Salvation Army Marcie Doll: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Marcie Doll, Salvation Lass, for the Salvation Army. A blond- haired doll with a long sleeve blue dress, blue shawl with ribbon, and a blue bonnet with maroon ribbon. Shoes are black and painted on. Her green eyes open and shut. The doll is in the original cardboard box. marks: "The Salvation Army" on back of bonnet; "this is a/ Marcie/ Doll" with registered trademark on tag inside dress.

Today the Salvation Army is best known for collecting funds during the holidays. But the evangelical group began in the 1880s founding rescue missions across the nation. Although care for the poor became increasingly secular in the late 1800s with the rise of social welfare professionals, religious groups continued to play a crucial role.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date made: 1952 - 1954
• Associated Name: Salvation Army
• maker: A&H Doll Company
• Object Name: Doll
• Physical Description: plastic (overall material)
• Physical Description: synthetic fibers (dress material)
• Physical Description: wool (shawl material)
• Measurements: overall: 19.5 cm x 4.5 cm; 7 11/16 in x 1 3/4 in
• place made: United States: New York, New York City
• used: United States: Virginia, Gordonsville
• Subject: Toys
• Subject: Dolls
• ID Number: 2002.0343.01
• accession number: 2002.0343
• catalog number: 2002.0343.01
• Credit Line: Gift of Susan B. Strange
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.