Gemette

Name:  Gemette

Made by and When: EEGEE, 1963

Material: Rigid vinyl

Marks: (Head) © / EEGEE Co. / 1963 / 6; (on the upper back) ©1963 / EEGEE Co.

Height:  15 inches

Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Black-rooted shag hairstyle, brown sleep eyes with molded upper eyelashes, closed mouth with light pink lip color; the cheeks are blushed.

Clothes:  Redressed as shown in a white lace dress, white patent-leather flats, and a faux pearl necklace.

Other: Gemette has a teenage body, is jointed in the five usual locations (head, upper arms, and upper legs), and has very expressive arms and hands with separated fingers that seem to gesture. This doll’s original clothing is unknown. A white Gemette dressed in a Victorian-style bridal gown is documented here. Another Black version dressed in a pink Victorian-style gown is illustrated on page 160 in Black Dolls Book II an Identification and Value Guide by Myla Perkins (Collector Books, 1995). The Victorian-dressed dolls’ have center-parted hair which is longer than the doll’s hair in this installation—see the gallery photo from the Perkins’ book.

Gemette was donated to the museum by Ms. Gloria Lane.

Gallery

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