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July 11, 1923. "Montrose play grounds (girls with dolls)." By now presumably all safely back in their toy boxes. National Photo glass negative. View full size.
A nun doll? I wonder if it came with any accessories like a ruler for slapping the other dolls' hands. I guess the owner gets to be Mother Superior.
I love the nun doll, which - having high-contrast clothing - leaps out of the picture's center.
People who have doll collections know that boy dolls usually end up becoming more valuable than girl dolls, simply because fewer female children want them and hence, they are rarer. I'll venture a wild guess and assume this was a summertime doll contest as used to be an annual event at our local park when I was a kid. My sisters entered once but never won since the most expensive doll usually was the most attractive and would take the prize (only one entry per person) whereas their dolls were inexpensive and common. Just FYI, old black boy dolls (not action figures) are considered as rare as hen's teeth and would be a treasure to many as they were hard to come by in the old days before we became p.c. The original kewpies by Rose O'Neil, as seen in the first row, third from the right, are highly coveted as well.
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