Saralee Brings Joy to Non-Collector

saralee doll 030
Originally uploaded by bestfriendthemom

Another flickr photo find. The caption says it all:

"I just found some interesting and exciting information about this doll I have had for many years. It was a gift from my son Abe when he was ten years old; he found it while working and cleaning rental properties for a job. Someone offered me 250.oo back then for it, but I think she's beautiful, and she's a gift from my son, so no way would I sell her, EVER! I just found her info on the internet when I looked up her markings. she is an origiinal famous doll, Saralee, commissioned by Eleanor Rooseveltt and Zora Neale Hurston, among other famous activists, to make a realistic ( the first one) representation of a black child in 1951! I'm reading all up on this and it is pretty interesting and exciting and I still would never sell her! And I don't collect dolls, but she is special!
this doll was the first real depiction, not picaninny, of an african american child. the woman who designed her took meassurements of real african american childrens heads and features and translated them to the doll. I never knew I had a historical monumental doll! I don't have her original clothes... looks like she has some other doll dress from that era on."

Bestfriendthemom's excitement is exuded in the above caption.  Congrats to her and kudos to her son for discovering this beautiful doll.

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Dr. Ralph Bunche and Eleanor Roosevelt Observe The First True ColoredDoll - Jet Magazine, November 8, 1951

Dr. Ralph Bunche and Eleanor Roosevelt Observe The First True Colored Doll - Jet Magazine, November 8, 1951
Originally uploaded by vieilles_annonces

I found this promotional picture of the 1951 Saralee doll by Ideal thanks to a fellow doll enthusiast. Thanks again, Bonnie and thank you, vieilles_annonces, for sharing your library of Jet and Ebony magazines on flickr.

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MIBDH: Early Ideal Dolls

Similar to Horsman, Alexander, and Effanbee, Ideal Toys/Ideal Dolls incorporated black dolls into their doll lines as early as the 1930s.  Below are a few early dolls by Ideal.

Illustration 72 - Ideal Toy Corporation – Black Snow White, 1938

Material: All composition

Height: 16-1/2in/41.91cm

Hair/Eyes/Mouth: Molded black hair with front center part, molded red bow/painted black with brown irises/open-closed with molded painted teeth

Clothing: Redressed in 16in/40.64cm Shirley Temple “Little Princess” dress and cape outfit

Illustration 73 - Ideal Toy Corporation – Saralee, 1951

Material: Vinyl head, arms, legs; brown cloth body with crier voice box

Height: 18in/45.72cm

Marks: Ideal Dolls (on head)

Hair/Eyes/Mouth: Molded black/brown sleep/open-closed mouth with molded tongue

Clothing: Light blue organdy Ideal-tagged dress, white socks, off-white shoes, replaced blue bonnet

Other: See “Spotlight on a Vintage Doll” in Chapter 9. (An excerpt from a February 2002 BDE article)

Photograph courtesy of Gerald Corbin

Illustration 74 - Ideal Toy Corporation – “Saralee’s Brother,” ca. 1951

Material: Vinyl

Height: (approximately) 14in/35.56cm

Hair/Eyes/Mouth: Molded black curly/brown sleep/open-closed mouth

Clothing: Redressed in a red shirt and blue pants

Other: According to Collector’s Guide to Ideal Dolls Identification and Value Guide by Judith Izen, Ideal manufactured head molds for Saralee’s big brother, big sister, and little brother but the dolls were never made.


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Images and text are from chapter 1, Black Dolls: A Comprehensive Guide to Celebrating, Collecting, and Experiencing the Passion by Debbie Behan Garrett copyright 2008