h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: By Golly its the history of Golliwogs - A47593399
Author: Noth€r - U3869994

Nother defends the indefensible golliwog. Gb yes this is for a stretcher honourble mention so please dont anyone be offended!!

Nother

One of the online dictionaries says the word dates back to 1895 and was invented by Florence K Upton, a children's writer. Did they have the dolls before then?

Noth€r, this isn't really a defence of the golliwog, merely a potted history of it. To be a defence, you would have to take the stance that the golliwog was always intended as a racial insult and that there is nothing wrong with that. Then you would be defending the indefensible.

A good few spelling and punctuation errors as well:

woolen >> woolen
> suites = suits
victorian >> Victorian
<> use italics around rather than double-quotes
queen Victoria to Queen Victoria
<> gril = girl
<> didnt = didn't
<> there = their
Who no's == Who knows
childrens TV = childrens' TV
<> there = their
<> wouldnt = wouldn't
use single quotes around
<< Its not known what happened to the golly>> Its = It's
Feb 2009 = February 2009
<> Its = It's
<> dont = don't Also, add a comma after

Typo of a typo to be amended


woolen = woollen

<> add that info provided by Gnomon to the entry, and change "possible Queen Victoria played" to "possible Queen Victoria's grandchildren played" because she was an old lady in 1895 and I would have thought the toys came after the book...


You need TITLE tags for your external links, and some EGE links. I'm sure Opti will be along soon to help you there, Noth€r - good effort

GB

Hi Nother

Now you're in PR, forget the Stretcher rules, just worry about the writing guidelines.

With a bit more detail, this could be a great entry.

As this is about the history of golliwogs, you should mention as others have said, that the word originated in the series of 19th Century "Golliwogg" books by Bertha Upton and illustrated by her American-born daughter Florence (a well-known portrait painter). The first of the series was "Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls" in 1895. Upton based the books on her childhood dolls, which included a black minstrel doll. The books were hugely popular and naturally the golliwog dolls became popular too. The books were featured on BBC Jackanory a number of times in the 1960s and 1970s.

All the toys, manuscripts and original artwork for the 13 books were auctioned off in 1917 for the Red Cross, and with the proceeds they bought an ambulance. The toys were presented by the buyer to the Prime minister and they resided at Chequers for 90 years until being moved to the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green. Lots of info here: http://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/collections/teddies/gollies/index.html

You might also want to mention that Debussy entitled the sixth movement of his 1906-8 'Children's Corner' suite 'Golliwogg's Cake-walk', after the popular toy.

I'm not sure when the campaign to remove Golliwogs began, but one obvious target which preceded it was Helen Bannerman's children's book "Little Black Sambo", which became the subject of a campaign by the Advancement of Coloured Peoples in the US from the early 1950s. They described the book as "The epitome of white racism in children's literature". The campaign was taken up by the British group 'Teachers against Racism" in the early 1970s.

You might also want to mention the Black and White Minstrel Show too.

I remember reading somewhere that Enid Blyton's golliwogs in Noddy were depicted as marauding thieves, which probably didn't help the cause. I can't confirm this, but I have found that it was the garage proprietor, Mr Golly, who was replaced in the Noddy books by a teddy bear in the early 1980s.

Robertsons Jam used the mascot from 1910 and produced badges from 1920. Their slogan was 'Golly it's Good', which might make a good heading here. The GLC boycotted Robertsons products in 1983.

Hope this helps.

Icy

There is (or was!) a golliwog collection at the Fareham Museum, Hampshire.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/article-427926/Golliwog-collector-defends-racist-museum-display.html

('tell you the truth, I thought it was in Poole, but when I googled it, the Fareham Museum cropped up.

A

btw, I have a few enamel golly badges, including a golly pendant .

My book, 'How it all Began' (Smith Settle, 1992) under the entry for 'Robertson's' says that the first enamel Golly badge (made in 1930) was a the Golly Golfer. Since then (i.e. up til 1992)15 million had been given away.

A

Actually, your section on Robertson's Jam seems a little sparse. To this end, my book says,

Robertson products are very clearly assocd with their famous 'Golly' trademark, whuich originated just before after WW1, when a Robertson director visiting America came upon Golly and thought it would make an appealing mascot and trademark for Robertson's products. Soon afterwards the Golly design was incorporated into every product label bearing the Robertson name.

