The 1950’s were a time when family and marriage were prevalent themes in society. Magazines from that decade are filled with babies, puppies, neatly-dressed housewives, men coming home from work in suits. Of course real life is never quite as it is portrayed in the media, and of course the 1950’s were no exception. However, the average age of marriage did become lower in those years, and the nuclear family was shown as the ideal.
McCall’s magazine was no exception. For example, the September 1954 issue featured special sections just for children and teens. The illustrations in this post are from a story page entitled “Betsy McCall is Topsy-Turvy” and here is the text that accompanied the picture at the top of this entry:
“Hi, Betsy!” said Nosy. “Look at me!” Betsy McCall looked at him in surprise. “Not you,” said Nosy. “I mean the other one.” Betsy looked around and saw her doll, whose name is also Betsy McCall, sitting teetering on a chair with only three legs. Then she looked back at Nosy in amazement. “Why are you standing on your head?” she demanded. “To rest my foot,” growled Nosy. “Why are you flying a kite in the living room?” Betsy looked even more surprised. “Why, I didn’t realize I was,” she replied. “Goodness, everything’s wrong! I’m all topsy-turvy. I must be dreaming!”
The funny thing is she was dreaming! How many things can you find topsy-turvy in Betsy’s dream? We found ten.
Well? How did you do? Did you find all ten? Don’t worry if you didn’t do so well; there are paper dolls to be played with instead!
Here is Betsy McCall herself:
And a couple of her favorite dresses:
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