Black History Month; Hand Carved Hitty-Type

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Because of the pandemic, the club is not holding in-person meetings, so this month we are holding a virtual club meeting with members sharing their Black dolls in honor of Black History Month. The first is this wonderful one-of-a-kind creation by our talented member Elaine McNally (a pair of her beautiful Izannah Walker cloth creations have appeared earlier on this blog). This diminutive doll is 6.5 inches tall and carved from black walnut. Elaine thinks that the doll resembles Ruby Bridges as portrayed in the Norman Rockwell painting "The Problem We All Live With."

This type of little wooden doll is called a "Hitty type," inspired by the wooden doll heroine of Rachel Field's 1929 children's novel, Hitty, Her First Hundred Years. In the book, the eponymous Hitty (short for Mehitabel), a simple wooden doll carved by a peddler in the 1820s, narrates her adventures and travels over her century of existence. Hitty was based on a small antique wooden doll acquired by Field and the book's illustrator Dorothy Lathrop and the original Hitty now resides in the Stockbridge Library Association collection. The book's charming historical tale has inspired generations of doll artists to carve their own versions of Hitty. 

Black History Month; All-Bisque Doll by Simon and Halbig

Continuing our showcasing of Black dolls for Black History Month, this 9 inch tall all-bisque doll is attributed to the German company of Simon and Halbig. She wears her original red and ecru striped knee length knit swimsuit with ecru ribbon straps, black knit socks and black leatherette slippers on her bare feet, and is marked "4/886" back of her head.

Black History Month; Meet Jada

This adorable African-American girl is from the collection of member Sylvia McDonald. Her name is Jada and she was created by artist Helen Kish as a friend for Kish's Riley doll.

Black History Month

The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), an organization dedicated to researching and promoting achievements by African-Americans, sponsored a national Negro History week in 1926. Schools, churches, and communities would organize local celebrations and lectures. Cities began issuing proclamations recognizing Negro History Week and by the 1970s college campuses began designating February as Black History month. In 1976, as part of America's bicentennial, President Gerald Ford officially recognized February as Black History Month. Black dolls are an important part of doll history, so in commemoration of Black History Month, our club will be sharing examples of Black dolls. This 7 inch tall wax doll of an African-American woman selling chickens was created in New Orleans by the Vargas family. The patriarch of this artistic family was Francisco Vargas. He was born in Mexico, where he had been trained in making wax religious sculptures. Francisco immigrated to the United States and in 1875 set up a shop in New Orleans selling his wax sculptures. Instead of religious images, Vargas created realistic looking flowers, fruits and human figures. The Vargas figures are made of beeswax and dressed in fabric that had been dipped in hot wax and draped over the doll. His children and grandchildren continued the family tradition up through 1930s. Many of the figures were sold as souvenirs and are based on vendors seen on the streets of New Orleans. Under her base, a black and silver label reads “Harriet’s 318 Royal Street New Orleans.”