Summary

Black and white photograph of the New Gerry Gee Junior Family doll display, depicting Gerry Gee and Geraldine Gee ventriloquist dolls with L.J Sterne Doll Co. posters of Ron Blaskett and Gerry Gee. Ron Blaskett's Gerry Gee ventriloquist act was aired on GTV 9, whose logo can be seen in the image.

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

A studio photograph of a Gerry Gee Junior Doll display depicting five Gerry Gee dolls and two Geraldine Gee dolls on top of a trolly advertising the L.J Sterne Doll Co., Ron Blaskett and Gerry Gee, and GTV 9. A banner at the top of the image reads: ' The New Gerry Gee Junior Family'.

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.

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