Oilcloth Mask Face Dolls

Name:  Oilcloth Mask Face Dolls

Made by and When: Unknown, 1910-1940s

Material: Oilcloth, paint, fabric, stuffing

Marks:  Unmarked

Height: 12 inches

Hair, Eyes, Mouths: A tuft of mohair for bangs underneath a fabric tignon, black-painted eyes, closed mouth with painted-red lips; dots of red paint accent the inner corners of the eyes and the nostrils.

Clothes: Both dolls have multicolored fabric torsos, arms, and feet; tignon- (scarf-) covered heads, and brown cloth legs. The fully dressed doll wears a removable white blouse, a red-white-and-blue striped skirt, a white slip and panties, and felt shoes. The other doll is missing a skirt. This pair possibly dates back to the 1930s.

Other: Oilcloth mask face dolls are cloth dolls with faces that are made separately and then attached to the head. This method was used from 1910 to the 1940s as an inexpensive way to create detailed doll faces.

Gallery

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Published by DeeBeeGee

Doll collector, historian, co-founder of the first e-zine devoted to collecting black dolls; author of black-doll reference books, doll blogs, and doll magazine articles.

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