With the official release date of American Girl 1920s doll Claudie just eleven days away, there’s a lot of buzz about doll ideas for this era. This is the last decade of the 20th century to be represented by a specific collection, and the possibilities are pretty endless. Originally, the 1920s AG doll was planned as Estelle, a curly-blonde-haired doll interested in archaeology during the King Tut craze. That plan was scrapped and the already-produced doll used as the blonde Costco “Sparkling Ballerina” offered in Christmas 2021. The new-version, soon-to-be-released 1920s doll is Claudie, a girl growing up in New York during the Harlem Renaissance.
While I’m excited about the possibilities of the Claudie doll, I think that the archaeology theme was really cool and am sorry to see it ditched! On some of the various doll forums, several people have been creating their own Estelle collections — some used the Sparkling Ballerina, some other dolls, and still more waiting for Claudie. Mom and I have been inspired to make some 1920s accessories for the Islandshire Etsy store, so I thought I’d share some of the cool stuff we’ve found while researching the King Tut craze.
This is a period/subject that I haven’t really spent much time on in the past, so it’s been interesting to browse through contemporary newspapers to see what the US was doing when King Tut’s tomb was found. 1923 was a BIG year for the Egyptian craze, and just about every state had some kind of event (not to mention the effect this had on fashions of the day). So, while nearing Claudie’s release, I thought we might be inspired by what people were actually doing and thinking 100 years ago. This blog entry discusses some character ideas based on real-life events, and a second (separate) entry will talk about King Tut fashions of the day.
The most commonly published article included the following set of photos displaying the splendor discovered in the tomb. This layout appeared across the nation in March 1923.
There were all kinds of events held throughout the year, but if I was making a collection for an archaeology-themed character set in the 1920s, I’d definitely opt for setting her story in Nebraska — in or around Central City, to be specific. This area went all out in their King Tut celebrations with a week-long event. One guess what the event was called? Yep! “King Tut Week”! If you were able to get to Central City during May 5-12, then you got the full experience at all the local shops. Thousands of dollars in “King Tut Money” were printed and distributed to all the Central City businesses. Shoppers during that week received $100.00 of Tut Money for every $1.00 either spent in stores, paid on store accounts, paid to doctors or to lumber yards. Those happy shoppers were then able to go over to “The King Tut Oriental Shop” in the Triangle Furniture Building during the week and shop for anything from a can of corn to a suit of clothes (all supplied from the stock of participating businesses).
But the savvy shopper needed to make sure and save some of those King Tut dollars for the grand finale — the King Tut Carnival on Saturday night, May 12. King Tut himself (played by the Central City Mayor, J. W. Machamer) and his daughters would appear at the carnival, which took place at the Kelso Garage from seven in the evening ’til midnight. Only the King Tut money would be accepted at the carnival. There were booths of all kinds, a dance floor, a special version of King Tut’s tomb and even “King Tut’s Oriental Garden”. According to the town paper, the event was a big hit, “with fun had by all”!
The King Tut Market Week turned out to be a great boost to the local businesses, bringing shoppers from all over the state. Sadly, I haven’t been able to find any photos of any part of this event — or even a picture of a piece of King Tut Money. If anyone reading this knows of pictures of any kind, please comment or send a message. I’d love to know more!
The Central City paper ran a LOT of themed advertising during this event. Some of them were quite imaginative!
Click on any image to enlarge.
While the “King Tut Market Week” gave new meaning to the phrase “massive event”, Central City wasn’t the only place to celebrate King Tut in 1923. You could dance to the fascinating “Old King Tut” Fox Trot at the Big Spring Display Dance at Lincoln.
Or you could view a magnificent window display at the Central Tire and Repair Company, featuring a desert scene with Pyramids, King Tut’s tomb, camels, etc. “The idea was to represent the places into which the Miller tires would travel.”
And for the serious Flapper Girl, there was the chance to become the “King Tut Girl” of Omaha, Nebraska, at the “King Tut Night” dance at Krug Park on the evening of August 28, 1923. The fun announcement was as follows:
. . .the girl who appears on the ballroom floor in the most fashionable King Tut creations will be awarded handsome prizes, both cash and merchandise. King Tutankhamen effects predominate all the younger girls’ styles this season and the girl who proves the foremost exponent of fashions back in the days when King Tut was a power in the land of the crocodile will qualify for the prizes. Omaha’s foremost style experts have been selected as judges.
