An Even Complexion

Mae Ella with stained nose and chin

Mae Ella was discovered to have a discolored nose and chin when I included her in a Dolls with Books exhibit at a local library in February. She had been stored for several years in a black canvas rolling luggage bag along with the other dolls and books used in the exhibit.  I am not sure if the bag is the staining culprit or exactly how it occurred.  She was the only doll affected.

As a quick fix, I applied concealer to the darkened areas and allowed Mae Ella to remain in the exhibit with her companion doll, Willie Pearl, and the book about the two. The dolls are now back home. All, including Mae Ella, are again stored in the luggage bag in plastic bags for protection. Before returning Mae Ella to the bag, however, I wanted to address her stained face.

Acne cream that contains 10% benzoyl peroxide has been applied to Mae Ella's stains.

Benzoyl peroxide (BP), the active ingredient in most acne preparations, is known to remove ink and other stains from vinyl.  I purchased a tube of acne cream from Family Dollar that contains 10% BP.  After removing the concealer from Mae Ella's face, I applied the acne cream generously to her nose and chin where it remained for a full week before washing off.

As illustrated in the "after" picture above, Mae Ella now has an even complexion without signs that the areas had ever been stained.


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Dolls with Books Exhibit - Entry 5, The Finale

Little Black Sambo and Little Brown Koko and their books, part of the Dolls with Books Exhibit

The dolls in the second display case, second shelf, of my Dolls with Books Exhibit are featured in this final post.  Both dolls were inspired by storybooks that preceded them.  Their individual images (from my book, Black Dolls a Comprehensive Guide to Celebrating, Collecting, and Experiencing the Passion), their object labels, and additional commentary is below.

This 1970s doll* is dressed as Little Black Sambo, the character in the book, The Story of Little Black Sambo, by Helen Bannerman, first published in 1899.  The original character in the book was a little boy from India.  After the story migrated to America, his ethnicity was changed to an AA boy.  The book published in 1942 contains illustrations of a chubby AA boy.  The 1961 publication illustrates an East Indian boy. 

Even with the potential to spark controversy and patron disapproval because of the name "Little Black Sambo," I did not hesitate to include my doll and his books in the exhibit.  I mentioned to the library manager after the display had been set up that I hoped he did not cause alarm.  Her reply, "It's a part of history" assured me that I made the right decision to include him.  

I owned  a 1960s copy of Little Black Sambo and recall reading it with my mother at around age 6.  As an adult, I learned that the original character in the book was not an African American child as American copies of the book often illustrated.  As I documented in Black Dolls a Comprehensive Guide... 

Ms. Bannerman was a Scottish woman whose husband served in the British army in India.  According to research, the term "Sambo" [was] used offensively in... British English.  Formerly (during the time Little Black Sambo was written), it had the technical meaning of a person having a mixture of black and white ancestry, more black than white.  In the early nineteenth-century, the British referred to East Indians as "Sambos" because of their dark complexion, which is the most probable reason for the book's title.  In the original story, Little Black Sambo was a native of East India as noted by his turban and curled toe shoes.  After the story migrated to America, the characters' (Sambo's and his parents') ethnicity changed from East Indian to AA to correspond with the word, "Black" used in the title of the book.  Interestingly, the [1961] copy (the smaller book) illustrates characters of East Indian descent while the1942 copy uses illustrations of a cute, chubby AA boy [and his AA parents].  

It is unknown when the first Little Black Sambo dolls were made, but documentation exists that one version was made in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  For the "Dolls with Books" exhibit, I chose a 1970s unmarked vinyl doll from my collection to represent Sambo.  The doll was given curly black, rooted hair and dressed in clothing to replicate the birthday clothing given to the character by his parents--a red jacket, blue pants, and purple slippers.  The doll adequately represents the storybook character, who outwits several greedy tigers' attempts to take away his new clothes. 

*Before my doll became Sambo, he was "Gus," named by my grandson.  His original transformation from bald to rooted hair can be seen here.

The doll, Little Brown Koko and his dog Shoog, are characters from the book, Little Brown Koko, by Blanche Seale Hunt, first published in 1940.  The doll and dog on display are reproductions of the original Little Brown Koko and Shoog.  The book that inspired the cloth doll and dog contains a series of short stories about Little Brown Koko and his busybody antics.

