Name: Knee-Joint Head-Turning Walker
Made by and When: (Attributed to) Rosebud, mid-1950s
Material: Hard plastic
Marks: Made in England (on the back)
Height: 17 inches
Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Replaced dark brown wig (original black hair is a thin, short left-side-parted black wig), blue-gray sleep eyes with molded lashes attached to eyelids, painted lower eyelashes; closed mouth
Clothes: Possibly redressed, underneath the dress the doll wears knitted two-piece underwear made by the previous owner, white socks, and red Mary-Jane-style Cinderella No. 3 shoes.
Other: Attributed to Rosebud of England, this lovely girl has pin-jointed hips, jointed knees, and the head moves from side to side when the legs are moved in a back and forth walking motion.
Two brown-eyed dolls by Rosebud dressed in island clothing and a casual dress that use the same head and body sculpt as this doll appear on pages 2 and 126, respectively, in British Hard Plastic Dolls of the 1940s & 1950s by Frances Baird (New Cavendish Books, London, 1984). The marks of this doll and the dolls in Baird’s book differ. According to Baird, the dolls in her book have Rosebud on their necks and Made in England across their shoulders. This doll’s neck is unmarked. Their back marks are the same. It is possible that another England doll company used the same head and body sculpt as Rosebud to create this doll or that this doll was made by Rosebud without the inclusion of their name on the doll’s neck.
Gallery
_________
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™ 