And a more in-depth article alerting locals of the competition gave these clues to the girls for selecting their fashions for the evening:
To the Omaha girl who appears in the most unique “King Tut” costume, presents and prizes will be given, including a cash prize of $25. Manager Harry White of the park declares that an elaborate Egyptian decorating scheme has been worked out and will be installed in the dance palace.
Visualizing the sort of a girl that will win the prizes, one of the judges said: Her hair will be bobbed in King Tut style, which means that it will be straight clipped even with her chin. Her dress will be bright-colored figured crepe of Egyptian design, tailored in long straight lines with a girdle worn low on the hips and crossed in front. A buckle with King Tut decorations will fasten the girdle. Her headgear, if she has no King Tut bob, will consist of a turban of helmet-shaped figured hats, worn low on the forehead. On her feet must be sandals, and her hose will match or contrast with her dress and probably will have a King Tut design or two on them. Her jewelry, if she wears any, will be of King Tut design. It may be a bright-colored bracelet, worn above the elbow, a scarab or beetle pin, a bright red or green necklace of large conformation, or King Tut designed earrings.
The winner of the competition turned out to be 18-year-old Bertha Cohen from South Nineteenth Street in Omaha, Nebraska. She had come to the United States from Russia as a young child with her Jewish parents and was (in 1923) a student in business college working as a model at a wholesale dry goods house. Miss Cohen’s prize-winning outfit consisted of “green snake bracelets adorning her arms, with coal black hair cut in a King Tut bob, with a slender figure clothed in a French Paisley gown of many colors, and with Egyptian earrings three inches square.” (If you like the idea of creating your own 1920s American Girl doll and collection, BERTHA would be a fabulous model in story and figure. Yiddish-speaking Russian Jews, Nathan and Pearl Cohen, who left Russia with their infant daughter and landed on US soil in 1905, heading straight to Nebraska.)
Other popular activities during this craze seem to have been drawing contests. You drew your picture of “King Tut Girls” and/or sent themed poems to the newspapers. There are lots of fun activities for your doll to enjoy in this period that don’t necessarily include speakeasies or the burlesque. Stay tuned for the next entry that will highlight Egyptian-influenced fashions of the day!
Added 17 Aug 2022: I just found some more interesting bits! If you’re wanting to incorporate the King Tut/Egyptian theme directly into your Claudie Wells collection, it’s a great idea. The Harlem Renaissance was highly influenced by the Ancient Egyptian craze, since King Tut was embraced as part of their rich heritage. Even the famous “Ethiopia Awakening” statue by renowned 1920s artist Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller shows the influence of this period.
The Crisis was a monthly magazine published by the NAACP, and here are a few examples from the King Tut craze.
First, the cover of the April 1923 issue featured a drawing (by Laura Wheeler) called “Egypt and Spring”.
And in the June 1923 issue of The Crisis featured this absolutely amazing picture of a scene with the following description:
“In March a Negro historical pageant entitled “The Milestones of a Race” written by Lillian French-Christian was given in Parsons, Kansas. The pageant consisted of fifteen episodes devoted to the interpretation of Negro Spirituals in picture and in song. There were 200 characters. The music was furnished by the Community Chorus with over 100 singers.”
So, Claudie could have a costume in the King Tut theme from a performance — or an older sister appearing in something like the above. Possibilities appear pretty endless when incorporating this theme into any 1920s doll collection.
Another great resource turned out to the New York Amsterdam News from 1923. This was a weekly paper from Harlem and is now considered one of the prime Harlem Renaissance publications. Just like the rest of the world, Harlem was bitten by the “King Tut” bug, as shown in some of these clippings:
There was a lecture held “under the auspices” of the North Harlem Community Forum in April, complete with illustrations and scenes! Or you could shop through the “treasure” of furniture values to be found at a local store. Even the NY Amsterdam News beloved comic character, Amos Hokum, appeared in a spoof of the King Tut madness.
And in a similar vein to festivities mentioned above, there was even a King Tut’s Masquerade Ball in the area. The best-dressed winner was Miss Dorothy Riddick of Yonkers, taking home an Egyptian scarf! (I had to look her up in the census, and in 1920 she was fifteen years old and living with her parents on School Street. Her father was born in North Carolina, mother was born in Virginia.)
To wrap this up, here’s a c.1910-1920 postcard showing Harlem as seen from Morningside Park, New York City.
