Narodna Radinost

In the March-April 1957 edition of its catalog  Doll Talk the Kimport doll company, famous American importer of quality souvenir dolls, announced the arrival of a range of folk dolls distributed by a state run Yugoslavian folk arts cooperative known as Narodna Radinost ( folk handicrafts in English). Narodna Radinost was a Belgrade based concern which dealt with marketing Yugoslavian handicrafts at home and overseas. 

Within Yugoslavia Narodna Radinost shops sold a range of traditional goods, in addition to dolls, including lace and embroidery, musical instruments and the famous Pirot kilims or rugs. Tour guides to Yugoslavia printed in the 1960s will often mention the Narodna Radinost shops dotted throughout the country as a great source for quality hand made items .The picture above is of the Narodna Radinost handicraft and souvenir shop in Belgrade on the famous Knez Mihailova Street c1961. I was super excited to find this image which shows three shelves of dolls in the 8" and hard to find 12" size. 

Dolls distributed by Narodna Radinost often have a circular paper tag with Made in Yugoslavia Narodna Radinost Beograd ( Belgrade ) on it and the Serbian drinking flask used to carry plum brandy.  The flask has a design taken from the Pirot kilims known as the turtle. Some dolls can be found in a box which also bears the name and logo. In later years they can be found in plastic with the company name on them. They are also often found with tags or in boxes bearing the name Jugoexport which, as the name suggests, was a company which exported a range of goods from Yugoslavia including handicrafts and often exhibited at the World Fairs.

Narodna Radinost paper tag

Embroidered blouses, wooden nutcrackers, flutes and shepherds cups frequently pop up on online auction sites around the world bearing the Narodna Radinost tag. 

Selection of Narodna Radinost boxes

Jugoexport box

As to who made the dolls for Narodna Radinost to sell is hard to say. Presumably they were made by women throughout Yugoslavia intially in the home setting and later in a more structured factory - like setting.