Set of Four Commercially Manufactured Dolls [SOLD]

"The Skookum story begins in the early 1900s in the town of Missoula, Montana with a woman named Mary McAboy.  In 1913, she applied for a design patent for dolls she had been making with dried apple heads which she costumed to represent the American Indians who were living on the reservation at that time.  The dolls presumably sold well because on May 4, 1916, George Borgfeldt and Co. of New York took over the manufacture of these dolls and registered the Skookum  trademark with the U.S. Patent Office.  The dolls were then distributed on the east coast by Arrow Novelty Co. of New York and on the west coast by H. H. Tammen and Co. of Los Angeles."  (Skookum Indian dolls—made to represent American Indians" by Paula J. Eller published in National Doll World, April 1988.)

These four dolls include a large male (10-3/4" tall) with a beautifully sculpted face and what appear to be glass eyes.  He is wrapped in a trade blanket, wears a beaded necklace, and may or may not be a Skookum but could be from another maker.  The second doll, wrapped in a white blanket, does appear to be of Skookum manufacture.  Her eyes are those typical of Skookum dolls.  The third doll is a small female (5" tall) wrapped in a blanket and with a white face.  She is most likely not a Skookum.  The fourth one (3-3/4" tall) is a baby Skookum. 

Condition: The condition of each doll is different but overall they are in good condition.  Each one has some fault but nothing major.

Provenance:  ex. coll. Frances Sonnenberg, Santa Fe resident.