Black Doll Collecting: January 2023

Saturday, January 28, 2023

Museum Exposure

In January 2021, I founded DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum with the goal of establishing the largest online database of historically, culturally, and aesthetically pleasing antique-to-modern and one-of-a-kind Black dolls with a 1000-doll installation goal. To date, the virtual museum holds 472 installations with some installations that curate more than one doll.

Several media outlets have featured the museum and some of its installations in live interviews and print articles. The most recent media exposure is the article, "Babies from DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum" published in the Winter 2023 issue of UFDC's Doll News.

Dolls selected for the article were chosen using the search box on the museum website and entering the word, "baby."

If you have not subscribed to DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum, do so today. Go here and enter your email address in the Subscribe box at the bottom of the page. On the Welcome page (at the previous link), there are also links to follow the museum on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. You may click or tap either of these social media links to follow the museum on those sites.

Thank you and happy dolling!

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

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

__________

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Friday, January 20, 2023

Gorgeous Reimagined Disney Princess Dolls by CreativeSoul Photography

The above photo is from the article, "Disney Unveils Collaboration with CreativeSoul Photography Through Re-Imagined Diverse Dolls Inspired by Disney Princesses."

I am very excited for CreativeSoul Photography and thrilled that Disney has recognized and included their creative talents in the design of these princess dolls.

Read the entire article and see a slideshow of photos of the beautiful reimagined princess dolls here.

(Click on the thumbnail image in the article to view the slideshow.)

Better yet, view CreativeSoul Photography's Facebook and Instagram celebration of this wonderful collaboration below:

Facebook

Instagram

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by CreativeSoul Photography (@creativesoulphoto)

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

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

__________

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

A Shattered Gift

Donated Black Americana salt and pepper shakers and dolls

By email, in early December 2022, I was offered two dolls and two pairs of Black Americana salt and pepper shakers. The dolls interested me the most, so I accepted the entire lot. The generous donor sent the dolls; however, one of the tissue-paper-only-wrapped dolls (the one I wanted the most) had a shattered face upon arrival.

Most people probably would have tossed the doll, but because all the pieces were there initially and most were large, I wanted to save her. I wrote the sender to inform them about the arrival of the package, the broken doll, and my plan to repair it. She thanked me.

The face of a 14-inch reproduction doll that uses a Magge Head Kane mold arrived shattered into several pieces as shown above.

All the pieces were there initially. After the pieces sat on my desk for a few days, having been moved from one location to another more than once, the circled piece was missing when I began the repair.

Repair Steps

I used my go-to Aleene's Tacky glue to put the porcelain facial pieces back together, one piece at a time, allowing each piece to dry before gluing the next piece.

In the above photo, the combined head and forehead piece was glued to the intact portion of the doll's head and allowed to dry before moving on to the next piece.

The top of the head/forehead area is photographed here. Glue residue was visible until I painted all the reglued seams.

Another view of the face after the head/forehead piece was glued on illustrates a mark my husband placed on the side to help me line up the matching piece. He also placed a corresponding mark on the matching piece.

The next matching piece, the top of the face underneath the forehead, is glued on in this picture.

In this picture, polyfill is stuffed inside the head to lend support to a piece missing from the side that I had to recreate.

All pieces except for one missing side piece are glued in place.

This photo illustrates the triangular area of the lost piece that required fabrication.

This is another photo with all available pieces in place.

To fill in the missing area, I used Quick Steel (which is an epoxy putty that hardens like steel designed for car repair).

After measuring the size needed, Quick Steel was inserted into the area of the missing piece. It was also used in other areas to seal the seams.

Below is a quick video of the doll after the face was reconstructed.

The final steps involved painting the head and face and sealing the paint with a satin finish varnish. I used black acrylic paint for the head and a mixture of purple velvet, black, and burnt umber to paint the face.

Repaired!

The repaired face is seen in a closeup.

Here is another quick video after the face was painted.

Magge Head Kane (whose first name is often misspelled Maggie) was a 1963 co-founder of the National Institute of American Doll Artists (NIADA), an association of original doll artists. As an independent doll artist, Kane began making character dolls in the late 1950s. She also taught mold- and doll-making, and sold her molds to other doll artists. Her Black dolls usually depict maids, butlers, and others in positions of servitude. Kane's dolls can be marked M. Head, Magge Head, or Magge Head Kane for those sculpted after her marriage.

Dolls made by other artists that use Kane's molds should bear Kane's marks along with the name or mark of the artist who made the doll. In the case of my unmarked doll, which was clearly made from a Magge Head Kane sculpt referred to as "Old Lady," some dolls that use Kane sculpts are unmarked. However, like my doll, unmarked dolls' distinct facial features are readily identifiable as Kane sculpts by those familiar with the artist's work. Kane's doll-making continued well into the 1980s.

