Benji

Photographs courtesy of Karen Kilburn

Name: Benji

Made by and When: Terri Lee, 1950s

Material: Hard plastic

Marks: Terri Lee Patent Pending

Height: 16 inches

Hair/Eyes/Mouth: Black fur wig/painted facial features/closed mouth with painted red lips

Clothes: White button-down shirt with pointed collar, red suspender pants, white socks, black shoes; Benji is missing his red cap and red jacket.

Other: This Benji was painted by Jackie Ormes (African American cartoonist), who created the Patty-Jo dolls in collaboration with the Terri Lee company. According to this doll’s owner, Karen Kilburn, older Terri Lee dolls have a color dot of paint inside the back of the head that identifies the artist that painted the face.

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