In his introduction to Sepia Saturday 823, Alan Burnett writes:
"Back in the 1950s and 60s, people often wanted their television sets included in photographs; those box-like, round-knobbed sets were the status symbol of their time."
This reminded me of probably the only "TV photo" that I have from my early childhood. It's in my first photo album (put together by my mum), and when looking it up now, I note that it's from the autumn of 1957 - which means I was only two years old when it was taken.
My mum's note (in Swedish) below the photo translates: The child in the Age of Television - or "Look, it's snowing". ... "Snowing" referring to the fact that more often than not, back then, there was nothing on to watch - and even when there was, the image might often be rather blurry and "snowy"... And here I'm obviously just staring at a blank screen!
The TV belonged to my maternal grandparents, and the photo is from their living room. Regular TV broadcasts in Sweden did not start until 1956, but my maternal grandfather was always keen to try new inventions, so did not wait long to get one... My own parents did not get one until years later, I think.
---
I'll combine this with a few photos I snapped from my flat screen TV a few days ago. There was a short documentary on about the history of Barbie dolls, and some women of different ages collecting them, and "remembering"...
As some followers of this blog may recall (I know at least Meike does!), some years ago I gave away most of my own old Barbie dolls, but decided to keep two - which have since been "living" on a shelf next to the TV in my sitting room, rather than tucked away in a box. And when something Barbie-related is on, of course they want to watch with me...
 |
| "My Barbie and Me" |
Looking in my old photo albums for TV-related photos now, I also happened to find the photo below of my first three Barbie dolls, from the summer of 1965 - and taken by me with an old black-and-white camera then rather recently "inherited" from my dad:
 |
| Barbie, Ken and Skipper |
Checking up on things now, Barbie dolls were launched in Sweden for Christmas 1963. I doubt I was among the very first to get one, so more likely that I got these three for my birthday + Christmas in 1964. The Skipper doll is the same one that I still have (at some point in early history, she had a haircut); while the Barbie doll is the last one I got. She came with three different wigs, so is really kind of "three in one". But I prefer her in this one:
(Repeating a photo from Easter)
A lovely reflection on how television and a pair of ever-watchful dolls quietly stitched themselves into the fabric of childhood memory.
ReplyDeleteRo, hard to grasp sometimes that I've not only been around longer than Barbie dolls, but even longer than television! ;) (Well. Swedish television, anyway!)
DeleteI don't remember when Barbie came to Australia, but I never had one, I had a cheap copy instead, but later I did get a Skipper. I think I was too old to get much enjoyment from them and soon gave them away. Now that I am much older I quite enjoy setting up my little Redheads in various situations and putting the photos on my blog.
ReplyDeleteRiver, it's kind of odd now to realise that it can only have been a few years that I was actively playing with my Barbie dolls (... before I picked it up again in my late 60s...)
DeleteSweet memories! I also read your previous post about your collection. I have no childhood toys, just a couple of books.
ReplyDeleteThanks Janice. Besides these two Barbie dolls, it's mostly books for me too that I've kept from my childhood/teens. I also have a few small stuffed toys but only one (a kitten hand puppet) goes all the way back to my childhood. Winnie-the-Pooh and another teddy bear are looking down at me from a shelf on the wall behind my computer as I write, but they were gifts from friends much later in life... ;) I don't regret donating most of my Barbies when I finally did get round to doing that three years ago. Had I kept them all they would just have remained in their box where they'd been sleeping for half a century by then. By just keeping two (+ a limited selection of clothes) I've made those two an active part of my home decor instead. :)
DeleteI didn't get into the Barbie scene until I had granddaughters. My daughters were not interested in Barbie, & my own doll days were before Barbie. I had Storybook dolls which mostly got broken as they were the original clay dolls. For a while I also had a few plastic 'Storybook doll' types - the kind we got at gas stations. And I had a storybook sized Betsy McCall doll. i've often wondered whatever happened to her? Years later I found another Betsy McCall doll along with several outfits in a discount store & bought her, eventually giving her to one of my granddaughters. When I was in my 60s I found an antique doll shop online with both original & plastic Storybook doll types for sale priced very reasonably & ordered several for the sake of fond memories. I set them up in a bookcase in my hobby area where I could smile at them for a while, but finally gave them to my great nieces keeping just one original Storybook Doll which I still have. She acts as my "Cinderella" positioned in front of a gold wire coach. Well, it will be gold whenever I get around to painting it. :)
ReplyDeleteYes indeed, the early TVs had very few programs available. I was too old for Barbies, but like Gail I did have a Betsy McCall doll. My granddaughters had lots of Barbies (since my three sons were mainly interested in GI Joes, transformers and other vehicles.)
ReplyDelete