Name: Vintage and Modern Yo-Yo Dolls
Vintage Mask Face Yo-Yo Doll
Made by and When: Unknown maker, circa 1950s
Material: Plastic, cloth, stuffing, string, thread
Marks: Unmarked
Height: 12 inches including the hat; 9-1/2 inches not including the hat
Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Black yarn hair, painted-brown eyes that glance to the doll’s right, red-painted smiling mouth
Clothes: Several circular pieces of white and red and white gingham fabric create the sewn-on clothing covering for the body, arms, and legs; wears a sewn-on red and white gingham cone-shaped hat, possibly representing a Jester’s hat.
Modern Yo-Yo Caribbean Souvenir Doll
Made by and When: Drexco Crafts, 2005
Material: Yarn, stuffed rings of fabric remnants, thread, string
Marks: A descriptive manufacturer’s card is attached to the neck.
Height: 9 inches
Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Black yarn hair, painted-black side-glancing eyes, a painted nose and mouth
Clothes: Several stuffed circular pieces of multicolored floral fabric create sewn-on clothing covering the body, arms, and legs.
Other: A head or neck string is usually attached to Yo-Yo dolls for dangling and creating movement of the yo-yo rings of body fabric. The cone-shaped hat indicates the vintage doll can be categorized as a jester.
Made in Haiti, the modern doll was purchased on a Caribbean cruise ship in 2005. The doll’s description from a now-defunct website reads,
These dolls are created by a multinational group of young entrepreneurs. The company works to promote employment in Haiti by teaching unskilled workers trades. They also help independent artists find new markets. The company currently employs about 400 people, half men and half women. Doll measures 9″ T (22.9 cm). Made in and fairly traded from Haiti.
The attached card identifies it as a Caribbean Folk doll and reads:
In simpler days, Caribbean children enjoyed playing with homemade dolls crafted from fabric remnants and scrap materials. These much loved dolls depicted people from everyday life dressed in typical local costumes. Their homespun, honest charm has remained intact through today’s fast paced, high-tech times.
This doll has been hand made for you using traditional Caribbean designs, madras textiles and decorations. Each doll is an original design inspired by historic examples of early Caribbean folk dolls.
Drexco Crafts (followed by a logo image of a mouthless island woman with side-glancing eyes holding a huge paintbrush in one hand and a pallet of paints in the other.)
The back of the Drexco card reads, MADE IN HAITI.
Gallery (The vintage doll is from the Telisa Spain Collection.)
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