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A rag doll, his face a caricature of a black person, in a toy store, holding copies of himself in his lap and more copies in a basket.
Golliwogs for sale in 2008 in the United Kingdom

The golliwog, golliwogg or golly was a black character in children's books in the late 19th century 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. While 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.

The image of the doll has become the subject of heated debate. While some see the golliwog as a cherished cultural artifact and childhood tradition, others argue that the golliwog is a destructive instance of racism against people of African descent, along with pickaninnies, minstrels, mammy figures, and other caricatures, and it has been described as "the least known of the major anti-Black caricatures in the United States".[1] In recent years, changing political attitudes with regard to race have reduced the popularity and sales of golliwogs as toys. Manufacturers who have used golliwogs as a motif have either withdrawn them as an icon, or changed the name. In particular, the association of the golliwog with the pejorative term "wog" has resulted in use of alternative names such as "golly" and "golly doll".


Florence Kate Upton's Golliwogg in formal minstrel attire in Golliwogg and Friends in 1895.

Florence Kate Upton was born in 1873 in Flushing, New York, the daughter of English parents who had emigrated to the United States three years previously. Following the death of her father, she moved back to England with her mother and sisters when she was fourteen. There she spent several years drawing and developing her artistic skills. In order to afford tuition to art school, she illustrated a children's book entitled The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwogg. The 1895 book included a character named the Golliwogg, who was first described as "a horrid sight, the blackest gnome", but who quickly turned out to be a friendly character, and is later attributed with a "kind face." A product of the blackface minstrel tradition, the Golliwogg had jet black skin; bright, red lips; and wild, woolly hair. He wore red trousers, a shirt with a stiff collar, red bow-tie, and a blue jacket with tails — all traditional minstrel attire.

Upton's book and its many sequels were extremely successful in England, largely because of the popularity of the Golliwogg. Upton did not trademark her character, and its name, spelled "golliwog", became the generic name for dolls and images of a similar type.[2] The golliwog doll became a popular children's toy throughout most of the 20th century, and was incorporated into many aspects of British commerce and culture;[3] for instance, some of Enid Blyton's books feature them, often as a villain and sometimes as heroes. Upton's Golliwogg was jovial, friendly and gallant,[1] but some later golliwogs were sinister or menacing characters.

The golliwog contributed enormously to the spread of blackface iconography in Europe. It also made its way back across the Atlantic in the form of children's literature, dolls, children's china and other toys, ladies' perfume, and jewellery.

A 1920s golliwog perfume bottle
A 1920s golliwog perfume bottle

British jam manufacturer James Robertson & Sons used a golliwog called Golly as its mascot from 1910, after John Robertson apparently saw children playing with golliwog dolls in America. Robertson's started producing promotional Golly badges in the 1920s, which could be obtained in exchange for tokens gained from their products. In 1983, the company's products were boycotted by the Greater London Council as offensive, and in 1988 the character ceased to be used in television advertising. The company used to give away Golly badges and small plaster figures playing musical instruments or sports and other such themes. The badge collection scheme was withdrawn in 2001.

According to an editorial in The Times newspaper golliwogs were banned in Germany in 1934, on the grounds they were inappropriate toys for children.[4]



Art historian Sir Kenneth Clark said that the golliwogs of his childhood were, "examples of chivalry, far more persuasive than the unconvincing Knights of the Arthurian legend."


Golliwog as racist insult[edit]

After the publication of Upton's first book, the term "golliwog" was used both as a reference to the children's toy and as a generic slang term for black people. In the UK and the Commonwealth, "golliwog" perhaps became "wog," a racial slur applied to dark-skinned people worldwide.[6] In Australia many young people of Greek, Italian, and other Mediterranean descent have reclaimed the name "wog" as a humorous identifier. An example of this from Australian popular culture is the 2000 movie The Wog Boy starring the actor Nick Giannopoulos.

In the early 1980s, revised editions of Enid Blyton's Noddy books replaced Mr. Golly, the golliwog proprietor of the Toytown garage, with a visibly white character named Mr. Sparks.[citation needed]

In March 2007, Greater Manchester Police seized two golliwogs from a shop after a complaint that the dolls were offensive.[7] In September 2007, retail chain Zara put a T-shirt on sale in its UK stores with a little girl resembling a golliwog printed in the front.[citation needed] The design spurred controversy, coming only weeks after the company had been forced to pull a swastika-emblazoned handbag from its shelves, although the swastika is also a religious symbol for Hindus and Buddhists.[8]




In December 2013, a councillor in Brighton, UK, was forced to apologise for stating to a newspaper reporter that golliwogs were not racist. Cllr Dawn Barnett was defending a local shop which was selling golliwog drinks mats. In her opinion, "I said I can see no harm in them. They are nostalgic, I'm 72 years old. My generation grew up with them." Bert Williams, speaking on behalf of Brighton and Hove Black History Group, said the word "golliwog" was historically used to tease black people, of which he had personal experience.[15] In the same month in Toowoomba, Australia, Darrell Lea Chocolate Shop made no comment when customers complained about their sale of golliwogs.[16] The Australian toy manufacturer Elka continues to "proudly" produce golliwogs, and supplies them to Darrell Lea.[17]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ a b The Golliwog Caricature (2000) by David Pilgrim, Ferris State University. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  2. ^ The Golliwog Caricature
  4. ^ The Times, 16 March 1934, p. 15
  5. ^ "'Controversial' golly to be shelved" BBC News 23 August 2001
  6. ^ Wog, Merriam-Webster Online etymology, "perhaps short for golliwog".
  7. ^ Golly dolls seized by cops Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  8. ^ "Zara withdraws swastika handbags" BBC News 19 September 2007
  9. ^ Manchester Evening News
  11. ^ Thatcher axed by BBC's One Show 4 February 2009
  12. ^ Thatcher interview on The Andrew Marr Show
  13. ^ Sportsweek- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga insulte
  17. ^ Elka: 'Gollies and dolls' | Elka website

External links[edit]