A few years ago I had the melancholy duty of helping somebody sell off her deceased mother's doll collection at an estate sale. There were Shirley Temple dolls from the 1940s through to a last gasp series in the late 80s or even early 90s, which were clearly aimed at adult collectors. I remember thinking that the old lady who had died wa…
A few years ago I had the melancholy duty of helping somebody sell off her deceased mother's doll collection at an estate sale. There were Shirley Temple dolls from the 1940s through to a last gasp series in the late 80s or even early 90s, which were clearly aimed at adult collectors. I remember thinking that the old lady who had died was one of her final fans and I was watching the disintegration of the cultural memory of Shirley Temple in real time. I advertised the sale in all the big cities of Texas; we didn't sell any.
A few years ago I had the melancholy duty of helping somebody sell off her deceased mother's doll collection at an estate sale. There were Shirley Temple dolls from the 1940s through to a last gasp series in the late 80s or even early 90s, which were clearly aimed at adult collectors. I remember thinking that the old lady who had died was one of her final fans and I was watching the disintegration of the cultural memory of Shirley Temple in real time. I advertised the sale in all the big cities of Texas; we didn't sell any.
This feels like an especially poignant example of a huge star fading away.