Name: Didine, a French West Indies Souvenir Doll
Made by and When: Sandra Dogue, circa the 1940s
Material: Celluloid
Marks: None; has a Sandra Dogue hang tag
Height: 7 inches
Hair, Eyes, Mouth: The head is covered with a Madras plaid tignon. The brown eyes are painted. The mouth is closed.
Clothes: Didine wears a traditional French West Indies costume of vibrant Madras plaids. The dress has an attached slip and an undergarment. Didine wears gold-tone beaded earrings. The feet are bare.
Other: Didine is a French West Indies souvenir doll. The hang tag is written in French and English. The English text on the back of the hang tag reads, “Exact reproduction original costumes of Caribbee. Dressed in Caribbee.” Sandra Dogue dolls are notably higher-end vintage souvenir dolls sold in the French West Indies, specifically Martinique.
A note from Sandra Rose-Valmary (Sandra Dogue’s granddaughter) further indicates, “while the celluloid doll was effectively custom-made in France by Petitcollin, as my grandmother wanted the skin color of all the different dolls to be as accurate as possible, her workshop was in Martinique. The clothes were designed by her and made in Martinique, and the dolls were dressed and the product finished in Martinique. While my grandmother was born in Paris, my grandfather was a Black man from Martinique. My grandmother went to live there when she got married. All of her employees were Martiniquaise women… her business was 100% women-run.”
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