?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 150 - $ 250
(DOLL/ACTION FIGURE)
Come Out of the Closet with Gay Bob.
Doll measures 12x4 3/4 inches, 30.5x12 cm., with accordion-folded pamphlet, and in original box with sliding case. Doll with original band attached to back board, indicating its having never been removed from case. Some soiling and corner tears to box and sliding cover. Gay Bob Trading Co., Inc, Division of Harvey Rosenberg Inc., 1977.
Promoted as "The World's First Gay Doll for Everyone," Bob, a visual cross between Paul Newman and Robert Redford, was not only anatomically correct, but had a mission statement: "I bet you are wondering why I come packed in a closet. 'Coming out of the closet' is an expression which means that you admit the truth about yourself, and are no longer ashamed of what you are ... People who are not ashamed of what they are, are more lovable, kind and understanding. It's not easy to be honest about what you are — in fact it takes a great deal of courage. But remember, if Gay Bob has the courage to come out his closet, so can you." Writer Matt Christensen wrote in a recent article about the doll in Fatherly (17 April 2019): "Bob was as much a totem of gay pride as he was a calculated parry against the strikes of anti-gay activism. He was created to antagonize society at a time when Gay Rights were hard to come by."
