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Golliwog's Jaunt
Christmas Card
1930-1970 (Printed and published)
1930-1970 (Printed and published)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The original golliwog was a central character in a series of books by Bertha and Florence Upton published between 1895 and 1909. Florence, the illustrator of the stories, based the golliwog on a doll she had acquired in the US in the 1880s. The appearance of this doll was influenced by the Blackface performance tradition. From the late 19th century until the 1960s, the golliwog flourished as a toy. Its image featured on toys, games, textiles and ceramics and was also used by food companies. From the 1970s the golliwog’s popularity began to wane as many British people felt that it promoted racial stereotypes.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Golliwog's Jaunt (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Lithography on card |
| Brief description | Christmas card illustrated by Betty Hord, published by F. J. Ward, British, 20th century. |
| Physical description | Rectangular folder card (landscape format). Front: colour printed illustration of a golliwog riding a rocking horse, signed within the image, lettered with the word Greetings in black below the image. Inside: lettered with title printed in black, lettered with greeting printed in black, inscribed with greeting handwritten in black ink. Back: publisher's logo and product information printed in black. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Content description | A golliwog on a rocking horse |
| Credit line | Given by West Berkshire Museum |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | The original golliwog was a central character in a series of books by Bertha and Florence Upton published between 1895 and 1909. Florence, the illustrator of the stories, based the golliwog on a doll she had acquired in the US in the 1880s. The appearance of this doll was influenced by the Blackface performance tradition. From the late 19th century until the 1960s, the golliwog flourished as a toy. Its image featured on toys, games, textiles and ceramics and was also used by food companies. From the 1970s the golliwog’s popularity began to wane as many British people felt that it promoted racial stereotypes. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.761-2012 |
About this object record
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| Record created | August 13, 2012 |
| Record URL |
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