{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O37091"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O37091/"}},"images":null,"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O37091","accessionNumber":"B.236-1996","objectType":"Soft toy","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"","physicalDescription":"Golly soft toy. The head and hands are of black brushed cotton. The mouth is an upwardly curved shape of red felt sewn to the face; it has a black line sewn through the middle to indicate the lips. The eyes are white plastic discs with smaller black disc glued on. The hair is black nylon wool stitched in a band across the top of the head and feathered upwards; the back of the head is bare. The upper body and arms are of turquoise felt designed to represent a tailed jacket. The front chest is yellow velveteen with a single red line stitched down the front. The hands are stitched to indicate fingers and separate thumbs. The legs are of black and white striped cotton shaped and stuffed to represent trousers with the upper feet of white brushed cotton representing spats. At the neck is sewn a bow tie of black and white striped cotton. A rattle is located inside the toy's body. ","artistMakerPerson":[],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Merrythought Limited","id":"A1530"},"association":{"text":"manufacturers","id":"AAT25230"},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"cotton","id":"AAT14067"},{"text":"nylon","id":"AAT14462"},{"text":"plastic","id":"AAT14570"}],"techniques":[{"text":"machine stitching","id":"x29587"},{"text":"gluing","id":"AAT53012"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"cotton, felt and nylon fur fabric, plastic","categories":[{"text":"Soft toys","id":"THES274376"},{"text":"Racism","id":"THES282155"},{"text":"Children & Childhood","id":"THES48980"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"YVA","id":"THES48593"},"images":[],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"SR001","id":"THES340938"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"soft toy","id":"AAT211332"}],[{"text":"rattle","id":"AAT41933"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"Yes-racial-stereotyping","note":"31/01/2025 Object is a golly doll. (TBDS)"}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Ironbridge","id":"x30259"},"association":{"text":"manufactured","id":"x29350"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1959-1969","earliest":"1959-01-01","latest":"1969-12-31"},"association":{"text":"manufactured","id":"x29350"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"R. E. Lawrence bequest.","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"36.9","unit":"cm","qualifier":"excluding hair","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"'MERRYTHOUGHT, IRONBRIDGE, SHROPS. MADE IN ENGLAND'","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Cream and grey cloth label sewn to base of the left foot"}],"objectHistory":"Merrythought introduced a golly soft toy rattle in 1959 and produced them until the 1990s. This version contains a rattle in the body and probably dates from the mid-to-late 1960s, possibly the early-1970s.\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. \n\n[RF number: 1996/1674]","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Soft toy golly rattle, cotton, felt and fur fabric, England, Merrythought, 1959-69","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"References: Collector's Guide to British Dolls"}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"Mass produced","id":"THES48863"},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["B.236-1996"],"accessionNumberNum":"236","accessionNumberPrefix":"B","accessionYear":1996,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-03-27","recordCreationDate":"2000-04-18","availableToBook":false}}