Black Doll Collecting: January 2024

Thursday, January 25, 2024

UFDC Thanks Authors

UFDC thanks contributing authors

I just browsed the Winter 2024 issue of The Official Journal of the United Federation of Doll Clubs Doll News where I discovered the half-page thank you to authors who have contributed to the publication over the past four months. I am grateful to have my name listed among other contributing authors of this esteemed publication.

Thank you Doll News for the acknowledgement.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

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

__________

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Thursday, January 18, 2024

Dollmaking Changed Her Life

Sherri Shepherd's interview with Allisha Pickens, a dollmaker, first aired on 1/17/24. It re-aired the following morning 1/18/24. Dolls can truly change a person's life.

(I am still on hiatus away from this blog, but I thought I'd share this inspiring dollmaker's story.)

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

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

__________

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Brilliant Girl Sugamama

Brilliant Girl Sugamama is one of the dolls I received as a Christmas present in 2023. This doll is one of the last entries on my 2023 Doll Inventory worksheet. The Excel description cell for this doll is recorded as follows:

18-inch all-vinyl doll has black rooted wavy/curly hair styled in two side pigtails, brown inset eyes with painted eyelashes in the outer corners of each eye; closed pouty mouth with pink lip color; wears a pink and purple dress trimmed in yellow with a pink, yellow, and purple striped apron, and pink knee-high boots

Photos Taken in the Box and Photos of the Back and Side Panel of the Box

Brilliant Girl Sugamama is described by the company as a superhero.

The doll is delightfully illustrated on the back of the box

A side panel of the box provides Sugamama's backstory.

Out-of-the-Box Photos

Sugamama's first photo outside the box illustrates the style of her apron and her pink knee-high boots.

Another close-up was taken, this time after she was freed from the box.

The back of the apron and top of the dress are illustrated here.

For this picture, Sugamama's apron was removed to fully illustrate her dress.

A Quick Redress

After the 2023 Christmas holiday, I purchased the dress shown next from J. C. Penney, which was discounted from $18 to $8. It arrived the day before this post was published, and Sugamama "begged" to try it on

This A-line doll dress by Bonnie Jean was made for 18-inch dolls to match a toddler-size party dress and coat.

The doll dress is made of a shimmery polyester plaid fabric of black, gold, and white.

Sugamama models the dress with off-white tights and gold sparkly shoes that were already on hand.

I'll need to change her pink hair ribbons to white or off-white. Other than that, she looks ready to attend a party or another dress-up event.

*Announcement* As I indicated in my Happy New Year post, I am taking a break from this blog to focus on my Virtual Black Doll Museum. If you have not already subscribed to the museum, feel free to do so by adding your email address to the subscription box located in the footer of any page of the museum. New museum installations are published each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

My return to this blog is planned for February 2024.

Happy dolling!

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

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

__________

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Dolls from Germany Part 2

Ca. 1920s Koenig & Wernicke 134/16/0 character doll

In my previous post, I shared four dolls from Germany that I won in an online auction in November 2023. Three dolls needed care to restore them to a presentable state. I shared what was done to two of the three in the previous post. This post is dedicated to the restoration of the third doll, a Koenig & Wernicke #134/16/0 ca. 1920s character doll made of composition.

Before work began on this doll (as well as the others), I entered their information into my Excel Doll Inventory Workbook for 2023. The description cell of this doll's entry is copied below:

In addition to the damaged flirty-eye mechanism and missing lip color, this doll had several areas of missing paint in all five joints (the neck, both upper arms, and both upper legs). There was also missing paint on the torso and the back. The wig also needed to be restyled. Repairing the eye mechanism was the most challenging task.

The Eyes

Because of the bent metal eye mechanism, the doll's flirty eyes were improperly positioned in the head. The whites of the eyes were barely visible as a result.

All I wanted to do was properly reset the eyes, and if that meant they would be stationary and no longer flirty, so be it.

The only way to access the eye mechanism was through the top of the doll's head. This required removing the wig and the pate that covered the doll's open crown. Both were glued on.

The wig and the pate that covered the doll's open crown are shown here after removal.

With access to the eye mechanism, I suitably positioned the eyes and initially applied purple Silly Putty to hold the mechanism in place. I have successfully used original, non-colored Silly Putty for various past doll repairs.

