With Claudie’s release getting closer (and spurred on by a doll forum discussion), I decided to make a Brownies’ Book magazine for her. This was a publication that ran from January 1920 to December 1921, being the first magazine published for African-American children. It’s a real treat to browse through the issues because of the amount of contemporary photographs and illustrations. If you’re keen on early 1920s hairstyles, you’ll see some absolute beauties in some of the high-school graduation photos included.
Joanie was pretty excited to model for the new magazine (she’s a TM #45 with a hair trim), since she got to wear Kit’s Scooter Outfit for the photo shoot.
The mini magazine is a scaled-down version of the complete May 1920 issue (about 32 pages, if I remember correctly) — which includes some photos of little girls dressed as fairies! It was a hard decision to pick this or the previous Easter issue (which included a complete dance lesson for girls), but since Mom is already hoping for several more Brownies’ Book issues, I guess it won’t be a problem.
The doll-sized magazine is approximately 2 x 2-9/16″ and printed on plain paper to minimize flash problems in photo ops. The outside cover has been laminated with tape like the public libraries do, which also makes them more durable and allows the use of tacky/mounting putty to keep them in the dolls’ hands when posing.
Click on any image to enlarge.
We’re working on some other 1920s accessories (with an archaeological theme), so I hope to have more pictures posted soon. If your Claudie wants a Brownies’ Book, this is now available in the Islandshire Etsy store, so feel free to check it out.