Pleasant Company, the manufacturer behind the beloved American Girl line of fictional historical characters, debuted its first African American doll in 1993. Like her white peers, Addy Walker was accompanied by six books that told her detailed life story: A 9-year-old girl born into enslavement in North Carolina, she escapes to freedom with her mother toward the end of the Civil War and eventually settles in Philadelphia.
Addy’s doll-sized accessories included a pink-and-white dress, black lace-up boots, and a bonnet. The character also had a doll of her own: Ida Bean, a tiny cotton figure stuffed with beads (designed to simulate the feel of beans) who sported gold earrings identical to the ones that Addy herself wore.
Like all of American Girl’s historical accessories, Ida Bean was created in consultation with experts. The tiny toy drew on a long history. As Dominique Jean-Louis, a public historian at the New-York Historical Society (NYHS), explains, Black and white children growing up in the 19th century often played with handmade Black dolls sewn by their Black caregivers. Through these toys, children rehearsed their future domestic roles, imagined new lives and learned the basics of the era’s racial politics.
Museumgoers will soon have the chance to see rare examples of these cherished playthings in “Black Dolls,” an exhibition on view at NYHS from February 25 to June 5. Co-curated by Jean-Louis and museum president Margaret K. Hofer, the show traces the history of Black dolls through more than 200 objects, including handmade and commercially produced dolls, textiles, games, sewing tools, and photographs, according to a statement.
