Photographs courtesy of Karen Kilburn
Name: Baby Nancy
Made by and When: Shindana Toys/1968
Material: Vinyl
Marks: DIV OF/OPERATION BOOTSTRAP, INC. U.S.A. / ©1968 SHINDANA (on head)
Height: 13 inches
Hair/Eyes/Mouth: Black rooted hair/brown painted eyes/drink and wet mouth with painted pink lips
Clothes: Dressed in a variety of brightly colored dresses and panties, bare feet
Other: Shindana Toys, a division of Operation Bootstrap, Inc., was founded by Louis S. Smith, II and Robert Hall during the aftermath of the Watts revolt against 1960s police brutality and other issues affecting the Black community. Shindana Dolls was founded as part of a cooperative to bring jobs and revenue back into the community and to produce ethnically correct black dolls. Baby Nancy, sculpted by African American sculptor Jim Toatley, was Shindana’s first doll. Several versions of Baby Nancy exist.
The Baby Nancy dolls curated here represent the original head sculpt used for Baby Nancy. Three hairstyle versions were released of the doll that uses the first head sculpt: long side ponytails, short curly hair, and long side ponytails with bangs.
In 1969, the Zuri head sculpt was used for Baby Nancy.
In November 2020, Baby Nancy was inducted into the Strong Museum’s National Toy Hall of Fame. Below the slideshow are links to additional Shindana Toys information.
Slideshow
Videos
Shindana Toys Articles of Interest:
Shindana Dolls Toys that Make a Difference
Operation Bootstrap: Empowering the African American Community Through Entrepreneur
Google Arts and Culture Exhibit: A History of Shindana Toys
_________
Your comments are valued. Donations aid the initiative to preserve Black-doll history.
If you subscribe to DeeBeeGee’s Virtual Black Doll Museum™ by email, be sure to click the post title in the email, which links to the website to view all text and associated media. Please “like” and share this installation with your social media doll contacts. To subscribe, add your email address to the subscribe or sign-up field in the footer or right sidebar.
DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum™ 