antique black dolls
Antique black dolls date back to the early nineteenth century. Black rag dolls were usually made by slaves for their children to play with.
Though not of very common knowledge, black dolls were made by European doll makers before the Americans started to make black dolls. Although, many times, black dolls would just be a dark version of the white doll (actual racial features weren’t taken into account).
Interesting mixes were also made with the dolls, for example the German doll maker Carl Bergner made a doll with three faces (that was quite popular at the time) which had one black face, that of a crying child, and two faces of white happy children.
It is very hard to find antique black dolls in mint condition, most of them have suffered quite a bit and have had to be restored, which may in many cases decrease the value of the item.