{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1363497"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1363497/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2025PD8537/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2025PD8537/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2025PD8537","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PD8536","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2016JH5673","copyright":"©Victoria & Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1363497","accessionNumber":"B.4-2016","objectType":"Beret and mittens set","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"This matching beret and mittens set was hand-knitted by the donor’s mother, Anne Bates, in 1952-1953. The garments were made using a pattern published by the textile manufacturer Lister & Co., which has also been supplied by the donor. The design shows five front-facing gollies on the beret, with one also on the back of each glove. The mittens are united by a length of cotton tape so the wearer would not lose them. The garments are sized for a 3-5 year old child.\n\nThis is an object which can tell us a lot about changing attitudes to race throughout the 20th century, allowing us to explore what the golly means culturally and historically, since it has been viewed simultaneously as a harmless nursery rhyme character and a dangerous racial stereotype. The golly was a popular children’s character for many decades, still beloved by many older people and by collectors, especially of merchandise produced by Robertson's jam company, whose mascot was the 'Golly' from 1910-2002. It is also a good comparison piece for modern and contemporary children’s clothing featuring well-known characters from television and literature.\n","physicalDescription":"Child's beret and mittens, hand-knitted from cream, red, blue, yellow, brown and green wool. The beret is formed of five panels, each of which has a front-facing Golly character, wearing a red jacket with yellow collar and green buttons, and blue trousers. The figure has green eyes and a red mouth. The mittens each have one Golly of identical design, and are united by a length of black cotton tape. The wrists are decorated with lines of blue, red, green and yellow.\r\n","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Bates, Anne","id":"AUTH339621"},"association":{"text":"maker","id":"AAT251917"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Lister & Co Ltd","id":"A34387"},"association":{"text":"designers","id":"AAT25190"},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"wool","id":"AAT243430"}],"techniques":[{"text":"hand knitting","id":"x30442"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Hand-knitted wool","categories":[{"text":"Children & Childhood","id":"THES48980"},{"text":"Children's clothes","id":"THES48979"},{"text":"Knitting","id":"THES266024"},{"text":"Racism","id":"THES282155"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"YVA","id":"THES48593"},"images":["2025PD8537","2025PD8536","2016JH5673"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"001","id":"THES324112"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"001","id":"THES324112"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"beret","id":"AAT46091"}],[{"text":"mittens","id":"AAT210012"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"Yes-racial-stereotyping","note":"Term 'golly'/'golliwogg'"}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"United Kingdom","id":"x29336"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1952-1953","earliest":"1952-01-01","latest":"1953-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by Elizabeth Pollock","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Width","value":"22.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"beret","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"15","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"mittens","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Knitted for the donor by her mother, Anne Bates, in 1952 or 1953. The donor, Elizabeth Pollock, recalled: \"Gollywogs were a favourite toy. We all collected the Robertsons jam labels to get the 'gollywog' badges.\"\r\n\r\nMrs Pollock gave this item to the Museum in 2016 [RF:2016/581].\r\n\nThe original golly was a central character in a series of books published between 1895 and 1909. Bertha Upton (1849–1912) wrote the books and her daughter, Florence Kate Upton (1873–1922), illustrated them. They based the character ‘Golliwogg’ (as it was originally spelled) on a doll Florence owned as a child growing up in 1880s America. The appearance and clothing of the doll (see B.493-1997) is based on the ‘blackface minstrel’ figure, a 19th-century racial caricature of African Americans. Blackface minstrel shows were performed by white actors and singers, who parodied African Americans by darkening their skins with shoe polish or burnt cork. These portrayals perpetuated many negative stereotypes and were steeped in racism. The shows originated in the USA, with the first widely known blackface character, ‘Jim Crow’, appearing around 1830. Soon after it became popular in the UK, which developed its own blackface traditions. \r\n\r\nFlorence moved to the UK in the 1890s, where the Uptons’ books became very popular. Their Golliwogg character was not copyrighted, allowing multiple representations of the golly to enter the public domain. The character featured in British toys, games, textiles, ceramics and children’s books, and was used as a mascot by the food manufacturer, Robertson’s, from about 1910. From the 1980s the character’s popularity began to wane as campaigners fought against the racist stereotypes that the golly represented. Robertson’s continued to promote the figure as part of a British ‘national tradition’ until 2001, when they stopped using the golly in their branding.  \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n ","historicalContext":"\n","briefDescription":"Child's beret and mittens set, golly pattern, designed by Lister & Co., hand-knitted by Anne Bate, 1952-1953","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"Knitted from Lister's pattern number 1066.","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["B.4:1-2016","B.4:2-2016"],"accessionNumberNum":"4","accessionNumberPrefix":"B","accessionYear":2016,"otherNumbers":[{"type":{"text":"Pattern number","id":"THES50639"},"number":"1066"}],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-09","recordCreationDate":"2016-08-03","availableToBook":false}}