Summary

Black and white photograph depicting an older man using a Gerry Gee doll. There is an older woman and two boys looking on. They are in an outdoor shelter at a picnic table.

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

In the foreground there is an older man using a Gerry Gee doll. To the right there is an older woman and to the left there are two boys, one is holding a toy gun.They are all sitting at a picnic table in an outdoor shelter. The table is covered with containers used for food preparation and storage. In the background another table can bee seen with a group of people sitting around it eating.

Physical Description

A black and white photograph

Significance

This item is part of a growing collection of material relating to the migration and settlement experiences 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 manufacturers in post-war Melbourne.

The L.J. Sterne 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 and Co. Archive at the Powerhouse Museum and the Jakas Toys collection at museum Victoria.

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 innovation; marketing and merchandising; childhood; gender and cultural representations; leisure and sport; and key cultural and historical events.

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