Purple Silly Putty

A Look Inside the Head

Silly Putty (temporarily) held the eye mechanism in place.

The Silly Putty, as indicated, held the eye mechanism in place, but after leaving the doll on my work table overnight, which is directly underneath an air-conditioner/heater vent, the heat from the vent melted the Silly Putty! I have never experienced this issue with non-colored Silly Putty.

So, I removed as much of the melted purple gunk as possible, repositioned the eyes, and resorted to the next best thing to hold the mechanism in place—heavy-duty duct tape. Without permanently affixing the eyes with glue, the opportunity to restore the flirty-eye mechanism later remains possible.

In this photo, the eyes have been properly repositioned and made stationary inside the head with heavy-duty duct tape.

Painting

Before replacing the pate, restyling the wig, and regluing it onto the crown, I mixed black and brown acrylic paint to closely match the original color of the doll's painted complexion. Several coats of paint were used to cover the areas of missing paint. I also repainted the lips a more subtle red than they were originally. All painted areas were sealed with a satin finish varnish.

The first coat of paint appears not to match but trust the process.

While painting and allowing the paint to dry in between layers, I placed wooden toothpicks between the joints and the body. This allowed access to all areas that needed painting and added space between the joints to prevent paint smears and smudges.

This is another photo after several layers of paint were applied and before the paint was sealed with varnish.

This photo illustrates the even color of the painted and varnished areas of the body and the new lip color. (The wig has been replaced in this photo, which the next photos illustrate.)

Restyling the Wig and Replacing the Pate and the Wig

After removing the wig, I spot-cleaned it with baby wipes to remove surface dirt. Next, finger combing, gently brushing, styling, and applying mousse to add sheen were done.

The clean, restyled, and moussed wig

After restyling the wig and applying mousse, I placed a hairnet on the wig to hold the style in place. A glue bottle served as a wig stand while the wig dried overnight.

While the wig dried, I replaced the pate and allowed it to dry overnight.

Aleene's Tacky Glue outlines the rim of the head opening in this picture.

The pate was placed on top of the glue on the head rim and held firmly in place for a few seconds before wrapping a thick rubber band around the top of the head and underneath the chin as illustrated in this photo and in the next two.

A rubber band held the glued-on pate in place until the glue dried.

She's almost ready to be rewigged.

While working on the wig and reattaching the pate, I found a pair of socks, a vintage pair of shoes, and bloomers for the doll to wear.

A thick layer of Aleene's Tacky Glue was smeared on the pate.

With glue covering the pate, the wig was placed over the pate and gently held in place for a few seconds. A hairnet placed snugly over the wig held it in place while the glue dried.

The wig is adorned with the red ribbon bow that she arrived wearing.

K&W 134/16/0 Before and After

This ca. 1920s doll of approximately 104 years is prepared to live for another century or more.

All Four Dolls as They Were

All Four Dolls Now

I'm so glad they found me!

Dolls from Germany Post (Part 1)

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

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

__________

Thursday, January 4, 2024

Dolls From Germany Part 1

Four dolls from Germany

In November 2023, I won a group of four dolls from Germany offered in an online auction. These dolls all use head sculpts designated for black dolls. That is one reason the auction interested me. The two Koenig & Wernicke (K&W) dolls were the main reason I was determined to win the auction. I had desired a K&W doll for quite some time, probably since seeing the two featured on the cover of Myla Perkins' first book.

It took the dolls several weeks to clear U.S. Customs before they arrived on my doorstep in early December 2023. Their condition upon arrival is illustrated in the above picture. Three of the four needed tender loving care with one of the three needing much more care than the others. The smallest doll was in great condition.

5-inch Celluloid Baby

The smallest doll in this lot is a 5-inch ca. 1920s-1930s heavy celluloid (feels like composition) doll.

The 5-inch baby shown above has jointed arms and legs. The neck is not jointed. A previous owner hand-knit the red-white-and-blue dress that it wears. Gold earrings are painted onto the earlobes. This baby doll has molded texturized black hair, brown painted eyes, and a closed mouth with painted-red lips. It is unmarked.

These three needed care. From left to right, they are ca. 1920s 18-inch Koenig & Wernicke (K&W) 621/46 mold, ca. 1920s 14-inch K&W 134 mold, and a 17-inch unmarked hard plastic doll ca. 1940s-1950s.

