Item MM 132374 Photograph - L. J. Sterne Doll Co., Group of Fredd & Fee Fee Bears, Victoria, 23 Nov 1966

Summary

Black and white photograph of three Fredd and two Fee Fee Bears taken on the 23rd November 1966, for the L.J. Sterne Doll Company.

This photograph relates to products and promotions of the L.J. Sterne Doll Company (1939-1971), a Melbourne doll and toy manufacturer founded by Austrian migrants Leo and Hilda Sterne.

Description of Content

Photographic image of five teddy bears made by the L.J. Sterne Doll Company. Three Fred and two Fee Fee Bears, alternating, in a line.

Physical Description

Black and white photograph on paper.

Significance

This item is part of a growing collection of material relating to the migration and settlement experience of Leo and Hilda Sterne who arrived in Melbourne in 1939. They immediately established a business that became one of the most successful doll and toy manufactures in post-war Melbourne.

The L.J. Sterne Doll Company (1939-71) is significant as one of the few surviving collections related to an Australian toy and doll manufacturer, a once thriving industry in Australia. Only the A.L. Lindsay & Co. Archive at the Powerhouse Museum and the Jakas Toys collection at Museum Victoria are comparable.

This collection of photographs, business and promotional documents, dolls, and toys enables the exploration of many Australian post-war historical and social themes including: local television and manufacturing industries; design and production innovations; marketing and merchandising; childhood; gender and cultural representation; leisure and sport; and key cultural and historical events.