Baby Dear One and Kwanzaa

18-inch Vogue Baby Dear One by Vogue Dolls, c. 1964

Baby Dear One by Vogue, the doll featured in my previous blog post this week, was installed in DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum. The link to the installation has been added to the Sisters at Heart blog post and is included here.

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Happy Kwanzaa week!
 

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

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Lost and Found Baby Dear One

A fellow collector asked me if noted doll designer, Eloise Wilkin, sculpted the 1960s dolls Welcome Home Baby Turns Two by Vogue and Alexander's Baby Precious.  According to the collector, these two dolls share the same head mold but have different hair and eyes.  I was not sure that these dolls were Wilkin designs, but I informed her that I knew Wilkin sculpted Vogue's Baby Dear line of dolls.  Thinking about the two versions of Baby Dear One that I own, I went to retrieve them but could only find one! 

I removed several dolls from a doll shelf in the doll room where I "thought" the larger doll was, but the doll was not there.

I looked in a bedroom where several other baby dolls have been banished to the bed and other areas in this room, but Baby Dear One was not there... at least not where I could see her.

I abandoned the search because I knew, if I still owned the doll (the thought that I had sold it worried me), I would eventually find her. 

A day or so later, I went back into the bedroom where I looked previously, took my time and focused on each doll, and there Baby Dear One was lying peacefully on the bed, having been overlooked previously.  My lost but now found 18-inch Baby Dear One is now back in the doll room with the 12-inch version.

Both dolls have E. Wilkin incised on the upper back portion of their right thighs with ©1960 above the artist's name. Wilkin is one of only a few doll designers from the 1960s era (and prior) to mark their dolls.

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Eloise Wilkin was an author, illustrator, and doll designer.  She designed dolls for Vogue and Madame Alexander and did, in fact, design the two dolls that prompted my search for my Vogue Baby Dears.  Wilkin illustrated children's books, specifically Little Golden Books.  Her illustrations often featured yellow-haired, cherub-looking children.  Some books even featured little girls with baby dolls.  The book  Baby Dear, written by Esther Wilkin, Eloise's sister, is one such book that features a little mommy with her doll.  

While Vogue manufactured black versions of some of the dolls Eloise Wilkin designed, I have been unable to document any Wilkin-illustrated books that feature Black children or black dolls. 

For more information on Wilkin, visit her Facebook fan-created page.

dbg

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Country Miss Ginny - New Doll from Vogue Doll Company

Stock photo of Country Miss Ginny by Vogue Dolls

Authorized Vogue doll dealer, Judy McGrail, shared the above image of Country Miss Ginny, a newly released doll by Vogue Doll Company.  Country Miss uses the vintage Ginny mold.  If interested in adding this 7-1/2 inch (19.05 cm) toddler to your collection, please contact Judy. 

Scroll down a bit and take a look at other new dolls offered by Vogue here. 

Hint-Hint Vogue:  An AA Christmas Ginny is long overdue.  So please consider adding one to your line next year or at least an extra boxed Christmas fashion for collectors like me who enjoy redressing their dolls in themed fashions.  

dbg

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Vintage Dress Me Boy

In 2008, Vogue introduced a trio of Dress Me Boys to their line of Ginny dolls -- a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead.  It was not until 2009 that I discovered the existence of these 7-1/2-inch tykes and the disappointing absence of an AA counterpart.  In August of this year, I wrote the company to inquire about the inclusion of an AA boy and was told, "Our design department is working on next year now, and the items below are set for discussion. Stay tuned to see what happens."



When it comes to dolls and what I desire, patience is usually not a virtue for me.  Using a 2006 AA Vintage Dress Me Ginny, I created an AA Dress Me Boy and named him, Jimmy.  I made a second one for a dear friend.  Currently, there are only two dolls like this (that I know of) worldwide, but that's about to change. 

On December 16, 2009, I shared the above image of my OOAK AA Dress Me Boy, "Jimmy," with Dave Smith of Vogue Dolls and again inquired about the possibility of an AA doll in 2010's line.  The following is my e-mail inquiry and Dave Smith's reply of December 21, 2009, (which he granted permission for me to share):

Hi Dave,

I wrote you earlier this year regarding an AA Dress Me Ginny Boy (using the vintage Ginny body and head sculpt). I wanted to share the attached image of the AA Dress Me Ginny Boy that I designed using an AA DM Ginny.

Do you know whether or not your company plans to include an AA Dress Me Ginny [boy] in next year's line? Thanks!

In my lifetime,

Debbie Garrett
Author, Black Dolls A Comprehensive Guide to Celebrating, Collecting, and Experiencing the Passion


http://blackdollcollecting.com/
http://dollsmagazine.com/blogs/dolls-in-black.html

"Take pride in how far you have come. Have faith in how far you can go." —Author Unknown.

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HI Debbie,

Yes, he is scheduled for release approx end February early March 2010. We will also have an AA Crib Crowd DM also.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


Dave Smith
Vogue Dolls

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Woo hoo (I thought).  I could not contain this information and asked Dave if I could share it with other black-doll enthusiasts. I was given the okay to "blog away."  Collectors can look forward to an AA Dress Me Boy as well as an AA Crib Crowd DM doll during the first quarter of 2010! 

I'm keeping hope alive for curly hair!

dbg