Herman Pecker Nurse Character Doll

Name: Nurse Character Doll

Made by and When: Herman Pecker, 1960 to early 1970s

Material: Vinyl and plastic, synthetic hair, paint

Marks: The front of the doll’s paper hang tag bears an image of a woodpecker perched on a tree with the word “PECKER” underneath, as a clever visual logo. The back of the hang tag reads: 1836 / PA. 146 / MASS T 40 / OHIO 3765NY / HERMAN PECKER & CO., INC. / 7 West 36^th Street, / NEW YORK, N.Y. 10018 / ALL NEW MATERIALS / HONG KONG

Height: 9 inches

Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Short brown rooted straight hair with bangs, brown painted side-glancing eyes with blue irises; the open circle lips illustrate surprise.

Clothes: Wears a classic generic nurse uniform with Red-Cross-inspired imagery, widely used in the 1950s-1970s for nurse dolls: a white nurse’s cap with two blue stripes across the front, a blue and white striped dress, a white pinafore with a centered red cross on the bib, white tights, and white vinyl flat ankle-strap shoes.

Other: Herman Pecker & Co., Inc. (a New York importer of dolls, stuffed animals, and toys from Hong Kong and Japan), created a variety of “novelty” or dime-store character dolls during the 1960s to 1970s. Black varieties, however, are relatively rare as fewer were produced. This doll holds significant vintage doll history because it represents a rare mid-20^th-century Black professional doll produced during a time when Black dolls—especially those portraying positive, skilled occupations, such as nursing—were uncommon in the mass toy market.

Gallery (Photos are courtesy of a retired pharmacist and avid nurse memorabilia collector.)

_________

Your comments are valued. Donations support the initiative to preserve Black-doll history. 

If you subscribe to DeeBeeGee’s Virtual Black Doll Museum™ by email, click the post title of the email, which links to the website to view all text and associated media. Please “like” and share this installation with your social media contacts. If you’d like to subscribe, add your email address to the subscribe or sign-up field in the footer or right sidebar. Add your email address to the subscribe or sign-up field in the footer or right sidebar.