Tuesday

Name: Tuesday

Made by and When: Gladys MacDowell,1950s

Material: Wax with brown cloth body

Marks: The doll on the far left is hand marked: Tuesday = Gladys MacD./Tuesday #1. To-/Marie Mae Schwarz/By/Gladys MacDowell

Height: 15-1/2 to 16 inches

Hair/Eyes/Mouth: Dark brown and lighter brown mohair styled in several plaits with yellow thread at the ends/brown inset, side-glancing eyes/closed mouth with painted bright or dark red lips

Clothes: Aqua floral-print or fruit-print dresses, the doll on the far right has extra yellow cloth attached under the sleeves. The first Tuesday wears a beaded bracelet that spells out the doll’s name. The middle doll wears a harmonica around the neck. All dolls have bare feet.

Other: Tuesday was made by renowned doll artist, Gladys MacDowell, who made dolls from the 1940s through the 1970s. She was a member of the National Institute of Doll Artists and member of the Dollology Club of Washington. It is estimated that MacDowell made 10 Tuesday dolls. Some were dressed in red-print cotton dresses. The doll with the handwritten marks identifies it as the first Tuesday made and for whom.

This close-up of three of MacDowell’s Tuesday dolls illustrates their different facial expressions and confirms that each was hand sculpted.

Gladys MacDowell’s first Tuesday is marked as illustrated above. Some of the dolls are unmarked.

See more photos of Tuesday Dolls on a Pinterest board devoted to this doll.

_________

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.