Print, Photographic

Black and white photographic print of the Collector's Corner Exhibit which features the "Black Doll Exhibit," displayed inside the Detroit Historical Museum, May - August, 1974. Five different types of dolls are featured in this display, and signage affixed to the upper right reads, "The discovery that well-made black dolls had been produced in the nineteenth century came as such a delightful surprise to Mrs. Myla Perkins of Detroit that she found the Sugar 'S Spice Doll Museum. It all did not really happen quote that fast - but almost. After only four years of concentration on black dolls the Sugar 'S Spice Doll Museum can boast of one of the best collection of black dolls in the country, all due to the efforts of Mrs. Perkins. Black dolls became relatively more popular after the Civil War. A second surge of popularity is the 1890s occurred when all types of dolls representing various ethnic groups became popular. Usually, the dolls were just painted a darker skin tone, or darker coloring was added to the porcelain mix and the heads were molded along with all the other dolls. It was rarer for a special mold to be made to represent a specific ethnic group. The doll to the left is one of these rarities. She was made by Simon and Helbig of Germany, probably in the late 1890s."