Age of Black Rag Doll

[frogpatch]

I do not remember where my wife found this but it is in her collection of black dolls. It looks like some old and quite valuable folk art dolls I have seen in pictures but for the life of me I cannot tell its age. The material looks as if is an old pattern but that means little. It is hand sewn and if I remember there is a wire in the arm that is shown. I do not remember what is beneath the skirt and unfortunately it is in storage right now. I think she had stocking feet but I am really not sure. The photo was from an old blog post. Any help would be appreciated

[talesofthesevenseas]

I would try posting on this Ebay doll forum. They are quite good at identifying dolls. Yours is VERY sweet, but I do not know what qualities set apart an expensive, collectable rag doll from a less collectable one. But yours has charm for sure!

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/forum/Dolls/18

[talesofthesevenseas]

One clue to the age may be the eyes. Are they glass or plastic?

[mart]

If you can get that pic enlarged so I can see the pattern on the fabric it will help !!  Also,, do you know what kind of fabric it is ?? Cotton, flannel, thick, thin ect

[Rauville]

I'm not an expert by any means, but that fabric reminds me of the 1950's era.

Something else to look for: If she has hair, what is it? And what material is it stuffed with?

[frogpatch]

Thanks all. The eyes are stitched crudely into the face as is the mouth. There is no hair that I remember. The body is sewn together cloth. It was a cell phone picture so the pixels probably won't allow much enlargement but I will try. The material of the dress feels like cotton, very much like the feeling of an old cotton sheet.

[mart]

Your pic will not enlarge for me !! The little pictures that are on the fabric might tell what was popular when it was made and help determine the date made !!

[frogpatch]

I tried to enlarge the fabric but it does not seem to work well. It looks sort of like there are farmers or workers but it is hard to tell. It looks like it might be depression era fabric or maybe even 50s. What do you think Mart?

[mart]

That pic is postage stamp size and doesn`t enlarge either !!   I am just going to give my opinion based on what I can see !! I think its from the late 40`s or early 50`s !! Is a home crafted doll using what they had on hand !!  Wire armatures have been used for many years in doll making !! I think you are right calling it a folk art doll !!  If you get a chance,, look behind the head for a possible tag but I don`t expect one to be there !!

[talesofthesevenseas]

I am thinking that the doll might be a little earlier than the 40's/50's since making a "Mammy" doll would have fallen out of popularity by the end of the thirties I think. Others may want to comment on this, but I think that even if it was made for an african-american child during that time, it would not have been given the headscarf and such associated with characters like Aunt Jemimah. She clearly has that look and I think you could also describe the doll as "black americana", which might help generate interest. I am betting that if the fabric has an old, worn feel to it that your doll is 20's or 30's.

[frogpatch]

My wife will be very happy with the comments from you all. She has a small collection of black Americana but was never certain about this.  Thank you all so much! Keep the info coming if you can but you have all been so helpful. I am an old dealer but dolls were never my strong point. Or any point for that matter.