The
Kimport Presidential Dolls
By Suzanne Kraus Mancuso * Photography by Eleanor McBride from her personal collection
The individuality of each doll is evident in these three different examples of President Abraham Lincoln.
B
eginning in 1935, the Kimport
Doll company was located in
Independence, Missouri. It
was owned and operated by doll
maker and famed quilter, Ruby McKim,
and various members her doll making
family. There were also several other
ladies that worked for the company
known as "the sisters." Together they
sat around their studio making these
historic tiny works of art in doll form.
The sisters, Aileen and Cecile
Franklin-Weeks, were a big part of
the doll making family, and you can
sometimes see their signatures on the
dolls they created at the company in the
early years. The Kimport Doll Company
took on several names over the years
such as Kimport Doll Imports, Kimcraft
and the Mckim Sisters doll lines.
The uniqueness of these dolls is shown in these three different
President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt dolls.
104
Fall 2016
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Doll News Fall 2016