Black History Month; Million Dollar Baby (In a Five and Ten Cent Store)

It was a lucky April shower, it was the most convenient door 

I found a million dollar baby, in a five and ten cent store 

Music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Mort Dixon and Billy Rose, 1931

As part of our club's virtual meeting celebrating Black History Month, we introduce a baby from the five and ten cent store belonging to member Sylvia McDonald. While the little Black all-bisque baby in the wicker buggy might not technically be worth a million dollars, Sylvia bought it when she was around seven or eight years old from a five and ten cent store and to her it is priceless (Sylvia thinks that the original cost was 25 cents). Japan first entered the doll market in WWI when German dolls were embargoed, often directly copying German models, and continued producing inexpensive little bisque dolls into the 1950s. The Japanese dolls did not match the quality of the German bisque dolls, but they were also less expensive and just the right size and price for the growing five and dime store chains. The little girl in the green plaid dress is by artist Heidi Ott doll and the other doll was designed by Sylvia Natterer and is named Deborah.

Sylvia thinks that about this same time she bought an Amosandra doll. Created by the Sun Rubber Company in 1949, Amosandra was the first mass-produced rubber Black doll, a cuddly baby who could drink and wet. The doll was produced as a tie-in the the popular radio program "Amos ’n’ Andy,” which later became a short-lived show on CBS television. The original radio show was a comedy featuring two characters, Amos Jones and Andy Brown, Black farm workers from Georgia who had moved to Chicago (and later Harlem in New York City) for a better life. The radio show was extremely popular and it was estimated that at its peak one-third of the country tuned in. The doll coincided with the birth of the youngest child of Amos and his wife, Ruby, her name a mixture of Amos and Andy. On the radio, Amos and Andy were voiced by two white actors (who appeared in blackface for publicity photographs, although the television show did cast Black actors). The show was criticized by some in the Black community as depicting Blacks in derogatory ways.

However, little Amosandra was extremely popular with children of all races, but unfortunately her soft rubber skin hardened and deteriorated over time. This was the sad fate of Sylvia's doll.

Intriguing Infants

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Member Jenell Howell shared these two beautiful babies she recently acquired. Entirely of leather, with swivel necks and beautifully painted faces, these dolls are each 16 inches high. Their ethnic outfits are original. She had no information regarding where or when they were made.

One clue to their origins may be the metal amulets in the form of a stylized hand each wears.

Known as the hamsa, this symbol is found widely throughout the Middle East and North Africa, where is appears in jewelry, wall hangings, and other decorative motifs. Tracing its origins back to ancient Mesopotamia, the amulet is thought to bring protection and luck, as well as to deflect the evil eye.

Another clue may be that the nation of Morocco has long been renown for its fine leather crafts, including dolls. Using a special process she developed in 1921, Gertrude Arnall founded the Arnall's Moroccan Craftsmen of Tangier, producing handmade leather dolls representing everyday citizens of that country. It is said that these are the first commercial dolls produced in Morocco. Doll-making was considered a breach of Islamic law, which prohibited the making of images, but Arnall convinced Moroccan authorities that the dolls were not idolatrous and would be generic characters, not portraits of any specific individual. The dolls were sold to tourists and exported through the 1940s. They may have been sold through Kimport Dolls as well. Although most of the labeled Arnall dolls represent adult men and women and range between 8 to 10 inches in height, like these babies, they are finely crafted entirely out of leather, with detailed costumes, expressive faces, and large solemn painted brown eyes. Perhaps these charming children were a special order by Arnall's atelier or another Moroccan leather craftsman was inspired by the success of Arnall's enterprise.

Until an example is found with its original label or other identification, it is a solid educated guess that these darling dolls are from the Middle East or North Africa, most likely Morocco, and were made somewhere between the 1920s through the 1940s.