My Little "Tan" Koko was made from a reproduction of an original Little Brown Koko pattern that was probably offered originally as a mail order item.  I purchased the pattern on eBay and commissioned someone to make the doll for me since original versions of the circa 1940s dolls made from patterns were cost prohibitive and often in various stages of deterioration.  I was not happy with the seamstress's selection of "tan" fabric for my doll. I wanted him brown!

The original Little Brown Koko stories by Blanche Seale Hunt were published in The Household Magazine, first appearing in Volume 41, No. 1, January 1, 1941. 

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These two boys and the other 20 dolls in the current Dolls with Books Exhibit will remain at the library until the first week of March 2014.

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Dolls with Books Exhibit - Entry 4

Dolls with Books Exhibit (display case on right)

This post and one additional one will discuss the dolls that are in the second display case of my Dolls with Books Exhibit, as seen in the above photo.  This post focuses on dolls on the first and fourth shelves.   Their images and object labels are shown below with some additional details added.

Dolls from the First Shelf

Amazing Grace is made after the character in the 1993 Scholastic book, Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman.  Amazing Grace is a very self-confident little girl who believes what her mama and nana told her all her life:  You can do anything!  She proves this to her classmates by becoming Peter Pan in the class play after her classmates said she couldn’t because she is a girl and Black.    


Cassie is the doll character in the 1991 book, Tar Beach by AA writer/artist Faith Ringgold.  The doll was made in 1994.  Cassie’s tar beach is the rooftop of her Harlem apartment building where she dreams of doing fantastic things.  According to Cassie, “anyone can fly… as long as you have somewhere to go…” 

Magic Attic Keisha, 1990s, part of a five-doll series, is the only AA doll in the series.  There are five different Keisha dolls.  This is the first one made*.  Keisha, a modern girl, has a series of books.  Magic Attic Book 1, the Adventure Begins by Marcia Wilkie, published in 2003, is about all the girls in the Magic Attic collection and their attic adventures.  

*The Magic Attic dolls were sculpted by Robert Tonner.  The first Keisha was released in 1995, a year following the debut of the line, which was sold through Georgetown Collection. I restyled Keisha's hair in three "fat" braids:  one on top and two lower ones.  Originally it hung loose with bangs. 






Dolls From the Fourth Shelf

Jessi and Becca are dolls representing two of the characters in the Baby-Sitters Club book series.  Jessi is 11; sister Becca is 6.  Jessi is one of seven girls in the Baby-Sitters Club.  There is a series of books written just about Jessi.  In the 1990 book, Jessi’s Babysitter, by Ann M. Martin, Jessi thinks she is too old to have a baby-sitter.  After all, she is a baby-sitter herself! 

Skylar from the Hopscotch Hill School doll series** is the AA doll in this multiple-doll collection.  Bright, Shiny Skylar by Valerie Tripp, 2003, contains three short stories about events that take place in Skylar’s class.  Skylar learns several lessons about how to behave in class, how to pay attention and follow instructions, and how to treat others.

**Like Saba, Skylar is another Pleasant Company creation.  She has lots of pose-ability with her multiple points of ball-jointed articulation.  This 16-inch doll line was discontinued several years ago but is still a favorite among collectors because of the dolls and their extra boxed fashions.  


The last doll on the fourth shelf (far right in the first image) is Madison Loving Books.  The photo below also features Madison Cheerleader, but she is not included in the current display. 

Madison is from the “She’s Like Me” doll collection.  Several different Madison dolls representing different themes were available beginning in the year 2000.  The dolls have a copyright of 1999.  The doll in the box loves Cheerleading.  She is dressed in her cheer leader uniform and has a bull horn, duffel bag, pom-poms, and a book about cheerleading and unity.  The deboxed doll loves books.  She has a stuffed rabbit.  Her book, Loving Books Curiosity, copyright 2000 by Janis Fields contains a series of short stories.  The first story explains why one of the other characters in the “She’s Like Me” doll series became as interested in reading as Madison.

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Note:  I purchased Amazing Grace at a thrift store; the Amazing Grace book was sold separately.  I am not sure if Amazing Grace was manufactured with a book.  Magic Attic Keisha, Skylar, and the She's Like Me Madison dolls all came with books.  Jessi and Becca were inspired by the Baby-Sitters Club book series; their exhibited book was purchased separately.  There is an 18-inch Baby-Sitters Club Jessi by Kenner that was manufactured with a book. 

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