The following is an online exhibition entitled, "Dolls as
Advertising Gimmicks." The theme pages in this exhibit are
decorated with cut scraps of trade cards removed from one such album.
[Exhibit prepared by Diane DeBlois with material from the collection
of her mother, Babbie DeBlois.]
Dolls were one of the most common design motifs on 19th-century
trade cards. In combination with attractively-dressed, winsome,
children, they helped project a Victorian ideal of domestic beauty
and tranquility to the consumer of the new Middle Class. Choosing
such a design to promote a product all but guaranteed the trade
card's inclusion in ubiquitous parlor scrapbooks.
Click on a page number to learn more. (A new window will open.*)
Page 1
Dolls as advertising gimmicks |
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Page 3
Depicting dolls as toys |
Page 4
Portraits of girls with dolls |
Page 5
Portrait-with-doll design in advertising |
Page 6
Dolls and Christmas theme |
Page 7
Playing outside the home |
Page 8
Rehearsal for adult life |
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