Retro Crochet Wednesday!

I got this Royal Society Book No. 2 at the Benicia Peddlar's Fair on Saturday.  Since I am in a crochet phase at the moment, it was interesting to find a booklet devoted to crochet garments and toys.  The booklet dates to 1943.  'Royal Society' sounds like it would be a British publication, but the back cover gives New York as the location of the company.

 These were the days when, instead of strollers, moms had baby buggies and would take their child out for airings.  It would have been nice to have a little dress-up outfit for the baby. This outfit and the one shown below were crocheted with Royal Perle, an imported mercerized pearl cotton.  My mom also had a baby buggy, a big black buggy with big wheels.  I remember it because after my littlest brother was too big for the buggy, she let us play with it in the side yard.  One of us would get to be the rider, sitting in the buggy with the top down, and the others would push it while running like crazy.  It was fabulous fast and wobbly fun until the bottom of the buggy fell out.

The photo below shows a toy and a rug.  If I were trying to make a scary toy, I couldn't do much better than this one which I would hate to have in my crib when the lights went out.  The rug has a nice shape, but as a gardener, I have been battling the California snails for decades and don't find them cute.  Both of these are crocheted with rug cotton.

 This doll is named 'Susan' and has lovely hair made of rug yarn.  The instructions are given for the doll body, hair and features, but it says to 'dress doll as desired' and doesn't give you a pattern for the dress.  The features are crocheted into the face, not embroidered except for a few accents. The doll was stuffed with cotton batting like the quilts of the time.

 The duck pictures and bib are crocheted in tapestry crochet, though it isn't called by that name.  The instructions just tell you how to do it and provide a chart for the pictures. Crocheted in pearl cotton, these would have been hard-wearing, comfortable, long-lasting bibs.  I have an ancient cotton crocheted bib from my husband's side of the family, and it is still in great shape.