Nancy Ann Storybook Flower Power

Nancy Ann Storybook Flower Power

Flower Power, a Nancy Ann Storybook Doll, is the souvenir doll for Dollology club's annual May Day Luncheon.  The luncheon was held on May 11, 2019.  I saw a picture of Flower Power in a Facebook post the evening of the luncheon and later on April Perlowski's Of Dolls blog in a post published the day after the luncheon.  (See the link to April's post at the end of this post.)

After learning that the doll is porcelain, I hesitated to add her to my collection, but because of her diminutive size, her 1970s theme, and the fact that she is said to be Robert Tonner's last doll under the Phyn & Aero brand, I decided to inquire about additional quantities.  Facebook friends, Phyllis Burns and Vicky Hoff Forbes helped me locate the doll in late May.

This close-up photo, taken while the doll was still attached to the box, illustrates Flower Power's sweet face.

Sculpted by Dianna Effner for Nancy Ann Storybook/Phyn & Aero, the doll is full-body porcelain and stands 6 inches tall.  She has black painted eyes and brown wigged hair.

As illustrated here, her somewhat unruly hair extends to her bottom.

Her crocheted top is orange, white, and pink; it has bell sleeves and an empire waist.

She wears denim pants with frayed hems, the legs of which are accented with colorful floral appliqués.

Flower Power's accessories include brown faux leather sandals, a floral headband, and a multicolored beaded necklace, which remain in baggies attached to the box liner.

Her doll stand is also attached to the box liner.

Temporarily out of the box, Flower Power posed in her bare feet before returning to her box.  

See April's doll wearing her headband, necklace, and shoes, here and read her luncheon coverage here.

Thank you again, Phyllis and Vicky, for helping me locate Flower Power.  She's a gem!

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Throwback Thursday: Topsy Removed From eBay Search

For the next few weeks or for as long as I see fit, I will blog about a vintage or older doll in a Throwback Thursday post. This is the first.

Nancy Ann Storybook Topsy, hard plastic version, circa 1948-1950

In February 2012, I received the above hard plastic Nancy Ann Storybook  (NASB) Topsy, a circa 1948-1950 replica of the company's original 1930s bisque version of the same doll.  As described in my original post about this doll, she represents the character, Topsy, from Harriet Beecher Stowe's book, Uncle Tom's Cabin: Or, Life Among the Lowly, which was written/published when American slavery was still in full force. 

Except for medium used, the hard plastic Topsy is almost identical to the bisque version.  Unlike the bisque version, the hard plastic doll's neck is jointed and the legs are jointed at the hips.  The bisque version has frozen legs and an unjointed neck.

After receiving the hard plastic doll as a gift, I set out to find the original bisque version.  An eBay search  revealed other NASB Topsy dolls but not the one I wanted.  So I saved the search in order to be notified of new listings.

Circa 1930s and 1948-50 Nancy Ann Storybook Topsy dolls are almost identical.

With patience and persistence, I finally found the bisque doll at a price I was willing to pay.  Prior to finding her, there had been other eBay listings that either began or ended too high for me.  This little girl showed up in a low, buy it now auction with free shipping.  After reading the description and determining that the doll was in fact bisque, I completed the buy it now and the payment.

NASB Topsy dolls made of bisque (far left) and hard plastic (middle and far right)

The twins are joined by my original hard plastic Topsy made during the late 1940s-1950s after the head sculpt was changed and sleep eyes were added.  My dear friend knew that I wanted a bisque Topsy that uses the original sculpt, which is what she thought she was purchasing when I received the twin to my newly acquired bisque doll.

Now that I have the one I've long desired, "bisque Nancy Ann Storybook Topsy" and "black Nancy Ann Storybook doll" have been removed from my saved eBay searches. 


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Kerr & Hinz 1947 Model B

The title of this post probably sounds like the name of a car, but of course written by me, it's not about a car.   

4-inch Model B Kerr & Hinz bisque baby, circa 1940s

I purchased my first black-painted bisque Kerr & Hinz doll, shown above, from an eBay seller in 2008, which is when I learned the history of the Kerr & Hinz Peg o' My Heart Dolls.  The person from whom I purchased the baby had it painted a dark brown, almost black in color. She dressed it in a white organdy Christening gown with bonnet, cloth diaper pinned in the front, and white knit booties. 

According to their history, Kerr & Hinz dolls varied in size from 4-inch babies (like my Model B) to 7-inch, Nancy Ann Storybook type dolls.  The Santa Clara, California-based company is said to have manufactured dolls for the Nancy Ann Storybook Doll (NASBD) company prior to branching out and creating their own very similar, ready-to-be-painted Peg o' My Heart dolls.  They were later sued by NASBD during the 1950s for copyright infringement before discontinuing their doll business.

According to one Kerr & Hinz' 1940's brochure,

Women's organizations all over the country have used "Peg o' My Heart" dolls successfully in money-raising campaigns for their church, lodge or auxiliary.  A few minutes work transforms one of these little figures into a beautifully dressed doll that any little mother would love... a doll that will bring many times its cost at your bazaar or festival.  All women enjoy the thrill of creating diminutive costumes... here is a chance to turn that pleasure into real profit merely by utilizing spare time and odd pieces of material.  One church purchased 1000 dolls and made a net profit of $2000 for their building fund!...

In the late 1940s, the dolls retailed for $3.50 per dozen for Model B.  Model H (same doll as Model B) was sold with a wooden high chair originally for $7.20 per dozen.  The Miss Peg o' My Heart 7-inch dolls sold nude for $5.40 per dozen, and dressed, they sold from $7.20 per dozen (that's only 60 cents per doll!).

My original Kerr & Hinz doll  (shown in the first image) was found among other unpainted K&H dolls in an abandoned building in Santa Clara, California during the 1970s.  Had she and the others been there for over 20 years waiting to be rediscovered? 

A copy of an original Kerr & Hinz brochure accompanied my original Model B baby. 

K&H Miss Peg 'o My Heart painted brown and dressed by eBay seller

I purchased two of the 7-inch Peg o' My Heart dolls from the seller of my original K&H baby.  The 7-inch dolls were painted dark brown and have black mohair wigs.  The seller dressed them to my specifications.  I kept the one shown above and gave the other to a friend.  The 7-inch K&H dolls do resemble Nancy Ann Storybook dolls.  It is understandable why NASBD sued K&H.

An original 1940s K&H brochure accompanied my newest K&H "brown" Model B baby.

Close-up of tan K&H Model B baby

Last month, I added another K&H Model B baby to my collection.  It was described by the seller as a black/brown bisque baby but in fact is actually tan.  The seller indicated she purchased it 20 years ago from an estate sale in San Jose, California.  The new baby arrived to me in its original white box with blue hearts print design, tucked inside its original pink fleece bunting.  The seller also sent an original Kerr & Hinz brochure.  It is obvious that someone hand painted this little one tan as some of the unpainted bisque can be seen in the jointed areas.  Could it have been painted by a member of a women's organization and sold during a fund raising event during the 1940s, or was it hand painted by the owner of the estate from which it was purchased?   I will probably never know.

More information about Kerr & Hinz dolls can be read at the following links:
Kerr & Hinz for Nancy Ann
Kerr & Hinz 1940s


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She is: Aline by Nancy Ann Storybook, 1970s

Aline, a Barbie clone by Nancy Ann Storybook, 1970s

The mystery doll in my blog post from yesterday is, in fact, Aline by Nancy Ann Storybook from the 1970s.

I surfed the Internet last night in an attempt to find an image of a black Barbie clone like this one and found three, links to which were shared as comments to yesterday's post.  Here is one of the three links I shared.

I received the following email this morning from the doll's owner:

Thank you so much! I got a message from a collector on Flickr which led me to check out NASB's Aline doll. I think we have solved the mystery - she is an African American version of Aline. Thanks SO much for your help and support.

Best wishes,

Tonya

 Thanks everyone for your input... your comments prompted last night's investigative Internet surfing. 



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A Nancy Ann Storybook Doll Valentine

In addition to collecting modern dolls, I also incorporate historically-significant dolls into my collection for a variety of reasons.  These early dolls often illustrate how black people were perceived during the time in which they were made.  One of my Valentine's gifts this year includes a doll that falls into the historically-significant category.

