Doll-A-Day 2023 #43: Inspiring Women Madame C.J. Walker

   Today we're celebrating Black History Month with this lady. She's Madame C.J. Walker.

The 'C.J.' is from her third husband, Charles Joseph Walker. As is still often the case, women were called 'Mrs. Whatever-their-husband's-name-was'. I had a friend who always addressed her mail as 'Mrs. Her-Husband'. When I get mail as 'Mrs. Ken...' it really rubs me the wrong way. I have my own name, and it's not 'Ken'.The 'Madame' is after the popular French beauty products makers of the day.

   

  I hadn't actually heard of her, until I saw this doll in a store the other night. I have done some reading since then. She was quite a lady.

The doll doesn't look anything like her.

  From an article by Madame Walker's great great granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles, I learned that not only was Madame Walker born to former slaves, but she was born, (in 1867), on the same plantation in Louisiana where her parents and older siblings had previously been slaves, but were then sharecroppers. 

  Born Sarah Breedlove, her parents died when she was 7 years old. She married at 14, and at 18 gave birth to a daughter. Her first husband died when she was 20 years old, and with a two year old to care for, she worked as a washer woman to earn a living. At the age of 38, she developed her first hair care products, stemming from the public's need to regrow hair and kill bacteria caused by not being able to wash their hair regularly because indoor plumbing was still undeveloped. Madame Walker formulated a shampoo and a medicinal ointment for scalp infections. Initially she sold her products door to door, and through mail order, before opening a beauty parlour and school to teach what Madame Walker called 'hair culturists'.

  At one point Madame Walker was accused by a previous employer, Ann Malone, owner of the Poro Company, of stealing her formula for a hair care product made of sulfur and petroleum jelly. But the product had been used for a century, so Malone didn't have a leg to stand on. Malone was Madame Walker's biggest competition in later years.  

  Madame Walker has been a source of controversy over the years. Many lumped her together with those wanting to straighten natural hair in an effort to meet standards of Caucasian or European beauty.  Her great great granddaughter wants people to know that Madame Walker did not want to straighten hair, but grow hair, and keep it healthy. Madame Walker stated that she 'deplored' the impression that she wanted to straighten hair, claiming that she was 'a hair culturist. I grow hair.'

Madame Walker's 'Beauty Culture School'.

  Madame Walker is the first documented female self made millionaire, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. There may have been others before her, but she is better documented. She was also a patron of the arts, and a philanthropist, contributing to many YMCA and YWCAs, the Tuskegee Institute and other schools. Madame Walker was involved in many projects aimed at teaching African Americans, especially women, to start their own businesses. She was on the executive committee of the New York NAACP. She was a busy woman, and my shoulder is bothering me today and typing hurts, so if you want to know more about her life, and her involvement in philanthropy and politics, you can go to her Wikipedia page HERE, and an article about her by her great great granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundle, HERE.

  And now let's look at that doll a bit more.

  This doll is part of the 'Inspiring Women' series. 

Her dress has a really nice texture.

  The series has previously featured Ida B. Wells, (You can see my post on her HERE.), Katherine Johnson, Rosa Parks, (You can see my post on those dolls HERE.), Susan B. Anthony, Helen Keller, Jane Goodall, (I want that doll!), Frida Kahlo, Amelia Earhart, Bindi Irwin, Ibtihaj Muhammed, Sally Ride, Billie Jean King, Florence Nightingale, and Ella Fitzgerald, among many others. There are so many of those I'd love to have! 

  It seems like special sculpts that actually look like the real person are made for only some of the Inspiring Women dolls. Some have to ride along on the sculpts Mattel already has in use. I wish they would make special sculpts for all the dolls. This one doesn't look like it's subject at all, as far as I can tell. There aren't many pictures of Madame Walker online though. Maybe she looked and wore her hair like this at some point in her life.

  The ruffle on her blouse has unfinished edges. The white edges also make me thing that the colour and design is only printed on the front, and the back of the fabric is plain white.

Pretty blouse though.

Her skirt in nice. I like the textured fabric.

 As you can see from the pictures above, she has jointed wrists, and probably elbows too. She's holding a tiny reproduction of a Madame Walker hair care product.

  I would have loved to have bought this doll for the post when I saw her at the store, but she was $50. Add to that the fact that I am trying to cram too much into Emma's house right now anyway.  

That's the doll for today. Tomorrow we'll see another doll.