Dolls

Adele Ashby was the former editor of Canadian Materials for Schools and Libraries.

The Vancouver Museum has brought together 55 dolls from their collection, supplemented by loans from other collections, to provide a brief overview of the history and technology of doll manufacture from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. Interest in dolls is not confined to children; it is widespread among adults, for whom it may be what remains of a once-powerful childhood bond. Dolls are mirrors of a society, and, from an historical point of view, they can tell us a great deal about prevailing fashion (clothes, hair styles, jewellery, and other accessories) and technology, as manufacturers attempted to find materials that would produce a more life-like image. Each doll has a small black-and-white photograph, accompanied by a description including what is known about its history and manufacture. Height, donor, and catalogue number are given. There are royal dolls (Queen Anne, the Duchess of Kent), Kewpie dolls (which were inspired by The Water Babies), Shirley Temple, Barbara Ann Scott, Campbell’s Kids, Mutt and Jeff, and Barbie, plus some curiosities, such as smoking dolls, given as premiums by tobacco companies, and Admiral Sir John Jellico, one of a trio (General Haig and Lord Kitchener) used to promote purchase of war bonds during World War I in England.

The lack of colour probably makes this a marginal title, except for avid doll collectors.