Chloe Van Buren

This photo of a circa 1896 Kammer & Reinhardt doll was provided by the daughter of one of its previous owners.

Chloe Van Buren (named by a former owner's grandmother) was donated to DeeBeeGee’s Virtual Black Doll Museum in April 2022. This lovely 9-inch doll, a circa 1896 Kammer & Reinhardt #192, was originally a new childhood doll of the generous donor’s great aunt and later was a birthday present in 1925 for the donor's mother. (The doll was 30 years old at that time). The donor wanted the doll to be in a special collection and chose mine.

On Monday, 04/11/22, I received notification from the donor that Chloe Van Buren had been shipped with an estimated arrival of 04/14/22. The tracking number was also provided. Chloe Van Buren arrived as scheduled on 04/14/22 at 9:32 a.m. according to online USPS tracking. Unfortunately, Chloe Van Buren was nowhere to be found when I arrived at the post office the next morning and found an empty PO Box. After my encounter with the post office supervisor who attempted to find the package but could not, I returned home to report my unpleasant experience and the missing package and to do my own investigation.

First, I messaged and emailed the donor to see if she had the postage receipt. While I waited for her reply, I located her phone number. Before calling her, I called USPS to report the missing package. After confirming my address, the postal agent discovered the reason the package was not in my PO box —the PO box number was incorrect on the package. The postal agent reassured me that the package was at the correct post office. The agent asked me if I knew how the sender had addressed the package. Of course, I had no way of knowing. All I knew is that I provided the correct address. For security reasons, the agent could not tell me how it was addressed but I needed to know so I could share this with my post office in order for them to find the package. 

I was told to contact the donor to find out how the package was addressed. So I called the donor. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell me how it was addressed. All she had was the address I had provided, which was the correct address, and the receipt, which does not include the full mailing address.

On her own, however, the donor called her post office where it was discovered that she addressed the package correctly, but the postal clerk entered the PO box number in the system incorrectly. It was off by one digit. With that information and a sigh of relief, I returned to the post office the same day and retrieved dear Chloe Van Buren.

There is much more to the story that includes my valid frustration during my first visit to the post office and the discovery of additional mistakes made at my post office, one of which was marking and storing the package under the surname Parrett, which is not my last name (sigh).

Circa 1920s Mother's Day Artstyle Chocolate Company tin box.

One thing to note is the doll was well-packed for shipping. Chloe Van Buren arrived securely wrapped with bubble wrap, enclosed in a circa 1920s Mother's Day Artstyle Chocolate Company tin box with tissue paper cushioning the doll. The tin was wrapped with a brown velour cloth and was inside a cardboard box. The cardboard box was wrapped with a cotton-backed cushion and nested inside a Priority Mail box. However, Chloe Van Buren's beautiful brown sleep eyes were out of their sockets and inside the doll's head upon arrival and one eyeball was broken off the antique sleep-eye mechanism. To say I was devastated to discover this would be an understatement.

I consulted doll artist, Goldie Wilson, who walked me through the repair process.

Chloe Van Buren has now been photographed, curated, and installed in DeeBeeGee’s Virtual Black Doll Museum. View the installation here.

A poem, With Love to Mother, is on the top of the tin box that served as Chloe Van Buren's travel compartment. It reads: With Love to Mother
I think of you, my
mother dear, of all your gentle ways,
Your courage and
unfailing cheer which
love alone replays,
Remembering your 
kindly voice, your heart
so warm and true,
My own heart sings, 
and I rejoice to know
that I love you.

Thank you, Reverend MV, for entrusting me with such a precious family heirloom that was part of your mother's childhood.

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