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For the final issue published together of Black Doll-E-Zine, the editors have decided to share with the readers a little information about their passion for collecting Black dolls.
~DEBBIE~
Debbie's passion for Black dolls began after purchasing a Black porcelain collector's doll, pictured below, for her daughter in 1991.
The doll, Jessica, by Princess House, was a planned gift for her daughter's upcoming birthday. After receiving the doll, Debbie decided that her adolescent daughter, who was really no longer interested in dolls, would probably not appreciate the doll. For this reason, Debbie decided to keep the doll for herself. This "simple," Black-doll would serve to awaken Debbie's desire to obtain every Black doll that she could find. The search was, as they say, on!
The early dolls in Debbie's collection consisted of similar porcelain dolls purchased via the Home Shopping Network and QVC. These types of dolls soon became undesireable, and Debbie focused her collecting energies toward other types of Black dolls.
After graduating from HSN and QVC doll purchases and subscribing to doll publications such as Doll Reader and Dolls the Magazine, Debbie entered the world of vinyl artist-doll collecting. Dolls by Heidi Ott, Sasha Morgenthaler (pictured above), FayZah Spanos, Annette Himstedt, Susan Wakeen, Phyllis Parkins, Zook, Val Shelton, Corolle, Pauline, Lee Middleton and other popular artists, who offered Black-dolls to the collecting community, were included in her collection.
After receiving several complimentary issues of MasterCollector and Collector's United, Debbie developed an interest in vintage to modern play dolls and amassed a collection of several dolls from the 1960s-1990s. The favorites in this category include the 36-inch Playpal types (left) and the 1980 Patti Playpal by Ideal (the first-ever made by Ideal as a black doll). The Ideal Crissy Grow-Hair family of dolls (above, right), Black celebrity dolls, vintage Barbie and Friends, dolls by Shindana, Beatrice Wright, Remco, and other manufacturers are also among Debbie's favorites. Vintage to modern paper dolls are also part of Debbie's Black-doll collection.
Today Debbie prefers to collect vintage Black dolls from the 1930s-1950s similar to those pictured above. These consist of composition, hard plastic, Magic Skin and some vinyl dolls. The little sleeping one up front is a reborn Berengeur by BrownSugarBabies.com. Debbie's favorite vinyl dolls are currently the My Twinn dolls. She enjoys the fact that these 24-inch, multi-jointed, highly posable dolls can be dressed in an array of different fashions and rewigged, if desired, to achieve a new look. She even had a Twinn doll created in her likeness as a teenager. A few or her "Twinns" are pictured below as well as Debbie (at age 15) and her My Twinn doll, Little Debbie, wearing a replica of Debbie's dress, custom made as a surprise gift by her doll friend, Debra Richardson:
Debbie also continues to enjoy adding an occasional artist doll to her collection. Her most recent artist-doll acquisitions include dolls made by Joke Grobben (Aya, holding pottery below), Philip Heath, Elisabeth Lindner, Helen Kish (Baby Carolyn in blue jumpsuit, below), to name a few. Annette Himstedt remains her favorite artist with reference to facial sculpts (see Amber holding Baby Sunny Boy, below).
With an inability to really focus on one category of dolls to collect, Debbie confesses that she is an incurable Black-doll-a-holic. With time she is hopeful that she will eventually develop a more strict, Black-doll focus. However, for now, she enjoys them all.
Debbie's passion for Black-dolls led to extensive Black-doll research. The research, coupled by intense encouragement from other collectors who expressed a desire for an up-to-date, Black-doll reference book, prompted Debbie to write the Definitive Guide to Collecting Black Dolls. Her book is the first and only, FULL-COLOR, Black-doll reference book to date. It is currently available via http://www.amazon.com, http://www.barnesandnoble.com, and other online book vendors. It may also be purchased directly from the publisher, Hobby House Press, Inc., http://www.hobbyhouse.com; or, for a limited time, you may obtain an autographed copy from Debbie.
~ZEE~
Zee has been a doll
collector since the early age of 5. Whenever asked what she wanted for
Christmas and birthdays, the answer was always "a doll". Her
childhood dolls included well-known names such as Tiny Tears, Miss Revlon,
Tammy, and of course, Barbie. It
wasn't until after her mother introduced her to Sasha Morganthaler's "Sasha"
dolls that she began to focus on dolls of
color. To this day, she still refers to her collection as "A little
United Nations". Soon dolls began to take over their
home and encouraged
by her husband, Zee took over the ownership of a local doll shop that was up for
sale. Although only a small number of the dolls were black, she had
visions of turning the shop into one that focused mainly on dolls of color and
set about changing the complexion of the store.. Many factors contributed
to the closing of the brick and mortar shop after four years and Zee moved the
business to the Internet. In this article, Zee shares
with the readers photographs and descriptions of part of her collection that is very special to her: African
dolls. "I am
not quite sure when, but I bought my first South African Ndebele doll in a little
old-fashioned book shop. Around the same time, I read an article on what
they called "Zila" dolls, in a doll magazine and that sent me on a quest for
more knowledge...and more dolls. "Knowing of
my interest in African dolls, friends and relatives have helped add to my
collection which now includes dolls from Senegal, and the Ivory
Coast. "Because they are not in the
mainstream of collecting, information on African dolls is limited and sometimes
confusing. The design and shape of the beaded aprons worn by the Ndebele
dolls will tell you if the doll represents a maiden, a married woman, or a
married woman with children. The gold neck-rings, and beaded bands worn
about the arms and ankles also have meaning.
A & B: Initiation dolls, C: Fertility doll, D & E: Ceremonial or cone dolls,
F-J: Sangoma dolls
Initiation dolls are presented to a young girl upon completion
of Ighude (puberty rite) to celebrate her womanhood. Fertility dolls are
presented to the bride after her wedding ceremony. They are to be
destroyed or given away after the birth of the third child. Ceremonial
dolls are presented to a women by a man to indicate his intention to
propose. The Sangoma is the village's spiritual leader.
This doll's representation is unknown...but it is very old and the beadwork is quite
fragile.
A: Two beaded dolls from South Africa. They are approximately 3"
tall. The doll on the left has a baby on her back. B: Two Ntwana dolls from Lesotho which show Ndebele influence
A & B: Dolls from Senegal. C: Felt and bead doll made at a Red Cross center in south Africa. D
& E: Yacouba masked dancer dolls
from the Ivory Coast.
Deb and Zee will probably continue to collect dolls ad infinitum... forever. They both hope that you have enjoyed reading their doll collectors' profiles as well as those of other collectors profiled in past issues of Black Doll-E-Zine.
To contact us:
blackdollezine@yahoo.com
(Zee)
blackdollezine@sbcglobal.net (Deb)
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