Special Appearance Violet Waters

Name: Special Appearance Violet Waters

Made by and When: Mel Odom for Ashton Drake Galleries (designed by José D’Saenz)

Material: Vinyl with articulated elbows and knees

Marks: Violet Waters™/©2001 Mel Odom/by Ashton-Drake Galleries

Height: 15-1/2 inches

Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Dark brown hair styled in a double victory roll and accented with a white orchid on the side, brown painted eyes, open-closed mouth with painted teeth (appears to be singing)

Clothes/Accessories: Dressed in an elaborate, full-length lined white gown that is embellished by thousands of iridescent violet and white sequins and white beads, and faux pearls, Violet Waters wears faux pearl earrings, full-length white gloves, white stockings and white ankle-strap high heels. A violet scarf, story booklet, personalized doll stand, hang tag, and a certificate of authenticity were included.

Other: Part of the Gene Marshall Collection, released during the rise in popularity of 15-to-16-inch fashion dolls, Special Appearance Violet Waters, created by Mel Odom, was introduced during the 2001 Gene Fan Appreciation Weekend and was immediately retired. Violet Waters is the first and only African American doll in the Gene Marshall line with Special Appearance being the first Violet.

Each character in the line has an interesting backstory. Violet’s character represents a 1940s-era jazz singer and piano player. According to Mel Odom, because Violet plays piano, he wanted her to have piano-playing hands with longer fingers than Gene.

Several different versions of Violet Waters were made by Ashton Drake and later by Integrity Toys and JAMIEshow. The Gene Marshall and Violet Waters Wiki includes pictures of other Violet Waters dolls. Read Violet’s full backstory here.

Slideshow (Use right or left arrow to view the slideshow.)

_________

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.