Talking Tamu

Tamu is shown as illustrated, described, and valued in The Definitive Guide to Collecting Black Dolls (Hobby House Press, 2003).

Talking Tamu by Shindana Toys, a Division of Operation Bootstrap, has the copyright year of 1970.  The doll was reintroduced in the company's 1973 catalog.  I acquired my doll (shown in the above photo from my first book) in the 1990s/early 2000s.  My doll, as I have lovingly described her, is mute but cute!  The option to have her talking mechanism repaired has never entered my mind because to do so would tamper with her never-removed-from-box state.  I prefer to keep her almost exactly as she was when the hands of the Shindana dollmakers created her during the 1970s.  If she still talked, she would be exactly as she was when she left the Shindana Toys doll factory in Watts, California.

I recently had the pleasure of communicating online with @dollstoyscomics, who has a Talking Tamu that does talk!  The 17 sweet phrases (and/or sounds) that Tamu recites were kindly shared with me by @dollstoyscomics, who also shared the above photo of the little doll behind the sweet voice.

Listen to what Tamu says in the following YouTube audio:




Talking Tamu's voice is quite clear after all these years.  Below is a transcript of what she says in the YouTube audio:

 1.  Tell me a story.
 2.  Tamu means sweet.
 3.  Pick me up.
 4.  My name is Tamu.
 5.  Let's play house.
 6.  Lay me down.
 7.  I'm proud like you.
 8.  Can you dig it?
 9.  Cool it baby.
10. (Crying sound)
11.  Do you like my dress?
12.  (Laughs)
13.  Give me a kiss.
14.  Hold me tight.
15.  I love you.
16.  I'm hungry.
17.  I'm sleepy.

One of Tamu's biggest fans

Felicia Ann Beaty at around age 5 is shown with Talking Tamu, her favorite doll as a child.

It's no doubt that countless 1970s little girls enjoyed their Talking Tamu dolls.  Felicia Ann Betty of Morristown, NJ said,  "That was my favorite doll as a child!"  She has the picture to prove it as indicated above in a photo taken in 1970 or 1971 when she was around 5 years old.

Thank you again @dollstoyscomics for sharing Talking Tamu's sweet voice with me and for giving me permission to share here.

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If you have not watched KCET.net's 26-minute Shindana Toys documentary you can do so below.


Additionally, to promote KCET.net's documentary on the Shindana Toy Company, there are two very interesting articles about Shindana Toys and Operation Bootstrap published on their website that Shindana doll enthusiasts and doll historians will enjoy.  Links to these articles, written by Nadra Nittle and Yolanda Hester, respectively, are included below:

Operation Bootstrap:  Empowering the African American Community Through Entrepreneurship

Shindana Toys:  Dolls That Made a Difference

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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Fashionista 135 Vitiligo Barbie

Barbie Fashionista 135

Barbie Fashionista 135 represents someone who suffers from the skin condition vitiligo. Other doll companies have created similar dolls. I even created two several months ago (see them later in this post).  Mattel has finally realized that everyone should be represented in doll form, which I appreciate.

She has painted brown eyes.  Her natural-textured hair is styled in a top bun.

Several photos of my doll are illustrated and captioned below.

She wears a vertical striped slip dress with white high-top sneakers and has a gray waist pack.

As illustrated in this photo and the next, she uses the same head sculpt as Nighttime Glamour Barbie.

Fashionista 135 uses the petite body.

Her areas of vitiligo are minimal as illustrated in this photo and in the next two. (Her torso and legs are unaffected).

On her left side, a portion of her neck, chest, shoulder, and left hand are affected.

The area above and below her eyebrows and right forearm and hand are also affected.

Modeling Sparkle Girlz Fashions

Because of her petite body, these Sparkle Girlz fashions fit her nicely.

Dolls with vitiligo

Redressed in her original clothing, she poses with the two dolls I painted.

I found my doll on Amazon when the price was $9.99 with free Prime shipping. 

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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Flirty Italian-Made Doll by Levia

Lovely hard plastic doll by Levia

Made by Levia of Milan, Italy, this charming, circa 1950s 21-inch doll has brown flirty eyes that appear to follow you when her head turns.  Made of hard plastic that looks like composition, she is a head-turning walker.  When her legs are moved in a walking motion, her head turns from left to right.

She wears her original red organdy dress which has hand-painted flowers on the bodice and skirt.  The collar of the dress is removable.

Her original hangtag reads Levia, Milano, Made in Italy. 

She has a human hair wig.  Her neck markings read Levia/Milano/Brevattato (brevetatto means patented or trademarked).

She was not in pristine condition upon arrival, but her flaws were minor and few.

Loose arm stringing was her main cosmetic flaw.

This is a better illustration of her loose arm stringing, but take note of her beautiful satin undergarment.  The attached tag has a series of numbers stamped on it.

A few of the lashes of one eye are missing, which is not very bothersome.

Airing out

What was bothersome was her musty odor that was alleviated by hanging the doll and her dress outside over a several-day period.  For approximately a week, I would bring her and the dress in at night and return both to hang outside the following morning.

Don't do this.

I made the dreadful mistake initially of wrapping fabric softener sheets around her and enclosing her in plastic.  The lavender scent of the fabric softener sheets seemed to accentuate the musty odor after the overnight period in which they were used, so I opted to allow fresh air to resolve the issue, as described in the previous paragraph and illustrated in the previous picture.

Feeling all brand new after airing out

After airing out, I successfully restrung her (after watching a few Youtube videos on restringing and then asking my husband how he does it).  Her original dress was put on, her wig combed, and the ribbon with fabric flowers was tied around her head.

Her original ribbon headband with fabric flower accents can be seen in this photo taken from the back which also illustrates her hair length.

Lastly, I made a pair of dark red sandals to cover her bare feet.  I did not create a photo documentation of the sandal-making process, but it is described briefly below.

I wanted her to have open-toed shoes to show off her original pedicure.  The organdy fabric of the dress justifies the sandals as well.

How I Made the Sandals:
After tracing both feet for a template of the shape, a cork coaster was used to create the soles.  Heavy card stock covered with yellow fabric creates the insoles and heavyweight dark red grosgrain ribbon, sandwiched between the soles and the insoles wraps across her upper feet and around the ankles.  The sandals snap closed on the side of each ankle.

The side snap closure is illustrated in this photo.

Feeling so fresh and so clean with covered feet, she posed once again for a full-length photo.

In this photo, she holds a doll ornament.

Close-up of the doll ornament.

Because she will be part of my Christmas decor, this lovely flirty-eyed girl now holds a 1930s-style Patsy doll ornament.

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I have not been able to find any information about the Levia doll company and this doll is the only brown-skinned doll by Levia that I have found during my brief research.  Like most companies, brown or black versions were probably made in fewer lots than the white counterparts.  A Google image search for Levia dolls results in several white versions of this doll or dolls that use the same head sculpt and body.  No other black or brown versions, except this doll, were in the search results.  I am happy to have found this one.

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