The earliest Golliwog is the hero in books of verse written by Bertha Upton in the 1890's, and illustrated by her daughter Florence. Mother and daughter worked together on twelve illustrated books, all featuring the gallant little character and his adventures travelling to such exotic destinations as Africa and the North Pole, accompanied by his friends, the Dutch Dolls.

The original books were published by Longemans, Green and Company in England. Because of this, the Golliwog's fame and popularity spread in the U.K. rather than New York, the home of Florence Upton. English children and children of the commonwealth countries are those most likely to have heard the stories and played with the dolls.

The earliest golliwog dolls were hand made rag dolls made by mothers and grandmothers in the image of the storybook character. As early as 1910 golliwogs were mass produced, but they were not produced in large quantities until the 1950's. Golliwogs are now commercially produced in England, New Zealand, Germany, and the U.S. The most desirable gollies are probably those made by the famous German company Steiff.

Golliwog artists and creators can be found around the world. Items decorated with pictures of golliwogs have been made over the years and these are now avidly collected. In addition to the items available from our shop, post cards, greeting cards, dishes, perfume bottles, and playing cards are a few of the items that can be found picturing golliwogs.

Golly was probably best known in England as the advertising logo for the James Robertson preserve company from the 1920s until 2002 during which time badges and pins could be collected.

Though the original Golliwog character was a kindly fellow always lending a hand to those in trouble, later authors portrayed him very differently. Over the years he became a rascal, often up to no good, and was sometimes even portrayed as a mean spirited character.

Due to his poor reputation, his dark colour, and the letters w o g in his name he has recently become "politically incorrect." Nevertheless he remains popular, not so much with children now, as with adult collectors and Golliwog artists.