National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center Lillian M. Bartok Doll Collection

FAIN: PG-263620-19

Ohio History Connection (Columbus, OH 43211-2474)
Linda Collins (Project Director: May 2018 to December 2019)

The purchase of archival supplies to preserve the 800 dolls in the recently donated Lillian M. Bartok Doll Collection. NAAMCC holds one of the largest African American doll collections in the United States, and its staff served on the advisory board that created “Addy,” the first Black American Girl doll. The collection includes rarities, such as male dolls as well as dolls by makers Karen Germany, Norah Wellings, Mrs. Conception Vargas Alfonso, and Marcella Welch. Proper preservation supplies will help prevent deterioration of fabric, discoloration, fading, and other conditions.

The National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center (NAAMCC) is requesting $6,000 to purchase archival supplies for the preservation of the recently acquired Lillian M. Bartok Doll Collection. Lillian M. Bartok was a long-time supporter of NAAMCC. During her adult life, Ms. Bartok created a unique and significant collection of African American dolls. Her daughter, Jennifer Bartok, has continued supporting NAAMCC by donating the collection to our museum. With an estimated 800 dolls, the Bartok collection includes examples of the rare and the common, the antique and the new, the commercial and the artisan, the humorous and the shocking. All of them need to be researched, described, inventoried, and preserved for storage and future use.