I always wondered if different parts of the country yielded different items on the auction tables. I recall spending a day one December in Georgia, my niece in tow, driving from one antique shop to another within a 50-mile radius of Macon, GA.
I found nothing that jumped out at me, that said take me home. I had the same experience at the World’s Longest Yard Sale a few years ago.
So, when I went to an auction south of Macon on another visit, I was expecting more of the same, and that’s what I found: the usual glassware, dinnerware, furniture and other such items. I did come across a neat old wringer-style washing machine.
One interesting item I did come across was a male Skookum doll, similar to ones I had seen before at auction in Philadelphia. They resemble Native Americans but are not made by them. Skookums come wrapped in colored blankets from shoulder to feet (they do not have arms but the folds in the blanket across their chests give the impression of limbs). They have high cheekbones usually with a blush of red and thick black hair (usually mohair). The tallest is 36″ tall, but most are up to 12″ tall. (All the doll photos are from the Skookum News website.)
One of the telling characteristics are the eyes: They always look to the right. Another: Original Skookums have paper labels glued to the bottom of their wood feet (the earliest dolls) or moccasins (later versions). Some labels contain the phrase “Bully Good.”
I’ve seen Skookums at auctions and online as separate men and women dolls, and as women with babies. Some Ebay sellers and standalone websites insist on calling the women “squaws.” Isn’t that word considered derogatory?
The Skookum I came across at the Hawkinsville Auction Gallery was about 15 inches tall, and wore a headdress and beads. I bidded back-and-forth, back-and-forth with another bidder before he finally gave up and I landed the item. It was one of my best finds.
The Skookum doll was created by a woman named Mary McAboy in Missoula, Mont. Her first doll resembled the dried-apple-faced dolls that her mother had made. She began selling Skookums in 1913 and registered the name in 1919. As the dolls became popular, she partnered with a company to produce them from 1915 to 1950.
They were sold to tourists, and today are collectors items. Most of those collected were produced from 1920 to 1950, according to an Ebay guide to the dolls. The site also offered advice on collecting them.
