In the process of trying to identify a cloth doll from the late 1980s, I ran across this brief history of Ada Lum. Ada Lum (b. Australia ~1907[?]-d. Hong Kong 1988), sister of the tennis champion Gordon Lum, appears in references to both her brother and in accounts of the actress Anna May Wong and the humanitarian French Jesuit Priest Father Jacquinot de Besange. More people recognize Ms. Lum’s cloth dolls than her name, though. (See examples from asiawee.blogspot.com above.) Cloth doll collectors who own her dolls may not have much more to go on than the “Made in Hong Kong” stamp on the doll or its clothing. The story behind how Ada Lum began her doll, housewares, fashion, and interior design company is well worth reading.
I recommend checking out more of her amazing story at http://asiawee.blogspot.com/.
Nancy, thank you for your comment. What characters are your dolls dressed as? How lucky to have the tags! I’m not really looking for more Ada Lum dolls right now.
If you do not want to use eBay, there are doll sales groups on Facebook. (Note: never use a “Friends & Family” Facebook sales setting, which is not safe. Otherwise, one can still have the protection available with PayPal, just like on eBay.)
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They are in red and blue traditional Chinese costume and original embroidered shoes. They are 25″ tall
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Big! They sound nice. Good luck with selling them. I’m sure someone will treasure them.
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I have a pair from mother
I have the original paper tags with Ada’s name and the dolls names. I’d like to sell, as I have had them many yrs and I am now 75yrs old
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