Early 1900s Straw-Stuffed Composition Doll

Name: Early 1900s Straw-Stuffed Composition Doll

Made by and When: Unknown maker, ca. 1910-1930s

Material: Composition, paint, straw; painted-cloth arms, body, and legs

Marks: Unmarked

Height: 12 inches

Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Sculpted short curls with a receding, male-pattern hairline; brown-painted eyes, red-painted broad lips with six painted upper teeth; a dot of red paint highlights the inner corners of the eyes and both nostrils.

Clothes: This doll arrived from the previous owner wearing a period-appropriate gray dress with a removable blue-plaid apron. The curator added a gray head tie and gray-knit booties that are accented with a navy-blue ribbon tied in a bow.

Other: Because of the broad facial features and sculpted short curls, this unmarked, straw-stuffed-bodied doll’s composition head mold was only used for Black dolls. Its original manufacturer and intended gender are unknown.

The straw-stuffed body indicates a late 19th-century to early 20th-century origin. By the 1880s, major commercial toy companies began mass-producing stuffed toys and cloth dolls and using straw as a stuffing medium.  During the 1930s-1950s, straw and sawdust were the industry standards for plush toys and dolls until World War II, when softer stuffing materials were introduced.

This gender ambiguous doll arrived dressed as a girl in period-appropriate clothing. The M-shaped hairline, more typical for males, makes that gender choice questionable. However, in this museum collection, it is identified as a girl to maintain its most recent provenance.

Gallery

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