17-inch Hard Plastic Doll

Dolls that use the striking facial mold of this 17-inch hard plastic doll are usually found originally dressed in Caribbean Island clothing as illustrated here.

I immediately removed the clothing worn by this doll--a too-modern Lissi Batz dress with a tied-on crocheted bodice and a pair of black vinyl lace-up shoes.

Next, I dampened this doll's hair and gingerly detangled it strand by matted strand. I had to be careful because the hair easily sheds. Using a soapy towel, I washed the doll's face and body, towel rinsed it, and allowed all surfaces to air dry.

This 17-inch hard plastic doll cleaned up nicely.

I selected a period-appropriate-looking dress with a matching hat and tights for 18-inch dolls for the 17-inch doll to wear. In my shoe stash, a pair of faux suede black Mary Jane shoes designed to fit Ideal's 1950s Toni fit this doll perfectly.

In the before and after combined photos, this doll appears happier in the after photo.

16-inch Koenig & Wernicke Doll

16-inch composition K&W #621/46 character doll

I unmatted the curls of this doll's short curly wig. A moistened Q-Tip was used to remove dirt from her flirty glass eyes. I spot-cleaned and air-dried her dress before finding panties, socks, and shoes for the doll to wear. This doll had minor paint rubs that I painted and sealed. These were so minor that I didn't photograph the process. She arrived wearing one original brass earring that I accidentally broke. So, I fashioned another pair of earrings for her. Her matted hair was the most difficult thing to tackle.

The wig has been detangled and mousse applied for sheen.

After applying mousse to the hair, I finger-combed it before placing a hairnet on the head to set the hair. (Her little sister stood behind her when the photo on the far left was taken. Little sis was waiting for the rest of her care, which will be outlined in a separate blog post.)

A hair ribbon and earrings were added.

I removed the hairnet after the mousse dried. I added a hair ribbon and inserted earrings onto the original earring posts that remained in place. I made the new earrings using parts of other earrings. There is minor crazing on the face that I decided to leave as is because it doesn't appear it will progress as long as this doll is kept in a stable temperature environment. I also only retouch/repaint when absolutely necessary.

The shoes that I found kept falling off her feet. The following steps outlined in the next photos remedied this issue:

These shoes were too wide for the K & W 621 character doll.

I traced the shoes onto a white foam square and cut the tracing out inside the drawn lines.

These are the original foam cut-outs, but I had to redo the right cut-out because the heel area was too narrow.

The cut-out foam patterns of the traced shoes were inserted into the shoes to increase the depth of the soles and to prevent the shoes from falling off the doll's feet.

My 16-inch ca. 1920s Koenig & Wernicke doll wears her original red dress with off-white rick-rack trim, off-white tights, and black shoes. She has an off-white hairbow and earrings as accessories.

In her before and after combined photos, this character doll shows that she, too, cleans up remarkably well.

A separate blog post will follow that outlines the extensive treatment given to the smaller of the two K&W dolls. Please stay tuned.

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

__________

Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Too-Cute Elf on the Shelf Fashions

In my 2023 Christmas Dolls post, I included photos of The Elf on the Shelf Boy and Girl and separate fashions for both. On the Friday after Christmas, I received more Elf on the Shelf clothing from another doll friend who wrote, "After Christmas gifts are always fun." I agree because everyone loves unexpected bonus gifts. This post takes a closer look at all The Elf on the Shelf clothes including the newly received Claus Couture set of three graphic T-shirts.

The Boy's Clothes

The outfit for the boy includes a "Santa Squad" top and striped pants.

The shirt uses Velcro to close and open the sides, arms, and neck areas to provide ease of dressing the Elf or doll. How clever!

I tried the boy's outfit on Barbie Fashionista #144. This doll has a Curvy Barbie body. It fits her well. The side and neck openings made it a snap to put the shirt on the doll.

The Girl's Clothes

The girl's outfit includes several pieces as shown: a strapless plaid dress with a reversible sleeveless jacket, matching cloth boots, a silver headband, a pom-pom appliqué that attaches to the vest with smooth Velcro, and a metal (yes, metal) purse with a chain strap.

I used the same Barbie to model the girl's clothes and to determine if it was a good fit. The dress is too short, and the bodice is a little big on this doll. The vest and shoes fit. The headband is also too big, and the purse isn't properly scaled for this size doll. I believe the purse might be too small for the girl elf, too.