Gollywogs

The gollywog (spelled variously gollywog, golliwogg, golliwogg, etc.) was, like the teddy bear, a stuffed toy given to young boys throughout much of the 20th century, considered more appropriate for boys than feminine dolls or other stuffed animals. Gollywogs enjoyed the most popularity before action figures took a prominent position in the marketplace. Gollywogs were rag dolls, nearly always male, made to look like garish blackface caricatures.

The dolls were based on a character created by Florence Kate Upton (1873–1922), the New York-born daughter of English immigrants, who moved to England after her father's death in 1887. In order to pay for art school, she worked as an illustrator and illustrated a children's book written by her mother for the publishing company of Longmans, Green, & Co., called The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwogg, which was released in Christmas 1895. Thirteen more Golliwogg books were published as collaborations between Upton and her mother, and they proved popular sellers through the turn of the century.

Despite the popularity of the books, no one thought to copyright the Golliwogg character. Not only were gollywog books by other authors and publishers produced, but gollywog dolls were manufactured to great success. The popularity of the dolls in particular spread throughout the English-speaking world, peaking in popularity with the children born in the years following World War II.

Upton's illustration was based on an actual doll she had had in New York, which her aunt found packed away: Dressed in brightly colored formal clothes such as a character in a minstrel show might wear, he had pitch-black skin, bright red lips, big white eyes, a wild untamed Afro, and crude features compared to the lithe and refined Dutch dolls in the story. Gollywog soon became a term for such “darkie” caricatures, and outside of Upton's books, they were often depicted as villains, menaces, or merely stupid. Gollywogs were used as product mascots in the United Kingdom, notably for lames Robertsons & Sons jam (which was subject to a boycott in 1983 for racial insensitivity).

Despite the controversy surrounding racial stereotypes, gollywog memorabilia is still popular among collectors.

Gollywog and wog became racial epithets in reference to the toys, throughout the Commonwealth states. Wog tended to be inclusive of all dark-skinned people, including those of Middle Eastern or Mediterranean descent. The toys have fallen out of favor since the 1970s and 1980s, as sensitivity to racial prejudices and prejudicial depictions has gained currency.