Name: Torchy’s Togs Paper Doll
Illustrated By: Jackie Ormes
Published By and When: Pittsburgh Courier, March 3, 1951
Sizes: The paper doll, Torchy, is 4 inches. The panel measures 5-1/4 x 8 inches.
Description: Torchy and four high-end fashions with a description for each are included on this panel. Torchy’s caption reads, “Here we go, again, girls, but we dedicate this week’s dresses to the boys in service. I’ve chosen a romantic quartet of fashion hints just for those days when your fighting man comes in on leave!”
Other: Born Zelda Mavin Jackson, Jackie Ormes was the first syndicated African American female cartoonist. Her comic strips and the Torchy’s Togs paper doll addressed current issues including politics, women’s rights, and racism. The Torchy’s Togs paper doll featured here was a topper for Ormes’ Torchy in Heart Beats comic strip for March 3, 1951, published in the Pittsburgh Courier. Torchy in Heart Beats ran in the Courier from 1950-1954. The 1950s Torchy (reinvented from the original 1937 character) is described as “a beautiful, independent woman who finds adventure while seeking true love” (https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Jackie_Ormes).
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