Shirley Temple doll: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Shirley Temple composite doll, made by the Ideal Toy Company. The doll is molded to represent a young, white, female child, blue eyes, red lips, and blonde hair. The doll is dressed in a yellow cotton dress with blue ribbon trim, including around the collar, terminating in a tie at the front. The doll is wearing yellow boots and is mountd on a stand. The doll's dress is decorated with a pin printed with an image of Shirley Temple and the text "THE WORLDS DARLING / GENUINE Shirley Temple DOLL".

This doll is an example of an extremely popular toy produced by the Ideal Toy Company in the 1930s, representing the contemporary popularity and cultural power of child actress Shirley Temple. Temple was one of the most beloved, acclaimed, and financially successful actors working in American film during the 1930s, and later became a diplomat including serving as United States Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia. Temple was the number one box office draw from 1934-1938 and has been called “the little girl who fought the Great Depression” for her impact on Americans’ morale at the depths of the economic crisis. Her optimistic, cheery demeanor and film roles wherein she helped solve adults’ problems functioned as a healing salve on the nation’s emotional wounds.

Merchandisers capitalized on Temple’s popularity to create a raft of consumer goods and toys such as this doll, one of the most popular and best-selling toys of the decade. The Ideal Novelty and Toy Company (after 1938, Ideal Toy Company) was founded in 1906 and originally produced teddy bears before turning to dolls in the 1910s. In the 1930s, the company had success creating licensed dolls in the image of young film stars including Shirley Temple, Judy Garland, and Deanna Durbin. Ideal’s Shirley Temple composition doll, its head and limbs made of a composite of glue mixed with sawdust, was patented in 1934 and first sold in 1935. The dolls had open-mouthed smiles and a came in a selection of red, blond, and brunette curled hair as well as sizes ranging from 11-inches to 27-inches tall. The dolls were extremely popular and were re-released by Ideal in a vinyl version in 1957, with collectors’ edition dolls made in the same style in later years.

This doll was given to Madge Williams when she was a child by her father, who soon afterward died in a car accident. Madge then treasured the doll the rest of her life, passing it on to her daughter, Mary Margaret Stone. As Stone recounted, “She [Madge] grew up in Suwanee, Ga on a farm. She was one of 10 children, and next to the youngest, and her full maiden name was Madge Dorothy Williams. It became Kirk after she married. They were of meager means, and she would play with toys made of corn cobs and husks. When she was about 4 or 5 her father bought her this Shirley Temple doll. He died right after. It was the only real doll she ever had. Because it meant so much to her, she wouldn’t play with it and has kept it on display almost all of her life."

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: ca 1935
• depicted (sitter): Temple, Shirley
• maker: Ideal Toy Company
• Object Name: doll
• Physical Description: metal (pin; stand; hairpin material)
• Physical Description: composite (glue, sawdust) (doll material)
• Physical Description: cotton (clothing material)
• Physical Description: hair (hair material)
• Measurements: overall: 22 in x 9 in x 5 in; 55.88 cm x 22.86 cm x 12.7 cm
• place made: United States: New York, Queens
• Associated Place: United States: Georgia, Suwanee
• associated subject: Motion Pictures
• associated subject: Entertainment, Film
• associated subject: Girls
• associated subject: Dolls
• associated subject: Toys
• associated subject: Movie
• ID Number: 2023.0154.01
• accession number: 2023.0154
• catalog number: 2023.0154.01
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.