Saralee’s Sister

Name: Saralee’s Sister (and other siblings)

Made by and When: Ideal, circa 1952

Material: Vinyl

Marks: Ideal Doll / CS17 (on the head); Ideal Doll / P17 / o (on the back)

Height: 17 inches

Hair/Eyes/Mouth: Deeply sculpted black curls with a widow’s peak/ brown sleep eyes with eyelashes, open mouth with molded tongue, painted red lips

Clothes: The featured doll is redressed as illustrated. The all-original sister (seen in the second set of gallery photographs) is all original in a one-piece dress and pinafore, matching bonnet, under slip, underwear, and shoes that are marked “Ideal Toy Corp. 16.”

Other: Saralee’s sister is a toddler with straight legs, slightly bent at the knees. With a molded derrière, the sister can sit or stand with support.

Several different head sculpts were proposed as siblings for Ideal’s Saralee Negro Doll after or during the time Saralee was made. It is unknown if these were widely produced or produced in low numbers. It is suspected that low numbers were produced. A baby brother with a brown cloth body (see the gallery photos), this 17-inch all-vinyl sister (that could be dressed as girl or a boy), an all-vinyl approximately 16-inch all-original sister, and an identical doll dressed as a boy have been documented as Saralee’s siblings by collectors who own them. See the other siblings in the gallery photos.

Gallery

Gallery of Saralee’s Other Documented Siblings

The following photos of Saralee’s 17-inch Baby Brother, the doll’s head marks, and the comparison photo between Saralee and the Baby Brother are from the Dawn Spears Black Legacy Images Collection. The photos of Saralee’s approximately 16-inch all-vinyl toddler sister and brother are courtesy of Gerald Corbin.

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