Here is a strange rubber toy found at the feira... made in Czechoslovakia. It is strange how babies in these countries are completely strapped down before being put in their craddles. The word cocoon comes to mind, but is there really a scientific reason to do this ?
Another find at the fleamarket... someone knows more about this ? Material is very brittle (maybe celluloid ?) and the arms are fixed by an elastic cord.
It is 1955... and kids are in front of the tube to watch Tom Corbet. It's in black and white but who cares, so is the universe ! As soon as the show began to have success on American) TV, tons of SPACE CADET items arrived on the market: rayguns, puzzles etc. This pair of dolls also cashed in on the show (and the show cashed in on a lot of sponsoring, like Kellogs Cornflakes etc.) Note the original boots on Dr Joan Dale. All of these dolls had a sleeping-eye mechanism, and clothes stapled on them (hello toy safety !)
Tom Corbet and Dr. Joan Dale, Marcie Co,
USA, 1950's
Space Scout Doll, the House of Dolls, Chicago, USA,
1955
As a preliminary to the conquest of space, America did sell the concept of interplanetary travel through the new medias, radio (Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon in the 30ies and 40ies) and TV. In the baby boomer years, lots of space shows tickled the imagination of girls and boys from Alaska to Florida. As this toy shows, space was not only a boys play (even though the tons of rockets and robots and rayguns seem to prove otherwise). Also, even though you had to breathe in a plastic helmet - having fashionable hair was still really important.
