Name: Tuffy and Muffy
Made by and When: Arnett’s Country Store/Maynard Arnett, 1993
Material: Wood resin, cloth, stuffing, paint
Marks: (Tuffy) The head is numbered 115. Tuffy MA / 115/500 / Arnett’s Country / Store© is on the back.
(Muffy) The head is numbered 114. MA / Muffy / 114/500 / Arnett’s Country Store© is on the back.
Height: Approximately 19 inches
Hair, Eyes, Mouths: Painted-black hair, painted-brown eyes, closed down-turned pouty mouths
Clothes: (Tuffy) Aged clothing includes a white shirt, tan and blue check suspender pants, and a matching tan and blue cloth cap. (Muffy) Blue floral-print dress, aged white bonnet, and aged white pantaloons; both dolls’ feet are bare.
Other: From a limited edition of 500, wood resin dolls by Maynard Arnett, Tuffy and Muffy, created from his original carved dolls were sold through Arnett’s Country Store throughout the 1990s and beyond. Tuffy and Muffy use the same head sculpt and represent an elderly couple. Muffy is slightly taller. This pair was owned by a Texas woman whose daughter-in-law managed the collection after her mother-in-law transitioned in the early-to-mid 2000s. An image of the dolls clipped from a magazine, tucked inside one of the doll’s clothing, accompanied the dolls. Each doll has a paper hang tag that includes the history of Maynard Arnett dolls, the doll’s name, and the edition number.
Gallery
_________
Your comments are valued. Donations aid the initiative to preserve Black-doll history.
If you subscribe to DeeBeeGee’s Virtual Black Doll Museum
by email, click the post title of the email, which links to the website to view all text and associated media. Please “like” and share this installation with your social media contacts. If you’d like to subscribe, add your email address to the subscribe or sign-up field in the footer or right sidebar. Add your email address to the subscribe or sign-up field in the footer or right sidebar.
Search for specific dolls or specific doll categories, e.g. “antique dolls” using the search field at the website.