The doll is a 5-1/2-inch Nancy Ann Storybook (NASB) Doll, circa 1948-1950. Her name is Topsy, based on the young enslaved girl in Harriet Beecher Stowe's classic book, Uncle Tom's Cabin. 

First published in 1852 as an antislavery text, Stowe, an abolitionist, is said to have intentionally created stereotypical characters to expose the evils of enslavement.  Topsy is an incorrigible, young servant, purchased as a "gift" for a woman who despises her because she is black.  Topsy's new owner refused to touch her for the same reason, the color of her skin; it is unnerving to her.  Poor Topsy doesn't know how to love and believes, because of the mistreatment she has endured throughout her life, that it is impossible for a black person to be loved.  She is eventually "delivered" from this belief the moment the young white mistress, Eva, "touches" her and tells Topsy she loves her.  Eva's mere touch cures Topsy of her waywardness.  When Eva dies, Topsy is heartbroken.

Topsy, the doll, arrived in a Valentine-shaped box (used only as a gift box; it is not original to the doll).  The top of the box is painted to look like a men's vested suit.  The doll wears her original rust and white, block-check taffeta dress, white pantaloons, and painted-on black shoes.  Initially, I thought my doll was one of the original bisque, 1930s storybook dolls that the founder of the company, Nancy Ann Abbott, made.

Abbott's original, 1930s storybook dolls were bisque with painted eyes and were similar in appearance to my 1948 doll, which was fashioned to look like her original dolls.

Other hard plastic, dark skinned NASB versions from the late 1940s-1950s were made with sleep eyes like the one I referenced in Black Dolls A Comprehensive Guide to Celebrating, Collecting, and Experiencing the Passion. 

Two versions of late-1940s hard plastic NASB Topsy dolls, one with sleep eyes, one with painted eyes

In addition to their different eyes, my Valentine's doll and my first hard plastic Topsy (shown above), have different head sculpts. At the time of this writing, I do not own an original black bisque NASB doll, but would like to eventually. 

Other dark skinned NASB dolls, circa 1930s through 1950s include, and are possibly limited to:

• Several versions of Topsy (sold individually and with the white counterpart Eva) 
• Several versions of Mammy and Mammy and Baby 

The dolls shown at the two previous links are made of bisque.   As illustrated at these links, the fabric used for their dresses varied throughout the years.  Use was probably based on availability.  Mammy and Baby are harder to find today and usually are quite costly.   Topsy and Eva together command top dollar, too.  I have no plans nor desire to own either of these sets. 

Nancy Ann #208 Nigerian, from the Bourla years (1966 - 1973)

The Nigerian Nancy Ann doll, shown above, is made of plastic.  This more recent dark-skinned Nancy Ann doll was manufactured by the Bourla Company and may be part of an international doll series. 

Albert Bourla acquired the original NASB company during the 1960s following Ms. Abbott's death and the company's subsequent state of bankruptcy.  I discovered the Nigerian doll while doing research for this post and purchased it in a buy it now auction the day prior to publishing.  The Bourla dolls, made in Hong Kong, are said to be inferior in quality to the original dolls.  I will know for myself within a few days.

Bourla sold his company in 2003 to sisters, Claudette Buehler and Darlene Budd. Their dolls are designed by Dianna Effner.  The first ones were produced in 2005.  I do not own any of the sisters' dolls.  To date none are dark skinned. 

Black Nancy Ann Storybook Dolls' Historical Significance:

• Early 20th Century dolls manufactured by a female entrepreneur.
• Black and white dolls share the same molds.
• Black dolls' facial features are not stereotypical, unlike many early 20th Century black dolls that had exaggerated facial features.
• Black dolls are characteristically stereotypical, depicting blacks as subservient, which was the norm during the 1930s through 1950s.

For more NASB historical facts, visit the following sites:

Nancy Ann Storybook Doll History
An Insider's Guide to NASB Dolls

For more information on Topsy dolls that were manufactured by other companies click here and here.

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