Sasha Morgenthaler

Swiss artist Sasha Morgenthaler

This unmarked 16 in. rigid vinyl doll is in a class by itself. Known as Sasha dolls, they were designed by Swiss artist Sasha Morgenthaler from the 1940s until her death in 1975. After first making dolls in her studio in limited numbers, mass production was started in the 1960s by Gotz in Germany and Frido (later Trendon) in England. Morgenthaler wanted the dolls to represent an image of universal childhood, so from the beginning of mass production, the vinyl was coffee-colored so the dolls would not appear to belong to any particular ethnic group. In the early 1970s, black dolls were introduced, first in an extremely dark complexion, then later in a lighter complexion. Caucasian boy dolls were known as Gregor, black girl dolls as Cora, and black boy dolls as Caleb. The one shown was found at a flea market with the hair cut off. With a blonde wig and Tyrolean outfit added, it’s now just called Sasha.