Name: Alabama Indestructible Baby Doll
Made by and When: Ella G. Smith Doll Company, ca. 1901
Material: Oil-painted cloth, plaster, cotton stuffing
Marks: Torso stamp reads THE ELLA SMITH DOLL CO / MANUFACTURED / IN ALABAMA INDESTRUCTIBLE —- / ROANOKE ALABAMA. (There is an additional illegible stamp to the lower torso, possibly numbering.)
Height: 13-1/2 inches
Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Molded and painted head and ears, painted-black eyes, closed mouth painted red
Clothes: Clothed in a pink dress, a white apron (possibly original), and red stocking shoes.
Other: Alabama Indestructible Baby doll, Black version, was made by the Ella G. Smith Doll Company which operated from 1899-1925. Ella Gantt Smith was the first doll maker in the South to manufacture dolls for African American children. Ella invented the “Alabama Indestructible Baby” in 1897 by filling the heads with plaster, and would later win a prize for innovation at the St. Louis, Missouri World’s Fair in 1904. She received a patent for the design in 1905. (Source: Encyclopedia of Alabama)
Gallery (Images and description courtesy of liveauctioneers.com and Case Antiques, Inc. Auctions & Appraisals).
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