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Wednesday, February 16, 2011

BDHT: 1942 Kid Chocolate


"Kid Chocolate" is the brown-skinned baby doll shown on page 40 of the 1942 Sears Christmas Catalogue.

Kid Chocolate's description reads: 
"Kid Chocolate"
30c
10 inches tall.  Body made of composition.  Inside jointed (the better way).  He's one of the perennial favorites. . . a pickaninny you'll simply adore.  Has painted eyes. Is dressed in romper suit and socks.  Every little girl should have one of these cute little dolls.  Shipping weight, 10 ounces 49 P 3427 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30c

The white counterpart is described as follows:
Round and Chubby
30c 10 inches tall.  Jointed composition doll.  Realistic painted face and eyes.  He's dressed in snug cotton romper and he wears cute baby booties that tie on.  Made of hard to break composition that is washable.  Here's a real value at Sears low price.  A thrilling gift for any child.  Shipping weight, 10 ounces 49 P 3426 . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30c

Except for color and description, the dolls are identical in appearance and price (30 cents). The white doll is described as round and chubby while the black doll is described in the typical 1942 way as a pickaninny (!).  It should also be noted that the manufacturer's given names for dolls were not often used in Sears catalogues Round and Chubby and Kid Chocolate were probably not the manufacturer-given names for these two.

dbg

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2 comments:

  1. OMGoodness! I saw this page (and others)from Wishbook..BUT I missed the pickaninny description!(didn't zoom in on it!)

    That reminds me of when I was little and I was watching one of the Little Rascals or Our Gang episodes on TV.Anyway one of the little White character was asking his Daddy if he liked him,like so&so,etc..When he came to his little Black friend ,his father said "You mean the little pickaninny?". I was kinda of stunned that even in the 60's the local station didn't bleep that out.But now as a more learned adult looking back I'm not so surprised!Even though it was the
    60s!
    Bonnie

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  2. Printing terms like that and including them in scripts for televised shows and movies was commonplace in the 1940s and well into the 1960s and 1970s. Archie Bunker is one such non-politically correct show that I can readily recall.

    dbg

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