Catalog (183)

Measuring just barely 6 inches in length, this fabulous example of 1920's folk art and hand craftsmanship exemplifies the stereotypical Mammy of the early 20th century.

Constructed with care and skill, Mammy's floral dress, white apron and white under-pantaloons were neatly machine stitched. Her facial features--- eye brows, eyes, nose, and lips --- are hand-stitched with embroidery thread. She has yarn-constructed black curls peeking out from under her red and white polka dot head scarf. Her arms, torso and head are stuffed with cotton or cloth scraps with the torso securely tucked over the top of the clothespin and into the pantaloons. Her black-painted clothespin legs are hidden under her long skirt.

A very sweet little doll in wonderful all-original condition-- no repairs, rips, stains or odor. Displays quite nicely!!

Entitled "A Chip O' The Old Block", the theme of this 1906 copyrighted lithograph features a derogatory stereotype not recognized as such when it was published 115 years ago. A very young African American toddler, bare-bottomed and still just crawling, is attempting to catch a fleeing hen - the caption implying, just as would his parent. The great irony here is that the artwork is quite skillfully and beautifully executed.

Measuring 8.5" wide x 6.6" long, the original frame is unusually embellished in the lower left hand corner with a very detailed, three-dimensional image of a wicker baby carriage fashioned from an unidentifiable medium. The carriage is missing part of the handle, part of one carriage wheel, and a teeny bit has also been lost on the upper part of that same wheel, but these missing pieces do little to take away from this embellishment's unique character. This is a unique and interesting piece, indeed!

The lithograph measures 5.5" wide x 3.5" long and is signed "Wall" in the grass under the toddler's left foot. The copyright date, 1906, and the publisher, The Ullman Mfg. Co. of New York, appear in the lower right corner. The original backside paper liner is missing.

Published in 1926 by the Whitman Publishing Company of Racine, Wisconsin, this very rare, miniature-size, HARDCOVER book measuring just 4x5 inches, offers a very unique continuation of the original Little Black Sambo story! It is thought that this mini size Sambo book was manufactured as a salesman's sample edition, meant to be strictly used as a marketing prop to sell orders for the full-size edition of the same book.

Entitled A New Story of Little Black Sambo, this tale picks up the story with Little Sambo's mother, Black Mumbo, exclaiming that Sambo, after almost losing his best Sunday clothes to the tigers, would- from now on- only be allowed to wear his every day clothes. Now very unhappily dressed in only a grass skirt, a pouting and naughty Sambo decides to run off into the jungle once again without permission, and climbs a tree to gather coconuts. A tiger soon arrives threatening to eat Little Black Sambo, trapping him up in the tree for the entire day! Eventually, Tusker the Elephant arrives, successfully chasing off the tiger and saving Sambo. Sambo then returns home, where an angry Black Mumbo spanks him with a hairbrush for running off, despite the gift of coconuts Sambo hoped would appease his mother. The conclusion of the tale then moves forward one month later when the family goes to visit Little Black Sambo’s cousins, the Bimboes, who admire his fine Sunday best clothing that he was finally allowed to wear again!

Although no author is attributed, it is thought by some that the tale was co-authored by the book's two illustrators, Clara Bell Thurston, who rendered all of the lovely colored drawings and Earnest Vetsch, who rendered the "black and white" illustrations (which, actually, are done in navy blue ink) as well as the fancy hand-lettering of the text which further embellishes the book.

With 36 unnumbered pages which alternate between the superbly rendered color and navy blue line illustrations, this unique little book is in near mint condition. The original paper dust jacket is present and in wonderful condition, and at some point, it was protectively covered with a contemporary, clear, dust jacket protector that can be removed if so desired. No fading of color, no rips, creases or missing pages. Binding is tight with all three original staples present. Cover edges are subtly worn, and a one-time owner, Neva Merchant, signed her name on both front and back interior covers.

This very rarely-found, miniature-size edition of the continuation of the original Little Black Sambo story is a must have for the collector of Little Black Sambo books!

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