Paper doll from the Amos 'n' Andy radio show: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A color paper doll depicting Kingfish from the Amos 'n' Andy radio show standing in a doorway. He is wearing a brown fedora hat, a green suit, a white bow tie and a red sash. He is holding a brown cane in his left hand and is holding the door open with his right hand. A sign painted on the window of the door reads “ORDER OF THE / MYSTIC / KNIGH(illegible) / OF T(illegible) / SEA(illegible.” At the bottom of the paper doll ‘KING FISH” is written in black type. The bottom of the doll has a black tab on each side. The tab on the right has text in white, printed vertically, that reads “COPYRIGHT 1931 / BY THE PEPSODENT CO.” The back of the paper doll is light brown. Black text printed at the bottom center reads “Pepsodent Tooth Paste / removes stubborn film / from teeth quickly and / safely. Yet it will not / scratch the softest teeth.”

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1931
• Distributed by: Pepsodent Company, American, 1915 - 1944
• Type: paper dolls
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 5 11/16 × 4 1/4 in. (14.4 × 10.8 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Advertising
• Topic: Amusements
• Topic: Caricature and cartoons
• Topic: Radio
• Topic: Sitcoms
• Topic: Stereotypes
• Object number: 2014.53.8.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• 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 underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.