Golliwog

The golliwog, golliwogg or golly is a controversial black fictional character created by Florence Kate Upton in 1895 that first appeared in the children's book The Adventures of two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwogg that was made in the same year that the character was created in and later appears in children's books in the late 19th century. It is usually depicted as a type of rag doll. It was reproduced, both by commercial and hobby toy-makers as a children's toy called the "golliwog", and had great popularity in Europe and Australia into the 1970s. The doll is characterised by black skin, eyes rimmed in white, clown lips and frizzy hair. Though home-made golliwogs were sometimes female, the golliwog was generally male. For this reason, in the period following World War II, the golliwog was seen, along with the teddy bear, as a suitable soft toy for a young boy.