Leo Moss Girl

Name: Leo Moss Girl

Made by and When: Leo Moss, early 1900s

Material: Papier-mâché, cloth, stuffing, glass eyes

Marks: None

Height: 18 inches

Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Sculpted hair, outlined inset glass eyes, has broad facial features (nose and mouth) with red lip color

Clothes: Dressed as shown in a white dress with floral accents, matching pantalettes, and white knit booties

Other: A Black handyman by trade, Leo Moss, a native of Macon, GA, sculpted his doll heads with ethnically correct facial features using a paper-mâché technique during the late 1800s through early 1900s. Doll historians suggest that he sourced pre-made doll parts from a New York toy supplier and then applied papier-mâché to reshape the heads, creating sculpts that more accurately represent African American facial features. Many of his dolls are unmarked, while others will bear a cloth label on their body with Moss’s initials (L.M.), the doll’s name, and/or the year made. The current owner of this unmarked doll purchased it in approximately the year 2000 from another collector who purchased it from Betty Formaz, the woman who introduced Leo Moss dolls to the doll-collecting community.

Gallery (Photos courtesy of Sharin Harbin)

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