Doll, Pedigree brand

This Pedigree brand doll belonged to Sue Glyde, who played with it in the 1960s. Sue named the doll Christine.

As historian Gary Cross argues, in the twentieth century dolls took on a new role in children’s lives as their companions. Whereas in the nineteenth century dolls were used to teach sewing (as few came with clothes), or, in the case of fashion or ‘lady’ dolls, to imitate middle- and upper-class social rituals, by the twentieth century they were designed to be girls’ confidants and friends.

Dolls were given personalities, marketed in imaginative settings, and dressed in outfits similar to those that were fashionable for children. Play was transformed from a form of practical training to a way of acting out personal relationships, and through this play girls were taught ‘an informal and active ideal of friendship,’ as well as the fun of spending and being fashionable (Cross 1997, 80).

Sue enjoyed dressing Christine in outfits either made by her mother and grandmother, or paid for with pocket money.

Further reading:

Cross, Gary. 1997. Kids’ Stuff: Toys and the Changing World of American Children. Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England: Harvard University Press.