Tommy the Clown is an original issue in the McClelland Children's Circus collection, the first porcelain doll based on the original artwork of acclaimed child portraitist John McClelland and produced by Reco International under the hallmark of the Knowles China Company. He has painted grey blue eyes and stands, from floppy oversized shoe to top of undersized straw hat, approximately 12 inches tall. He comes with a stand, the approximately 6 inch base of which is a ring in the circus, with painted and textured "sand". The Dog sitting upright on the Drum is his sidekick - a funny littler clown who takes all his cues from the Master Tommy Clown! The dog is all one piece of hand painted sturdy resin with a tiny straw hat atop. He is dressed in a shimmery bright red quintessential clown suit with oversize collar, white gloves and shoes.

John McClelland is a Georgia born artist who studied art in Sarasota, Florida, home of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He would sketch the circus performers and the animals under the tutelage of the great portraitist Jerry Farnsworth. McClelland's work is seen in magazines, collectors plates, and in these dolls. The legacy of clown dolls dates back to the late 19th century when doll artist Aug Poppe displayed his mechanical clown set at the Berlin Exhibition. Poppe's work triggered a demand for clown art that persists as its own genre and field of interest.