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Oh, isn't it lovely

Birthday Postcard
1920-1925 (made)
Artist/Maker

Birthday postcard, of portrait proportions. The obverse shows a colour print of a girl in a white dress, with a dog wearing a red, white and blue bow, and a teddy bear and golly dressed as British soldiers of the First World War.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleOh, isn't it lovely (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Colour-printed card
Brief description
Birthday postcard; Agnes Richardson for Raphael Tuck & Sons, UK, 1920-25
Physical description
Birthday postcard, of portrait proportions. The obverse shows a colour print of a girl in a white dress, with a dog wearing a red, white and blue bow, and a teddy bear and golly dressed as British soldiers of the First World War.
Dimensions
  • Height: 139mm
  • Width: 88mm
Production typeMass produced
Marks and inscriptions
Credit line
Given by Eileen A. Brock
Object history
The original golliwog was a central character in a series of books by Bertha and Florence Upton published between 1895 and 1909. Florence, the illustrator of the stories, based the golliwog on a doll she had acquired in the US in the 1880s. The appearance of this doll was influenced by the Blackface performance tradition. From the late 19th century until the 1960s, the golliwog flourished as a toy. Its image featured on toys, games, textiles and ceramics and was also used by food companies. From the 1970s the golliwog’s popularity began to wane as many British people felt that it promoted racial stereotypes.

References:

Given to the donor, Eileen Brock (b.1915)
Subjects depicted
Collection
Accession number
B.488-1993

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Record createdApril 19, 2000
Record URL
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