Coats and Clark Boy and Girl

Name:  Coats and Clark Boy and Girl

Made by and When: Rags and Ribbons, ca. 1955

Material: Brown cloth, yarn, stuffing, thread, felt, cotton and nylon textiles

Marks:  The front of a handmade manila paper tag tucked underneath the boy’s shirt reads, R [upside down fish symbol] R. Handwritten on the inside is, [Especialy] handmade for [empty space] By Rags and Ribbons. A red triangular-shaped cloth decorates the front lower corner of the tag, and a white ribbon is in the upper left corner of the tag.

Height: 14 inches

Hair, Eyes, Mouths: The boy has loops of black yarn hair. The girl’s hair is made from black boucle yarn and has a white ribbon bow on the top right. Both dolls have upside-down, half-moon-shaped, embroidered black side-glancing eyes with upper eyelashes. The boy’s eyes glance to his left. The girl’s eyes glance to her right. When seated side by side with the boy to the girl’s right, they glance at each other. They have embroidered eyebrows, two black embroidered dots for the nose, and an embroidered red circle mouth.

Clothes: Dressed similarly in long-sleeved heavy cotton shirts that close with three buttons, and pants that match the shirt fabric. The boy’s clothes are bright green, and his shirt features a single, low-front pocket. The girl’s clothes are light blue, and the shirt has a low front pocket on both sides. Safety pinned to the boy’s head is a white felt cap trimmed with bright green thread.  The boy wears white cotton underwear that appears to be older than the rest of his clothing, white knit socks, and black felt shoes. The girl wears white nylon panties and black felt shoes without socks.

Other: These handmade dolls were included in an estate sale in or near Oxnard, California. The pair was made by Rags and Ribbons (an independent doll artist) from a 1955 Coats and Clark “Made to be Loved Dolls” sewing pattern that included six different dolls to make—Aiko, Bobby, Marilyn, Bill, Betty Ann, and Susie. See the pattern cover image in the photo gallery.

Gallery

The blurry pattern text reads: Made to be Loved—they are irresistible and made by you. Scatter happiness with the work of your own clever fingers. Take your choice from this most adorable of [six dolls] and see what Mother’s scrapbag will yield for his hat or their clothes. The same body pattern will do for all the dolls, but you have a choice of three faces and four hairdos. The clothes are no trouble at all to make and see how cute they are.

Related Installations

Coats and Clark Susie

Ellen’s Circa 1965 Christmas Doll

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