Name: Nancy Ann Storybook Dolls Topsy
Made by and When: Nancy Ann Abbott; 1930s (bisque doll), 1940s-1950s (hard plastic dolls)
Material: Bisque, hard plastic, mohair, paint
Marks: (Backs of all) STORYBOOK / DOLLS / USA / TRADEMARK / REG.
Height: 5-1/2 inches
Hair, Eyes, Mouths: (1930s and 1948 on the far left in the middle, pictured above) Mohair black wigs with red ribbons in the hair, painted black eyes, closed mouths with red lip color; (1949-1950, thinner body, new head sculpt, seen on the far right, above) black mohair wig, brown sleep eyes, closed mouth with red lip color.
Clothes: (1930s and 1948) Burgundy and white check taffeta dress with an attached off-white voile half-slip and pantaloons, and painted-on black shoes. The remainder of a gold foil wrist tag is on the bisque doll’s right wrist. (Late 1949-1950) white and red polka dot cotton dress with red rickrack trim and painted-on black shoes.
Other: The original creator and manufacturer of Nancy Ann Storybook dolls was Rowena C. Haskins, who changed her name to Nancy Ann Abbott. Nancy Ann Storybook (NASB) dolls, fashioned after storybook characters, included black dolls, Topsy and Mammy, from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin or Life Among the Lowly (1852). Mammy is not included in this installation. The original NASB Topsy from the 1930s was made of bisque with painted facial features. A hard plastic reproduction of the original bisque Topsy was available by 1948. In 1949, a thinner, hard plastic body with a new head sculpt and sleep eyes were used for Topsy #126. All dolls’ heads are unjointed. The bisque doll has jointed arms and unjointed legs. Both hard plastic dolls have jointed arms and legs.
Gallery
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