Figure 1.--This CDV shows three children, two girls and a boy. The portrait looks to have been taken in the late-1860s. Both little girls are holding their dolls which are either china, porcelain, or bisque. The little both is also holding his little boy doll. Hard to find photographs of old dolls, especially boy dolls. Collectors will probably know what kind of doll these are. Back shows the photographer was a Z P. McMillen, Galesburg, Ill.

We don't have much informatin on how 19th century children played. There are some photoigraphs which provide us with clues. Among those photographs we note play with dolls. We do not know how common this was. But doll collectors will tell you that boys dolls are relativey rare. This probably reflects the fact that fewer boys played will dolls. Not do we know if it was looked down on at the time. The raising of young children in the 19th century was generally seen as the mother's responsibilities. One might think that boy wearing dresses and curls might also play cames like girls without raising any eyebrows. Here there are, however, differences between boys and girls. Boys at a very young age tend to prefer rougher more active games than girls. This is clearly observeable in nursery schools. We tend to think that boys with sisters were most likely to play with dolls. The situation tended to shift in the 20th century. Parents especially fathers tended to be comcerned if boys played with dolls or engaged in other girlish activities. This even included very young boys. Teddies were acceptable, but dolls were another question. After World War II a more acceptable alernative was intoduced--the GI Joe action figure.

Created: January 24, 2003
Last updated: January 24, 2003