Dolls Archive

By Emily Aguilo-Perez, 2015 Strong Research Fellow
In August 2015, I received a research fellowship from The Strong that provided funds for me to come to the museum to study artifacts and printed materials from its vast collection. My dissertation work focuses on studying interactions with Barbie among Puerto Rican females, making The Strong the ideal destination to build my understanding of Barbie dolls and other Barbie items. Beyond my scholarly work, I have a long personal history with Barbie. For […]

Continue Reading about Venturing into Barbie’s World Published on:
December 7, 2015

Earlier this spring, the curators at The Strong gathered up items from the collections for a display we call “What Were They Thinking?” Although no one ever sets out to make a bad toy, the items exhibited included a number of toys, games, and dolls that make us wonder just what their designers and manufacturers thought about child safety, good taste, or the ways kids play.
Take for instance, the 1970s Jarts, a popular lawn game like horseshoes involving oversized […]

Continue Reading about What Were They Thinking? Playthings to Ponder Published on:
June 15, 2015

When I leave The Strong this week after almost seven years, a shiny, new collections manager will take the helm. I feel like the well-worn toy Margery Williams describes in The Velveteen Rabbit who becomes Real when the Boy loves him and when the nursery magic Fairy sets him free. Except for the trials of becoming Real, the Rabbit’s greatest anxiety is being forgotten or replaced. And here I am, undergoing the process willingly when so many toys are not […]

Continue Reading about Screen-Play: Succession Planning in the Playroom Published on:
March 3, 2015

As Director of Libraries at The Strong, I acquire scholarly books on the study of play for the Brian Sutton-Smith Library & Archives of Play. Although tracking down weighty academic tomes is quite fulfilling, I would be dishonest if I said that selecting children’s books for the Grada Hopeman Gelser Library didn’t liven up my job. The books available for check out in each museum exhibit are selected to complement and enhance the theme and subject matter—from Where the Sidewalk […]

Continue Reading about Four Dolls, Three Bears, Two Bunnies, and One Plastic Guy: Books about Play Pals Published on:
January 26, 2015

Autumn is upon us, replete with all things paranormal and pumpkin spice. Hollywood once again offers us an opportunity to be terrified for the cost of a movie ticket and large popcorn. Annabelle (2014) isn’t the first “playful” villain that has captured our collective attention: for a half a century, scary toys have come alive in books, on television, and on the big screen.
“Who Hates Ya, Baby?”
A 1963 episode of The Twilight Zone featured Telly Savalas and a doll […]

Continue Reading about The Dolls that Haunt Us: 50 Years of Terrifying Toys Published on:
October 30, 2014

Seinfeld is not, as people often claim, a “show about nothing.” It is a television show about four narcissists whose seemingly petty dialogue and ripple-effect exploits produced a significant impact on the modern pop culture landscape.

I confess―I’m a Seinfeld devotee. In fact, I recently completed my own personal “Summer of George,” where I re-watched every episode from the pilot through the finale. While I frequently caught myself reciting the lines along with the characters, I realized the brilliance of the […]

Continue Reading about “I’m Sorry, the Card Says ‘Moops’”: Play in Seinfeld Published on:
October 27, 2014

As a child who preferred playing outside with sticks and leaves, only a handful of dolls ever really captured my attention. In fact, I only recall true fondness for four dolls: Baby Tenderlove, Raggedy Ann, Darci cover girl, and my Cabbage Patch Kid—Kendall Walter Winner.
In 1983, at the age of 13, I wasn’t interested in Kendall as “just a doll,” I was more fascinated by the fact that he was “one-of-a-kind.” At the time I didn’t understand the mathematical algorithms […]

Continue Reading about Cabbage Patch Kids: A 1983 Phenomenon Published on:
October 20, 2014

Let’s face it: When you’re a grown-up, getting real mail can be terrible. (Look, another bill. Great, a reminder to get my teeth cleaned.) Occasionally you receive a nice letter-pressed wedding invitation or glossy gossip magazine. But when you were a kid? Getting mail was awesome. (Invitations to classmates’ parties! Birthday cards with a $5 bill tucked inside!) For many children, holiday catalogs provided endless hours of entertainment. As an elementary school-aged girl in the 1990s though, nothing beat the […]

Continue Reading about Learning American History from American Girls Published on:
May 27, 2014

On February 11, 2014, the staff at The Strong and the American public learned of the passing of Shirley Temple Black, actor, politician, diplomat, and former U.S. ambassador. Most Americans, however, know Temple as the most popular child star in Hollywood history.
Temple began acting in short films at the age of three. During the worst years of the Great Depression, her dancing and singing, her dimples and smile, and her cuteness and charisma made her the number-one box office draw […]

Continue Reading about Shirley Temple Published on:
May 8, 2014