All About - History - Hitler Versus Stain
All About History offers a energizing and entertaining alternative to the academic style of existing titles. The key focus of All About History is to tell the wonderful, fascinating and engrossing stories that make up the world’s history.
All About History offers a energizing and entertaining alternative to the academic style of existing titles. The key focus of All About History is to tell the wonderful, fascinating and engrossing stories that make up the world’s history.
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Through <strong>History</strong><br />
Corn husk dolls were made from the<br />
dry leaves or the ‘husk’ of a corn cob<br />
“Roman dolls set a<br />
precedent for every<br />
future doll”<br />
CORN HUSK DOLLS UNKNOWN<br />
The origin of the corn husk doll is a little murky, but<br />
their creation is thought to be a Native American<br />
tradition. Made out of the leaves of corn, the dolls<br />
are simple in design, with static limbs and no<br />
faces. According to legend, a mother made some<br />
corn husk dolls for her children, but she was so<br />
bewitched by their beauty that she became vain<br />
and inconsiderate – so the dolls’ faces were stripped.<br />
Today, corn husk dolls are thought to symbolise<br />
prosperous land in Transylvania, and dolls can be<br />
bought as tourist gifts.<br />
Hasbro<br />
AMERICAN 1923<br />
The second largest toy maker<br />
in the world was responsible for<br />
the creation of GI Joe (also known as<br />
Action Man). In their production of the<br />
now-iconic toy, Hasbro redefined the doll,<br />
but with a twist. Marketed as an “action<br />
figure” and representing the armed<br />
forces, the all-American hero was the<br />
first doll designed to appeal to<br />
young boys.<br />
Traditional golliwog dolls<br />
usually wore checked trousers<br />
and a blue cardigan<br />
GOLLIWOG 1873<br />
Based on a rag doll character created by Florence Upton, the golliwog is now<br />
synonymous with late-19th and early-20th-century racism. However, during<br />
its heyday, the golliwog was considered a charming, friendly character that<br />
channelled the same sentiments as a minstrel. The golliwog ragdoll was<br />
much more significant culturally than it was in any other way – it<br />
inspired a ‘blackface’ movement that spread throughout all commercial<br />
sectors, from clothing and toys to food and even advertising. By the<br />
late-20th century, however, the golliwog was deemed offensive,<br />
and its popularity came to a grinding halt.<br />
Created by Donna Lee Originals,<br />
reborn dolls can come with additional<br />
chest plates for added realism<br />
OKIAGARI-KOBOSHI 14TH CENTURY<br />
A simple design more in keeping with a paper<br />
weightthanadoll,theOkiagari-koboshi–which<br />
roughlytranslatesas‘getting-uplittlepriest’–is<br />
made of mainly papier-mache and has no limbs.<br />
Instead,theround,weighteddesignmeansthatthe<br />
doll always rights itself when it’s knocked over. As<br />
fun asthatsounds,thedollismoreofacharmthana<br />
toy, symbolisingthepowerofpersistence.<br />
In recent years, Barbie has<br />
embraced a more socially<br />
acceptable figure after she was<br />
condemned for promoting an<br />
unattainable image<br />
BARBIE 1959<br />
It was considered bad<br />
luck if your okiagarikoboshi<br />
would not<br />
right itself when it<br />
fell on its side<br />
Ruth<br />
Handler<br />
AMERICAN 1916-2002<br />
Mother of the most famous doll of<br />
the modern age, Handler’s invention<br />
had a personal start. Frustrated by her<br />
daughter’s flimsy paper dolls, Handler<br />
sought to create a three-dimensional<br />
one and named it after her daughter,<br />
Barbie. Once the doll took off, a<br />
boyfriend doll was created, Ken<br />
– weirdly named after<br />
Handler’s son.<br />
The iconic platinum blonde doll that found its way into<br />
millions of homes across the world has seen countless<br />
redesigns over its 60-year reign of the shelves, but her<br />
appeal has never wavered. Initially starting life as a coy,<br />
wasp-waisted doll, Barbie now comes in all shapes and sizes<br />
– literally. After controversies surrounding Barbie’s unattainable<br />
and unrealistic figure, she’s been redesigned many times.<br />
Barbie is no stranger to controversy: pregnant Midge (Barbie’s<br />
oft-forgotten best friend) allegedly condoned teenage<br />
pregnancy, while the original babysitter Barbie clutched<br />
a book entitled ‘How to Lose Weight: Don’t Eat!’<br />
REBORN DOLLS 1990S<br />
If you thought Bisque dolls were creepy, you<br />
probably won’t be a huge fan of the reborn doll.<br />
These are made to look as realistic as possible<br />
and can cost upwards of thousands of pounds.<br />
The process of producing a reborn doll is<br />
arduous and time-consuming, but there are kits<br />
available that include all the parts in case you<br />
want to make your own. To create the realistic<br />
skin colour, a blue wash is applied, followed by<br />
up to 30 layers of additional paint. The function<br />
of the dolls is dubious: many are created to<br />
commemorate a lost child, and the impact –<br />
whether positive or negative – of the doll on the<br />
grieving process is undocumented.<br />
© Alamy, Getty Images<br />
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