If we were very, very lucky as kids one of our parents might fix one of our toys if they broke. But, rubber, plastic, and china dolls were some of the hardest to repair and often these types of dolls were simply too complicated for Mom or Dad to fix. It was such a shame when this happened!

But, apparently fortunate little girls in London in the early 1960s could have their broken dollies fixed by a master doll repairer, Barry Elder. The skilled collector of dolls had a short-lived doll museum which explains why he was so darned good at bringing them back to live (so the speak). Have a look in this great video below from British Pathé at the repair work done by the “doctor” Elder in 1960. And, be sure to check out the inner workings of a 1963 large scale doll factory right here.

Subscribe to Dusty Old Thing