"Old Lady"

A black and white image of a doll that uses the same sculpt that my doll uses is included on page 316 of Black Dolls 1820 to 1991 an Identification and Value Guide by Myla Perkins. The doll in the book, named, "Old Lady," was created by an artist who incised the initials and punctuation T.T A within a circle in the back of the doll's shoulder plate

Pictures of the other dolls and Black Americana items that were sent with "Old Lady" are shown next.

Circa 1940s Black Mammy and Chef Salt & Pepper Shakers

Circa 1950s Black Mammy and Chef Salt & Pepper Shakers

Other Dolls

10-1/2 inch reproduction German character baby with porcelain head, hands, and feet has a stuffed cloth white body, arms, and legs; painted black eyes, and a closed mouth.

The reproduction baby shown above has a gold foot tag that reads, Made in Taiwan / Republic of China, which dates the doll back to the 1980s. Initially, I thought this was a repro Bye-Lo baby, but its characteristics are more like Armand-Marseille doll molds. The hair is painted.

Also in the shipping box (as a surprise) were a 1940s jointed 3-1/2-inch Black baby marked MADE IN / JAPAN (on the back) and an unmarked 2-1/2-inch bisque baby that is missing its limbs. These were not included in the original photos that the donor sent when I was asked if I would accept the other items.

Thank you, MM of NY, for your generous gifts! The once-shattered doll gave me a goal-oriented task to complete, the results of which I am pleased.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

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

__________

Monday, January 16, 2023

Remembering Dr. King with Pictures

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968

One of Dr. King's encouraging quotes

A digitalized photo of Dr. King is included in this picture-quote.

Dated April 18, 1968, and April 25, 1968, I found these two Jet magazines in my mother's collection of "things to keep." The magazines were published after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Google's Doodle for MLK Day 2023

Today, most American states honor the birthday of the man who had a dream that still remains unfulfilled. Google's Doodle of the day honors MLK Day 2023. Read more about the Doodle, the artist, and the day here.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

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

__________

Thursday, January 12, 2023

Christmas 2022 Dolls

With the exception of the dolls in red*, all the dolls underneath the Christmas tree were Christmas 2022 gifts.

I had a nice Christmas in 2022 with reference to doll gifts. Christmas 2022, however, is the first Christmas in 67 years without my mother. She transitioned the day after Thanksgiving. These two holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) and every other day henceforth will never be the same. She was my rock. A prayer warrior, she prayed for me and her entire family daily. She'd have an answer to all the woes I faced that I chose to share with her. However, I selectively shared tribulations because she would worry too much and worry me just as much about the situation wanting to know if it had resolved. So sometimes, I got through these things alone. Going forward without her, I'll have to get through similar situations alone but with the help of God, whom I've always had.

Back to my Christmas dolls, I was going to share individual photos, but there are over 20. So, I thought it would be better to share them in a video instead. Click the play button to view.

*With the exception of one of the dolls in red, the others dressed in red underneath and near the Christmas tree in the leading photo were dolls that my mother "borrowed" to use as Christmas decor in December 2010 and December 2011. I tried to bring the dolls back home after those two Christmas seasons, but she asked me to let them stay. So I did. Twelve years later, they have now returned to their first home with me.

Dreamy Walker by Shindana (1972) and Waiting for Santa by Lee Middleton (2004) were the first two dolls my mother "borrowed" to use for Christmas decor in 2010. This photo and the next were taken at her apartment.

In 2011, she still had Dreamy Walker (not shown in this picture) and Middleton's Waiting for Santa. Mama asked for two more dolls in 2011, so I let her "borrow" Tevin and Ayana by Laura Tuzio-Ross. She already owned a reborn doll that I had given her years before that she dressed in a red velvet dress.

In addition to the borrowed dolls that are back with me, two dolls that I gave my mother and her house plants are with me now.

Happy New Year! May your worries be few and your joys be plentiful.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

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

__________

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Bessie Coleman Barbie IRL

Mattel Shipper for the Bessie Coleman Barbie, stock #HJX37-9993

I've taken a couple of photos of my Bessie Coleman Barbie from the Barbie Inspiring Women series after removing it from the Mattel shipper. (Thank you Amazon for leaving the doll's box in the original shipper and for shipping it inside another box with air packing material!) I'll take more photos later to use in the doll's museum installation.

The doll uses the Desiree/Adria head sculpt.

This full-length photo illustrates the doll's 1920s-inspired aviator suit with the initials BC on the cap.

