Name: The Little Rascals Buckwheat and Stymie—the dolls in this installation were inspired by the characters from the popular TV shorts series Our Gang/The Little Rascals that aired in the U.S. from 1922 to 1944.
Made by and When:
Effanbee (Buckwheat), 1989
The Hamilton Collection/King World Merchandising, Inc., (Buckwheat and Stymie) 1993, 1994
The Hamilton Collection/King World Merchandising, Inc., (King of Swing Buckwheat and Pigskin Palooka Buckwheat) 1997
Materials:
Effanbee (Buckwheat) Soft and rigid vinyl, synthetic hair, acrylic eyes
Hamilton Collection/King World Merchandising (Buckwheat and Stymie) Porcelain, stuffed cloth, acrylic eyes, synthetic or painted hair
Marks:
Effanbee Buckwheat (Head): EFFANBEE FB 1131 / © KING WORLD 1989
The Hamilton Collection Buckwheat (Neck): BUCKWHEAT / ©1994 KING WORLD, INC. / THE HAMILTON COLLECTION LICENSEE / (Stamped) Buckwheat / No. [certificate number] /©King World 1993 / Lic., HC; (copyright years for The King of Swing and Pigskin Palooka Buckwheat dolls differ and each doll’s certificate number differs.)
The Hamilton Collection Stymie (Neck): (Stamped) Stymie No. 1321B / ©King World 1993 Lic., HC / (Incised) “STYMIE” / ©1994 King World, Inc. / The Hamilton Collection Licensee
Effanbee Buckwheat
Height: 11 inches
Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Black-rooted hair, brown-painted eyes; smiling open mouth with individually painted teeth
Clothes: Buckwheat wears a blue and white striped shirt, blue chambray shorts with one leg longer than the other, one red suspender, black socks, and brown lace-up ankle boots.
Other: Effanbee Style #1131, this Buckwheat is from a series of all-vinyl Little Rascals dolls that preceded the manufacture of The Hamilton Collection dolls. The Effanbee dolls were licensed by King World Merchandising, Inc., the owners of The Little Rascals trademark.
The Hamilton Collection Buckwheat Dolls
Height: 15 inches
Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Buckwheat’s black synthetic curly wig has four pigtails tied with white ribbons. The doll has brown inset eyes, painted upper and lower eyelashes, a broad flat nose, and a wide-open smile with individually painted teeth.
Clothes:
Clothes, Buckwheat by Hamilton: Wears a white collared button shirt; a brown and tan striped sweater, blue chambray cut-off shorts with a frayed hemline, white socks, and brown faux leather lace-up ankle boots.
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Clothes, Buckwheat “King of Swing” by Hamilton: Wears a white top hat, a white shirt, a white tuxedo with a rose boutonniere, white socks and shoes, and has a horn.
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Clothes, Buckwheat “Pigskin Palooka” by Hamilton: Wears a boxer’s uniform of a cloth helmet, #7 gray knit shirt, brown pants, gray knee pads, black boots, and has a pair of brown cloth boxing gloves.
Other: King of Swing Buckwheat and Pigskin Palooka Buckwheat were inspired by costumes in Our Gang in The Pigskin Palooka (1937) and Little Rascals Our Gang Follies of 1938.
The Hamilton Collection Stymie
Height: 15 inches
Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Painted black hair, brown inset eyes, painted upper and lower eyelashes; closed mouth over a sculpted underbite.
Clothes: Wears a white and blue floral collarless button shirt, a gray oversized vest, brown pants with torn knees and frayed hems, white socks, and brown faux leather ankle boots.
Other: The Little Rascals hang tag, a metal doll stand, and a numbered certificate were included with the Hamilton Collection dolls which were sculpted by Joseph and Sheryl Hoffman and officially authorized by King World. Hamilton’s Buckwheat and Stymie are part of The Little Rascals character dolls series sold separately. The series included 7-1/2-inch Pete the Pup in porcelain. The Hamilton Collection dolls have porcelain heads, lower arms/hands, and lower legs/feet. The bodies, upper arms, and upper legs are stuffed cloth.
Also referred to as Our Gang, The Little Rascals “series broke new ground by portraying white and black children interacting as equals during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation in the United States” (Our Gang). Child actors William “Billy” Thomas, Jr. and Matthew Beard, Jr. played the roles of Buckwheat and Stymie, respectively.
Gallery (Photographs courtesy of Telisa Spain)
Reference
Our Gang. (2024, August 16). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Gang
Related Installation
William Thomas, Jr. a.k.a. Buckwheat
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