Hospital for Sick Children · Health Sciences
A plastic doll with a shutting “sleep eyes” mechanism and an infant’s hospital garment. Doll and garment are stored in a cardboard box.
The doll is a modified WC-3 model of the “Betsy Wetsy” doll produced by the Ideal Toy Company. The unmodified doll is a “drink-and-wet” doll, meaning that it was made with an opening in the mouth and was designed to allow liquid to drain from openings in the doll’s posterior. This doll has been modified so that the mouth opening attaches to a set of rubberized lungs that are visible through a clear window cut into the doll’s chest.
The clear window has become detached from the doll.
Accession Number: 2024.SK.8
Alternative Name:
Primary Materials: Plastic, Rubber
The fabric gown has a sewn label that reads: “MADE BY// Lac-Mac// LONDON, CANADA”
Stamped or moulded into the back of the doll’s head: “ IDEAL DOLL// WO-3”
Stamped or moulded into the back of the doll’s torso: “IDEAL DOLL// 17”
Dimensions (cm): Height = 10, Width = 17, Length = 39,
This doll may have been used to train students of anesthesia to properly seal a respirator or anaesthesia mask around an infant’s face.
The clear window meant to cover an opening in the doll’s chest has become detached. The doll’s rubber lungs appear brittle and discoloured. Several fragments of rubberized coating have fallen away.
Associated Instruments:
Base Doll: Ideal Toy Company, Brooklyn, New York , USA; Garment: Lac-Mac Ltd., London, Ontario
Date of Manufacture: c. 1950s to 1960s
Provenance:
Additional Information and References:
Historical Notes: