Surprise in Store

Content advisory: Images of 'Golliwog' dolls and 'Red Indian' toy figures.

An amateur fiction film where children sneak into a shop (Wylie Hills, Buchanan Street, Glasgow) and play with the toys in the toy department. They are surprised by the caretaker who comes into the toy department dressed as Santa Claus.

The film contains some images of 'Golliwog' dolls and 'Red Indian' figures. The original golliwog was a central character in a series of books by Bertha and Florence Upton (published 1895 - 1909). Florence, who illustrated the stories, based the golliwog on an American doll she owned. The design of the doll was influenced by the racist blackface performance tradition and was used widely in toys until the 1970s.

Native Americans were popularly represented in toys throughout the twentieth century. They were often depicted wearing headdresses and holding tomahawks or bows and arrows. They were referred to using the derogatory, colonialist term 'Red Indians' which is now understood to be a racial slur.