I tried to scan the entire back of the box, but the scanner interestingly only picked up the image of Ms. Coleman, which is illustrated next.

Bessie Coleman
Aviator
1892-1926

Ms. Coleman's bio from the back of the doll box is captured in the final photo.

Bessie Coleman's bio

For around $35, the Bessie Coleman Barbie is available online on Amazon and Target at the time of this post. The doll is in preorder status at the Mattel Creations website.

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

__________

Monday, January 9, 2023

Bessie Coleman Barbie Buy Link

Bessie Coleman Barbie

Available on Amazon, the Bessie Coleman Barbie is $35.00 with free shipping for Prime members.

About the Doll and the Person It Portrays:

This Barbie Inspiring Women doll honors Bessie Coleman. She was the first Black and Native American female pilot, and the first Black person to earn an international pilot’s license.
Bessie Coleman Barbie doll wears a traditional olive-green aviator suit, tall lace-up boots and a cap emblazoned with her initials: “BC”.
As someone who loved flying through the sky and performing aerial tricks, she naturally comes with a helmet and goggle accessories!
May this aviatrix’s trailblazing achievements and remarkable courage inspire people everywhere to soar to greater heights.
The Bessie Coleman Barbie Inspiring Women doll comes in displayable packaging, making her a wonderful gift for collectors and children ages 6 years old and up.

Ad# Amazon buy link: https://amzn.to/3QrJqbl

The doll is also on Target's website where, if you use your Target Red card you'll receive a 5% discount, and if you're a Rakuten member and enter Target's website through Rakuten before purchasing, you'll get an extra 1% cashback on the purchase. Not a Rakuten member? Join here.

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

__________

Saturday, January 7, 2023

Just Like People, Black Dolls Come in All Colors

As illustrated in the above screenshot, the manufacturer of Jesui describes the doll's complexion as "black."

A reader who identified themselves as one of the research and development marketing assistants for the Queban line of dolls contacted me through the Contact field of this blog stating emphatically that "the BJD doll Jesui by Queban is not a black doll." They ended the email by requesting that I correct this error in my blog post dated July 28, 2022, (find the link below).

The tone of the email was rather harsh with the person taking a "know-it-all" stance about the doll line. My reply iterated that my post never mentioned the doll's ethnicity. I also included the screen snapshot shown above from the Amazon buy page wherein the doll's complexion is described by Queban as black. This person's email was, therefore, pointless. If they were truly an R&D assistant for the product, they obviously missed the company's intent regarding the doll's hip-hop background (which originated with Black culture) and their description of the doll's black complexion (which is actually caramel).

Jesui has black-rooted hair, blue eyes, freckles, and a caramel complexion.

The intrusive email was brief but the false sense of entitlement that demanded I "correct" the doll's ethnicity did not sit well with me at all. My reply was as polite as possible after "reading" the email and "reading" the writer's overall intent to exert a sense of authority and superiority by demanding I change something that did not need changing.

For that reader and others who see light-complexioned dolls as "not black," the newsflash is this: dolls that represent Black people and others of African descent are now manufactured in all colors of the African color spectrum.

My mother is shown with her coworkers and the doctor for whom they worked in this February 19, 1988, "reunion" photograph taken a few years after the doctor retired from practice. (Rest peacefully mama, we will always miss your beautiful, graceful, elegant, caring, God-fearing presence.)

Black people (like my dear mother who transitioned on November 25, 2022,—the reason I have been absent from this blog) can be as fair in color as a "white" person and are often mistaken as being of Eurocentric descent. So when you see a doll with a light complexion with blue eyes and freckles like Jesui, don't automatically assume the doll represents a "white" person or that the doll cannot possibly be "black." Also, please don't assume that the person is biracial. My mother was not. The offspring of two Black parents can result in a variety of complexions.

Like the doll, Black people can have blue eyes, freckles, and pale complexions. If you're uncertain about a doll, ask the manufacturer their intent, but more importantly free your mind from being bothered by the many offerings of dolls of color that are now on the market because there are always more or other white dolls from which to choose, always. More important than anything else, know this: once a doll becomes part of a person's collection or part of a child's playthings, it can be whatever the owner wants it to be— a white doll can even be considered a Black doll's relative. How about that? This is a new day. No longer are black dolls manufactured in two colors only, blue-black or Hershey brown.

Finally, kudos to Queban for offering affordable brown-skinned BJDs that both collectors and children can enjoy. (And if you so desire, their dolls can be considered white, too.)

Read the original blog post about Jesui here.

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

__________

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Saturday, January 28, 2023

Friday, January 20, 2023

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Monday, January 16, 2023

Thursday, January 12, 2023

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Monday, January 9, 2023

Saturday, January 7, 2023