Antique to Vintage Black Dolls 1890s+
From antique, vintage to modern most all doll makers around the world included at least one or more black dolls, often making a black or white version of the same doll. Only a small handful of companies in the USA come to mind, that were black owned and specialized in creating black dolls commercially and are listed below. Many home hobbyist and artists around the world have made beautiful black dolls out of many different types of materials.
Some types of black dolls commonly found are Topsy with her three tufts of hair or braids, Topsy-Turvey cloth dolls where one doll is black and flip it over the other doll is white, both types of dolls are usually unmarked. Black dolls can be found as adults male or female, babies and children. (click on images to see full sized)
1915 Louis Amberg Oo-Gug-Luk, Zulu Lucky Doll, 13″ composition & cloth black doll, painted face, unmarked, cloth tag.
1890s Americana all cloth black Lady doll with painted or stitched facial feature, unmarked.
1927 Oscar Hitt Snowflake all bisque doll, black head, white molded body, 2 1/2″, marked Snowflake Oscar Hitt Germany.
1940s celluloid Black Boy doll, glass eyes, closed mouth, five piece jointed body, unmarked.
1940s composition Topsy type black baby doll 9″ five piece jointed bent limb body, unmarked
1960 Hong Kong Dakkachan or Embraceable dolls 5″ winking yes, red O shaped mouth, marked Hong Kong.
1938 Walt Disney Dopey black composition dwarf doll hand puppet, doll mark DISNEY
1915 Effanbee Gumpy composition black doll 11″ doll marked Effanbee deco
1937 Freundlich Goo Goo Topsy googly eye composition & cloth doll 20″ unmarked
1890 Jumeau bisque head black-doll 21 1/2″, doll mark Tete 9 Jumeau.
1930s Kammer & Reinhardt Baby Puz composition black doll 16″ marked Germany
1928 Lenci 500 series black girl cloth doll 19″, marked on foot
1940s Little Brown Koko all cloth doll 25″ unmarked, based on books by Blanche Seale Hunt.
1941 Lu-Jon twist waist all composition black doll 10″ marked Patent. Pend.
1920s Leo Moss little black girl Cleota with tears face 16″ marked L.M.
ca. 1920s Jeanne Orsini doll mold 1430 black smiling toddler doll 20″ marked Copr. By J. I. Orsini Germany 1430,
1950s Pedigree Delite black plastic doll 7″ doll mark Pedigree Made in England
1953 Pedigree Mandy Lou black plastic doll 21″ marked Pedigree Made in England.
1900 SFBJ / Jumeau size 2 black bisque head doll 11″ marked 2.
1910 Simon & Halbig doll mold 1358 bisque head black doll 19″ marked 1358.
Some USA doll makers that exclusively sold or made black dolls
1900s+ Leo Moss made papier mache black dolls often with a tear on the cheek, some dolls mark L.M.
1909-1915 National Negro Doll Company composition black dolls (see video below)
1913-1917 E.M.S. Novelty Company sold imported black dolls endorsed by leading clergymen and educators
1917-1919 Otis H. Gadsen Company sold beautiful black bisque dolls for black children
1914+ J. Griffith Art Company gave black dolls as a premium for selling their beautiful post cards
1915+ Allied Grand Manufacturing Co. specialized in making composition black dolls
1935-1940s Lu Jon Sun Tan Colored Doll Co. made Patsy type black dolls with twist waists
1968-1980s Shindana Dolls & Toys made plastic or vinyl dolls of all ethnicity’s
1981-1989 Keisha Doll Company made black plastic & vinyl dolls
Stories from The Black Doll Museum by DoubleACS
Reference suggestions for books about Black dolls:
- Black Dolls I an Identification and Value Guide 1820-1991 by author Myla Perkins
- Black Dolls II an Identification and Value Guide 1892-1991 by author Myla Perkins