top of page
Search

The emphatic creepiness of vintage doll factories (c. 1940s - 1950s)

Writer's picture: Effable Effable

Dolls aren’t necessarily the finest fodder for nightmares, but there’s something a little creepy about old dolls. Scratch that, there’s something massively disturbing about old dolls. They inhabit the ancient uncanny valley, they almost look like today’s dolls, but there’s something slightly off. They embody the way the past thought about its childhood. But however massively disturbed you may find vintage dolls, they are as nothing compared to the factories in which the dolls were created back in 1930s to the 1950s.


A young girl laughs at the sight of dolls' heads at the Ideal Toy Company in Long Island, New York. The company was one of the largest toy producers in the world in 1955.

A young girl laughs at the sight of dolls' heads at the Ideal Toy Company in Long Island, New York. The company was one of the largest toy producers in the world in 1955.


Doll parts in an injection mould at Cascelloid's factory at Leicester, England in 1951.
Kurt Hutton/Picture Post/Getty Images

Doll parts in an injection mould at Cascelloid's factory at Leicester, England in 1951.


In the factory of Cascelloid Limited, the limbs of the famous Patsy doll hang up to dry.
Kurt Hutton/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

In the factory of Cascelloid Limited, the limbs of the famous Patsy doll hang up to dry.


A worker trims the eyelashes on a pair of doll's eyes at a factory in Totton, Southampton, which specializes in the manufacture of doll parts.
William Vanderson/Fox Photos/Getty Images

A worker trims the eyelashes on a pair of doll's eyes at a factory in Totton, Southampton, which specializes in the manufacture of doll parts.


A row of doll's heads in a German factory circa 1950.
FPG/Getty Images

A row of doll's heads in a German factory circa 1950.


Doll factory in France preparing for Christmas.
Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

Doll factory in France preparing for Christmas.


A worker painting celluloid doll heads at a Leicester, England factory.
Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Getty Images

A worker painting celluloid doll heads at a Leicester, England factory.


A worker paints doll faces at a factory in Italy.
Keystone-FranceGamma-Rapho via Getty Images

A worker paints doll faces at a factory in Italy.


Inside a Paris doll factory in 1945
Keystone-FranceGamma-Rapho via Getty Images

Inside a Paris doll factory in 1945.


Freshly cast doll heads wait to dry.
IMAGE: MERLYN SEVERN/PICTURE POST/GETTY IMAGES

Freshly cast doll heads wait to dry, 1947


IMAGE: KURT HUTTON/PICTURE POST/GETTY IMAGES
IMAGE: KURT HUTTON/PICTURE POST/GETTY IMAGES

Workers test the strength of a doll's head, 1953
IMAGE: WILLIAM VANDERSON/FOX PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES

Workers test the strength of a doll's head, 1953


Workers stress-test dolls at a factory in Long Island, 1955
IMAGE: ORLANDO /THREE LIONS/GETTY IMAGES

Workers stress-test dolls at a factory in Long Island, 1955


A worker paints dolls at a factory in England, 1937
IMAGE: LONDON EXPRESS/GETTY IMAGES

A worker paints dolls at a factory in England, 1937


A worker paints doll's heads, 1955
IMAGE: EVANS/THREE LIONS/GETTY IMAGES

A worker paints doll's heads, 1955


Children watch a worker painting doll's heads at a factory in Long Island, 1955
IMAGE: ORLANDO /THREE LIONS/GETTY IMAGES

Children watch a worker painting doll's heads at a factory in Long Island, 1955


IMAGE: ORLANDO /THREE LIONS/GETTY IMAGES
c. 1955 (IMAGE: ORLANDO /THREE LIONS/GETTY IMAGES)

IMAGE: ORLANDO /THREE LIONS/GETTY IMAGES
c. 1955 (IMAGE: ORLANDO /THREE LIONS/GETTY IMAGES)
Workers style dolls' hair at a factory in German
Workers style dolls' hair at a factory in Germany, 1931 (IMAGE: ULLSTEIN BILD/ULLSTEIN BILD/GETTY IMAGES)
Doll eyes and heads at a factory in England, 1949 (IMAGE: FOX PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES)
Doll eyes and heads at a factory in England, 1949 (IMAGE: FOX PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES)
A worker sprays a doll head at a factory in England, 1951
A worker sprays a doll head at a factory in England, 1951 (IMAGE: KURT HUTTON/PICTURE POST/GETTY IMAGES)
A factory in France, 1945 (IMAGE: KEYSTONE-FRANCE/GAMMA-RAPHO/GETTY IMAGES)
A factory in France, 1945 (IMAGE: KEYSTONE-FRANCE/GAMMA-RAPHO/GETTY IMAGES)
IMAGE: KEYSTONE-FRANCE\GAMMA-RAPHO/GETTY IMAGES
c. 1940 (IMAGE: KEYSTONE-FRANCE\GAMMA-RAPHO/GETTY IMAGES)


11 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Opmerkingen


Post: Blog2_Post

Subscribe Form

Thanks for submitting!

07655988543

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Blogger

©2020 by Effable All Rights Reserved

bottom of page