This might be a useful BBC link

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/02/uk_black_representation_in_advertising/html/8.stm

I've a golliwog (not mine) hidden away somewhere in the attic, which I could take a photo of.

think i got most that thanx allnow late for work

Noth€r

That's very sweet of you but there's no need to add me, I contributed nothing

There's more golly sacking info here: http://www.sterlingtimes.org/memorable_images50.htm

GB

You'll have to decide whether it was Bertha Upton or Florence Upton who invented the term. At the moment you say that each of them invented it, and that Florence was a writer, but also that Bertha was the writer and Florence was the illustrator.

I'd rearrange the order of the first two paragraphs. Start with "Golliwogs - affectionately known...", then follow it with "The word golliwog originated..."

The character and hence the term was invented by both Bertha and her daughter Florence. Bertha wrote the verses, Florence drew the pictures.

...affectionately known as 'gollies'.

I'm not sure this fits here. If it doesn't fit anywhere else, then consider either a footnote somewhere, or maybe create a 'trivia' section at the end.

All the Uptons' toys, manuscripts... (for the avoidance of doubt)

Again, this is out of place and should be in the section about anti-racism campaigns. It deserves more detail, too. I'll see if I can find something. Alternatively, it might fit in a trivia section. Also, you should call them the Greater London Council rather than GLC (or footnote this).

I don't think you can assume this. Golliwog dolls are more of a British thing, and the campaign against them probably came later and was inspired by this. I shouldn't think much happened in the UK before the 1970s. Is there more on that Museum of Childhood website?

I said I couldn't confirm this. Can you? If it's true, then you may need to qualify it. They may not always have been depicted in this way.

This will go out of date when the exhibition ends. Can you add a date?

More on Enid Blyton:

Just read a fascinating Economist article from 1990 (Vol. 316, Issue 7667) entitled "Bowdlerising Blyton".

I can't reproduce it all here (for copyright reasons), but it describes the changes made when the publishers Macdonald reprinted the Noddy books first in 1987 (when the Gollies were removed) and then again in 1990.

"Heading the 'out' list are the golliwogs, judged racially offensive. Living in apartheid conditions in nearby Golly Town, gollies often provided a story's criminal element. They have been replaced by monkeys, white dolls or goblins, depending on their behaviour. The nice golliwog garage owner has become a (white) man called Mr Sparks. The three gollies who mug Noddy in one story are now gremlins."

They made other changes too:

Toy Village's once all-white populace now includes Indians, Chinese and Afro-Caribbeans.

Sexist remarks like Tessie Bear looking "perfectly sweet in her dressing gown", was replaced (she now looks "snug and warm")

Female characters were also toughened up: where Noddy previously warned Tessie to stay behind in case she gets hurt, now she tells him they can both look out for each other.

References to corporal punishment were also removed. A duster now hangs beside the school blackboard, replacing the slipper that used to hang there.

Words like 'gay' and 'queer' were removed, and Big-Ears no longer offers to share his bed with Noddy - who now has to make do with a folding chair.

Icy

Can you please:

1. add TITLE tags to the external links

2. remove the bold from the first paragraph

3. remove my name as author and add me as an additional research by tag. If you don't know how to do this, just put a line at the bottom: Additional Research by: Gnomon and the sub-editor will do it.

not got it all but ive done wot i can

Noth€r

Well sorry to step in late...but I ought to add my comments also. They're a little more fundamental than typos and the odd historical detail, I'm afraid. A brief summary: - *THE* most significant fact about golliwogs is their social history, which the Entry largely ignores. - Where it does cover it...it does so innacurately and misleadingly. For example, it gives the impression that Golliwogs have disappeared because of an orchestrated campaign to ban them. Admittedly, there have been small campaigns - but I don't think it can be demonstrated that these are the principle reason that golliwogs have become taboo. More detailed comments: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/F12666295?thread=6470498&post=78332202#p78332202

This will go out of date when the exhibition ends. Can you add a date?>

To be honest, I think that the exhibition has already finished. However, I think it would be well worthwhile contacting the curator of the museum (Tom de Wit) to find out whether the owner has a permanent home for exhibiting his gollies