Black Raggedy Ann style doll with ivory dress: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black Raggedy Ann style doll (a) and dress (b). The doll’s head is made from two panels – one for the front and one for the back. Black looped acrylic yarn is inserted into the side seam of the head and looped through four horizontal rows at the back of the head. Black circular eyes, black eyebrows and eyelashes, a red rectangular nose, and a red smile are all painted on the face with acrylic paint. The doll’s body is made from one panel for the front and one for the back and at the proper left of the chest is a yellow heart with [I LOVE / YOU] painted inside with black text. There are two panels of brown cotton fabric for the body and two panels for each arm. Machine stitches across the top third of the arm, create a seam that allows for the arm to bend. The legs – which include white and red stockings and black shoes were pieced together (with one panel for the front and one for the back) stuffed, and hand sewn to the body of the doll.

The dress (b) front is made from two panels of ivory synthetic satin. A 1” panel of white machine lace surrounds the collar, both cuffs, and the hem. There is no armscye, as the sleeves are a part of the bodice panel. Six white cotton twill bows are hand sewn to the front of the dress and each bow is double looped with two tails. Two 3.75” darts are at the front of the dress, near the neckline. Gathered and sewn to the bottom of the dress is a 5” wide ruffle, made from two panels of ivory synthetic satin fabric, seamed to itself at the center front. A 1” panel of white synthetic machine lace. At the back of the dress is a 7.75” placket that fastens with three metal snaps. Like the front of the dress, there are six double looped white cotton twill bows handsewn into place and a 5” ruffle at the bottom made from two panels seamed to itself at the center back hem.b A band of white elastic is sewn to the inside of each cuff. There is no label, and the inside of the dress is unlined.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: late 20th century
• Created by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Black Fashion Museum, American, 1979 - 2007
• Type: dresses
• Type: dolls
• Medium: cotton (textile) , Acrylic (fiber) yarn, (possibly) polyester fill, synthetic satin, synthetic machine lace, cotton twill, elastic, and acrylic paint
• Dimensions: a: doll
• Dimensions: Length (a: top of head to toes): 35 in. (88.9 cm)
• Dimensions: Width (a: widest point): 14 in. (35.6 cm)
• Dimensions: b: dress
• Dimensions: Length (b: collar to hem): 26 1/2 in. (67.3 cm)
• Dimensions: Width (b: widest point): 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Children
• Topic: Craftsmanship
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Play
• Object number: 2007.3.914ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No known copyright restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.