Dolls | TelevisionToys

Reference Library

Kids Television

TV Toys

Boomers

Commercials

Dolls

Laura Bird

Toy Fair

The Magical World of Boomer Doll Collecting

The Digital Doll Library serves as an "Encyclopedia of Dolls." This special feature section is curated and edited by doll expert, designer and author, Laura Duval Bird.

Two girls playing with dolls, circa 1920

It was a remarkable and exciting world that little Boomer girls were growing up in post-war America when you look back at the toys they played with in the 50's and 60's. The first thing that comes to mind, of course, are Dolls.

Dolls were the symbolic trophy of what the female of the species was suppose to strive for -- from the day they boarded the covered wagons and headed west to develop the frontier, it was assumed that a woman's role was take care of her husband -- do the cooking, cleaning and raise the children. Later this would be known as "housekeeping" and there was no better way for girls to learn the craft than by nurturing a baby doll, just like you'll have to do with a real baby when the time comes.

Collecting Dolls and the era little Boomer girls grew up in will be explored and documented in this featured page through rare photographs, illustrations, ads, TV shows, home movies, newsreels, commercials and eventually your own memories can be contributed to explore the wonderful world of Dolls in a new and exciting way.

Betsy Wetsy by Ideal Toys

Ideal Toys' Betsy Wetsy was a popular "drink-and-wet" doll that captured the imagination of little Boomer girls through the country in the 1950's because of the influence of television advertising.

Visit Betsy Wetsy Doll

commercials, pictures

& collectables

The history of the

Ideal Toys Company

A rare behind the scenes look at the making of the Betsy Wetsy doll in the Ideal Toy Factory from 1959.

Not since President Kennedy set the goals of sending a earthling to the moon has any one tried to fully document the history of Boomer girls, their dolls along with the affects the world had on them, while they played and dreamt of what their future might be.

Nostalgia buffs can look back at parts of childhood again to remember, enjoy, and maybe even learn something new about themselves through the toys they cherished.

Television Toy Stories future Inter-active Platform will allow you to become part of our contributing staff to help us program our Encyclopedia of Dolls.

We'll be posting thousands of royalty-free films, commercials and other stock footage images that you'll be able to incorporate into your own digital productions and projects.

Viewers can leave a legacy of their memories document their family life and showcase the pride in the work they've put into collecting. We want to know: Why are each of your dolls so special to you?

Photo's, home movies and recorded conversions with friends and family members will be able to be uploaded to tell your unique story in relation to Dolls and toys of the time.

Some contributors may be selected to be part of a series of Documentaries and Doll specials in development.

In the future each doll will have their own interactive page documenting their history

Recorders of history use the word “boom” to describe a lot of things about the era: the booming economy, the booming suburbs and most of all the so-called “baby boom.” This boom began in 1946, when a record number of babies–3.4 million–were born in the United States. About 4 million babies were born each year during the 1950s. In all, by the time the boom finally tapered off in 1964, there were almost 77 million “baby boomers.”

Little Miss Echo

Bye-Bye Baby

Chatty Cathy

Tiny Tears

During the post war years, most Americans were just eager to start a family and have children because after all that death and destruction they were confident that the future held nothing but peace and prosperity. That’s why between 1945 and 1960, the gross national product more than doubled, growing from $200 billion to more than $500 billion. You can now see why one of the most important products that were created to help shape the hearts and minds of little girls of America was a doll. It’s that icon of virtue that helps you learn what’s it’s like to take on the responsibility of caring for a baby.