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| Circa 1960s Twinkie by Effanbee looks similar to the Dolls Test dolls currently on display in the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The museum has one white doll and one black doll, dressed in diapers only. Photo of a photo in Effanbee a Collector's Encyclopedia 1949-Present |
Twinkie
After viewing online pictures of the "Dolls Test" dolls on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), I wanted to know more about the dolls other than their copyright year and the manufacturer's name, 1968 and Effanbee, respectively. The museum label indicates "these and other dolls" were used in the Dolls Test. They were donated to the museum by the Clark's daughter. The 1968-marked dolls were used many years after the first 1940s Dolls Test dolls. The first dolls used were purchased from a Harlem Woolworths for 50 cents.
Links to the museum's
black doll and
white doll were sent to the Facebook group Let's ID Our Dolls with a request for help with the doll's name. One member replied, identifying the dolls as Effanbee's Twinkie.
Using Google, I found
this image of a black Effanbee doll labeled as Twinkie from 1968. The doll's widow's peak looks similar to that of the dolls in the museum. This
Pinterest image of a nude black doll is also described as Effanbee's Twinkie. Its description indicates the doll has its original hang tag. Effanbee's hang tags usually bear the doll's name. However, hang tag images were not shown for either of the above two dolls. In
this completed eBay auction, this black doll has a hang tag that reads "Twinkie." The doll was described as being from the 1980s but nothing else regarding the doll's marks was included in the description. The "circa 1980s" timeframe could have been a seller error. These three dolls look like the dolls in the NMAAHC.
I shared this information with another doll enthusiast whose series of questions led to further research.
I had already referenced John Axe's book,
Effanbee a Collector's Encyclopedia 1949-Present, which was published by my first publisher, Hobby House Press, Inc., in 1994. Axe's book shows that Twinkie was in Effanbee catalogs for the years, 1959-1967; 1970-1983, and 1984-1986. Note that 1968 is not included.
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| From the index of Axe's book, the parenthetical dates indicate the years in which Twinkie was made. This is followed by the various page numbers in the book which contain either catalog text and/or images of Twinkie. The book includes very few images of Twinkie and none were of the black doll. |
Based on the from-to dates, it is safe to assume that the 1959-1967 dolls used the same head sculpt and that the head sculpt was changed in 1970 and changed again in 1984.
Referring to the pages in the book (illustrated above) on which these catalogs appear,
none of the Twinkie dolls are listed as having been "Negro," which is the racial identity term Effanbee used in their catalogs for these years with an "N" placed behind the dolls' stock number and "Negro" spelled out in the associated description.
Why is the "Negro" version of Twinkie not listed in any of Effanbee's catalogs in Axe's book and why is Twinkie not listed in black or white versions in the 1968 catalog in the book? Did Axe not include some catalog information in his book, or were the dolls manufactured after the catalogs were published?
My Fair Baby
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| Effanbee's My Fair Baby from 1968 is shown in a screen-captured photograph. |
A Google search for "1968 Effanbee Doll" led me to a Ruby-Lane-sold doll by Effanbee named My Fair Baby. Since the link to Ruby Lane's actual buy page no longer exists, the doll is shown in a screen capture above. This doll also looks like the museum dolls.
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| From the index of Axe's book, the parenthetical dates indicate the 10-year span in which My Fair Baby was made. This is followed by the page numbers in the book which contain catalog text. There is only one image of the 1960s rooted-hair version of My Fair Baby in the book and that doll has blonde hair. There are no images of a black My Fair Baby in the book. |
According to Axe's book, My Fair Baby was on the market from 1958-1968. Voila! (I think.) The last year of manufacture matches the year the museum indicates as the year their donated dolls were manufactured.
The 1968 catalog in Axe's book also lists a 14-inch black version of the doll with molded hair and with rooted hair as indicated by the "N" that follows the stock number in the next image.
Shown in the above scan from Effanbee's 1968 catalog in Axe's book, My Fair Baby was available as a black doll (4461N and 4481N) with molded and rooted hair, respectively. Like these versions of My Fair Baby, Effanbee dressed all My Fair Baby and Twinkie dolls from prior and subsequent years in baby-style clothing. Unlike the museum's donated dolls,
none of these dolls were released wearing a diaper only.
To make the dolls' gender ambiguous, I believe the Clark's replaced the dolls' original clothing and created diapers using
cotton waffle-weave cloth; or, the donated dolls were nude and the museum added the cloth diapers.
Summary
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| Side-by-side pictures of the black doll donated to the NMAAHC and the Ruby Lane doll sold as My Fair Baby |
I am not positively certain which doll was donated to the museum but based on the year, 1968, it seems plausible that the dolls are black and white versions of Effanbee's 1968 My Fair Baby dressed in replaced diapers.
As a side note, since 1960s-1980s Twinkie appears to share the same sculpt as My Fair Baby. Could it be that the name,
My Fair Baby, was discontinued after 1968 and the mold continued in use for
Twinkie? This would explain the reason for the eBay auction for a black circa 1980s Twinkie that looks like the 1960s doll. The fact that Axe's book does not document black versions of Twinkie could be an oversight on the author's part and/or Effanbee's failure to include the doll in their catalogs. Human error is always a possibility.
Related Post:
Simple Justice and see the links at the end of the Simple Justice post.
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