Cutting patterns for making the Gregson austerity doll

Eight masonite and two duralium patterns from which the Gregson doll and her clothing was made. The two Duralium pieces are marked in pen 'LEG CUT 4' and 'ARM CUT 4'; the masonite pieces are marked 'BODY CUT 2'; PATTERN FOR HEAD CUT 2'; 'PANTS CUT 2'; 'PIXIE BONNET PATTERN CUT 2'; 'GORE SKIRT PATTERN FOR DRESS & PETTICOAT'; SLEEVE FOR DRESS CUT 2'; 'BACK BODICE FOR DRESS & PETTICOAT CUT 2'; and 'FRONT BODICE FOR DRESS & PETTICOAT CUT 1'. Also supplied with a painted face panel made from stiffened cloth-backed linen.

Collection of duralium and masonite patterns for making a doll designed by Melva Gregson of Mascot, NSW during the Second World War, when materials were in short supply. Production of the doll started by accident in 1942 when Gregson's daughter Dawn was invited to a schoolfriend's birthday party at Anthony Horden's department store in the centre of Sydney. Material restrictions meant no dolls were available, so Melva designed and made one, with assistance from her husband Alf, a motor mechanic. The doll generated a lot of interest at the party, including that of the store manager who asked for a sample with a view to selling them.

After making some samples, Melva asked Alf to undertake the negotiations and, hoping for a fairer deal than Horden's could offer, he approached Winn's Department store which recognised the quality and appeal of the doll and immediately negotiated for supply at 27 shillings and sixpence per doll, dressed. The Gregsons settled down into a cottage industry.

Daughter Dawn relates: 'Mum employed about seven women to take home and sew the pre-cut bodies and clothes. The dolls were stuffed, assembled and dressed in our home ... the women and older children helped with stuffing the bodies, arms, legs and heads and any man who could handle pliers, wire and buttons assembled the bodies. As well as doing most of the cutting out of the components, Mum did the dressing of the dolls and applied the final touches. The materials and flock used in the manufacture of the dolls were sourced from the Sydney Textile Waste Company [using] the blocks of material left over after the bulk cutting of apparel at the clothing factories. ... Being waste fabric meant there were no coupons required to purchase any of the materials needed.

For the bodies bales of knit fabric was used and for the clothing bales of cotton print fabric. Bales of the more expensive white flock was used for the stuffing. Some dolls had composition heads but most had stuffed fabric heads with commercially made faces of pressed stiffened fabric with painted on features. With the help of Winn's store I think just about every last doll’s face or composition head found its way to our house. When a batch was ready for dispatch, Winn's would send one of their delivery trucks to collect the dolls and transport them to their toy department. Once in the store they sold very quickly. I think it was sometime in 1944 when Mum and Dad had to give it up, for lack of faces or heads. There just weren't any more to be had.'