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Ideal Composition Doll
Ideal Composition Doll
TitleIdeal Composition Doll
Coverage / Year1908 to 1930s
DescriptionThis doll is comprised of a composition head and hands on a cloth body which contains a squeeze mechanism. The head has brown glued on hair. The face has sleeping blue eyes, painted on eyebrows, pink tinted cheeks, red lips, and white teeth. Her original clothing is white cotton trimmed with lace. Sewn over the body is a pair of bloomers with the dress over. White socks are sewn onto the feet and a white lace trimmed bonnet covers the head.
InterpretationThis doll is a good example of a composition shoulder head doll which had mid success by 1908 but exploded in the U.S. by World War I. Composition was made of pressed wood pulp mixed with glue. Most could not get wet, but it was marketed as being unbreakable and it can be argued that it paved the way to the hard plastic phenomenon. This baby doll's creator Ideal captured many Hollywood celebrities such as Shirley Temple and Judy Garland which made composition extremely popular. Ironically, Ideal also was responsible for replacing composition doll popularity with hard plastic when they first introduced it in 1939.
Lesson Plans / ThemesHow we learn about communities; American communities in history; Communities and Geography; World War I
Learning Standards16 History; 13 Science, Technology and Society; 18 Social Systems; 15 Economics;
Author or CreatorIdeal Toy Company
Subject / KeywordsUnited States; Composition dolls; American pop culture; Ideal Toy Company; Popular doll materials; U.S. toy industry
Collection PublisherEarly American Museum
Further InformationFor any further information related to this record, please contact the Collection Publisher. See http://images.library.uiuc.edu/projects/tdc for more information about this project.
Rights Management Statementhttp://images.library.uiuc.edu/projects/tdc/conditions.htm
Resource Identifier1992.016.0015
CONTENTdm file name20330211162002_92.16.15.jpg
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