RIP Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple doll, 1936.  Shirley appeared in her first movie in 1932 at the age of three and quickly became the biggest child star of the 1930s.

I heard this morning on the radio that Shirley Temple passed away last night at the age of 85.

Until last weekend, this Shirley Temple doll was on display as part of the exhibit A Secret Gift in the Keller Gallery.  We also had her on display several years ago for the exhibit A Doll's World.  Our collection also contains a set of Shirley Temple paper dolls; a blue glass mug, pitcher and bowl; and several other dolls.

Shirley Temple is the same age as my grandmother.  Growing up, my grandma often mentioned this fact.  Although it doesn't really mean anything, I've always found it comforting to know that she was still alive and active.  When an icon as big as Shirley Temple passes away, it leaves a great void anyway.  But when you've spent a lifetime equating her with your own grandmother's mortality, news of her death hits a little closer to home.

RIP poor little rich girl.  And thanks for the memories...

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UPDATE:

One of my volunteers is in the middle of a long term project to photograph our entire collection.  As it happens, she is working on our paper doll collection.  I just added this to our database: