aired earlier today (02/24/22) on the station's In the Community segment, is embedded below.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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New-York Historical Society Black Dolls Exhibition

An exhibition of Black dolls made primarily by African American women from 1850-1940 from the collection of Deborah Neff will open on February 25, 2022, and extend through June 5, 2022, at the New-York Historical Society.

LOCATION
1st floor, Robert H. and Clarice Smith New York Gallery of American History
The New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West at Richard Gilder Way (77th Street)

At the request of the associate curator, Dominique Jean Louise, two of my dolls are on loan to the New-York Historical Society. My two dolls will be included in this exhibition. A separate post about their travel preparation to New York will be posted soon.

According to a letter to doll collectors from the New York Historical Society, "the exhibition concludes with a coda exploring Black dolls manufactured in the 20th century to promote racial uplift. This section will feature a slide show of images of doll collectors with their Black dolls... This gallery of contemporary collectors will be a fitting culmination to the experience and, we hope, foster a sense of community. A comment book nearby will invite visitors to share stories of a favorite childhood doll or describe their collection."

I submitted two photos for the above-described slideshow. Several members of my doll group also submitted photos. While I am unable to attend the exhibition in person, my dolls and photos of me with my dolls will place me there in spirit.

If you are in the New York area or plan to be in the area between February 25, 2022, through June 5, 2022, make plans to visit the Black Dolls Exhibition at the New-York Historical Society.

Read more about the exhibition and/or purchase tickets here.

Nora McGreevy's Smithsonian Magazine article, "Black Dolls Tell a Story of Play and Resistance in America" offers a look into the dolls the exhibition features.

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Black Dolls Matter Zoom Presentation

Photo captured from OaklandCountyTimes.com

"Feb 23 – Black Dolls Matter Zoom Presentation w/Display at Southfield Library

"Southfield, MI – The Southfield Public Library hosts several collectors as part of its “Black Dolls Matter” exhibit for Black History Month. A Zoom talk is slated Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 6:30 p.m. [EST]

"Doll collectors will talk about their own experiences searching high and low for black dolls to play with, the growing world of black collectors and conventions around the country, and the future of black dolls, particularly Mattel’s series of inspiring Black women leaders.

Read more and grab the Zoom link for February 23, 2022, here.

Source: Oakland County Times (website)

Saturday, February 19, 2022

Bone Black Chapter 8

Bone Black by bell hooks was originally published on October 15, 1996.

On December 15, 2021, the literary world lost author, professor, feminist, and social activist Gloria Jean Watkins who used the pen name bell hooks. Her pen name honored her maternal great-grandmother, Bell Blair Hooks. The author used lowercase letters for her name to give deference to her great-grandmother.

Prior to reading Bone Black: Memories of Childhood, I'd only read portions of hooks' writings, some for college assignments and some on my own. After her death, I read her childhood memoir. In it, she recalls intimate details of experiences as a young girl with indifferent parents and siblings, experiences with neighboring adults, school experiences, and exploration of self and her surrounding world. Each chapter is only three pages long and tells a concise story of the described experiences.

In chapter 8, hooks shared her relationship with dolls. I'm sharing it here. Stretch or click to enlarge the photos.

During bell's described childhood experiences in Bone Black, she did a lot of waiting, mostly for acceptance and love from her immediate family.

bell hooks
September 25, 1952-December 15, 2021; she was 69.

"The wounded child inside many females is a girl who was taught from early childhood on that she must become something other than herself, deny her true feelings, in order to attract and please others.”

—bell hooks

Thursday, February 17, 2022

My 2nd Rainbow High Doll

Daria Roselyn is from the Rainbow High Series 3 collection.

A gift from a Facebook friend, Daria Roselyn from the Rainbow High Series 3 collection is an 11-inch, all-vinyl doll with multiple points of articulation and removable hands. She has two fashions that can be mixed and matched (described below).

Daria Roselyn and the other dolls in Rainbow High Series 3 are illustrated on the back of the box. They are from L-R: Daria Roselyn, Georgia Bloom, Daphne Minton, Gabriella Icely, and Emi Vanda.

Daria is shown with the boxed second fashion, boxed high-heel shoes, pink comb, and packaged accessories that include a pink doll stand, a pink clothes hanger, and a pink skirt hanger.

Daria wears outfit 1

Outfit 1

Daria Roselyn was dressed by the manufacturer in a sheer dress that is lined in black satin. The print of the spaghetti-strap dress is diamond-shaped with the word, Magic, within. A white short-sleeved crop top is worn under the dress. Daria wears a cropped denim jacket, one half of which is dark blue and the other half is light pink. The jacket has cold shoulder sleeves and embroidered roses on the sleeves and on the back. Black rose-print sheer ankle socks and shiny black platform-soled black ankle boots with rose decorations on the sides complete this look.

Daria's long rooted pink hair is styled in a top ponytail with the rest worn down. Her big blue eyes are shadowed in dark pink and heavily lined in black on the upper eyelids. There are painted upper and lower eyelashes along with bristle upper eyelashes.

With the denim jacket removed, Daria strikes a pose.

Daria wears fashion #2 with the socks from fashion #1.

Outfit 2

The second fashion is a two-piece black pinstriped cropped top and mini skirt that has embroidered roses on both pieces. High-heel pink shoes with gold heels and a black vinyl handbag with a rose on the top front closure complete this look. With this, she continued wearing the ankle socks from outfit #1.

Still wearing fashion #2, Daria poses on her pink doll stand.

Daria Roselyn poses with Phaedra Westward from the Rainbow High Pacific Coast Series. Their head sculpts differ slightly. Daria Roselyn’s head has the copyright year of 2020. Phaedra’s copyright year headmark is 2021. Phaedra has exchangeable legs; the series 3 dolls do not.

In the final photo above, Daria Roselyn meets Phaedra Westward, my first Rainbow High doll that was introduced here.

I really appreciate the thoughtful gesture of my Facebook friend who sent Daria Roselyn to me. Do I need more? There is one more Rainbow High doll that I might buy for myself. We shall see.

Here is Daria Roselyn's Amazon buy link.

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Telisa's LOL Surprise Dolls Part 2

LOL Surprise! Dance, Dance, Dance Series: Virtuelle, B-Gurl, and Miss Royale

The previous post included several pictures of Telisa Spain's LOL Surprise! dolls. This post includes the remaining photos Telisa shared with me.

Dance, Dance, Dance Series Virtuelle

Dance, Dance, Dance series B-Gurl

Dance, Dance, Dance Miss Royale

Series 4 Sweets

Series 4.5: Sunshine Gurl

Series 4.5 Sunshine Gurl

All-Star B.B.s:

All-Star B.B.s Cheer Diva

All-Star B.B.s: Vault Queen

Movie Magic

Movie Magic Gamma Babe

Movie Magic Spirit Queen (in both outfits)

Movie Magic Starlette (in both outfits)

Movie Magic: Gamma Babe, Spirit Queen, and Starlette

Movie Magic

Movie Magic Studio: Agent Soul

Swim (Budget line)

Swim (Budget line): Coral Waves

World Travel

World Travel Sunset

Series 5

Series 5 Trendsetter

2021 Annual Collector Edition

2021 Annual Collector Edition NYE Queen

The next photos are LOL Surprise Tweens. Telisa wrote, "So far there are two series consisting of four in each series." She only shared the ethnic dolls in each series.

Series 1 Tweens

Series 1 Tweens: Hoops Cutie, Freshest, and Cherry B.B.

Series 1 Tweens Freshest

Series 1 Tweens Hoops Cutie

Series 1 Tweens Cherry B.B.

Series 2 Tweens

Series 2 Tweens Gracie Skates

Series 2 Tweens Lexi Gurl

Series 2 Tweens: Gracie Skates and Lexi Gurl

Finally, 2 LOL Surprise JKs

LOL Surprise JK Diva

LOL Surprise JK Queen Bee

LOL Surprise JK Diva and JK Queen Bee

That's it! Thank you again, Telisa, for sharing your LOL Surprise collections with me and with the readers of this blog.

Telisa's LOL Surprise Dolls Part 1

From the LOL O.M.G. Surprise Series 1 are Lady Diva, Queen Bee, and Swag.

As mentioned in a previous post, Telisa Spain, shared photos of her LOL Surprise dolls with me that I plan to include in two separate blog posts. This is the first of the planned posts.

Series 1