Mask
Category
Costume
Date
circa 1920
Materials
Paper and cotton thread
Measurements
240 mm (width); 100 mm (length)
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 671241.14
Summary
A paper mask included with a children’s fancy dress costume based on a stereotypical representation of Native American dress. The paper mask appears to be homemade, using two pieces of brown paper with eyeholes cut out of them, and a piece of cotton thread. The cotton thread has broken in two, but remains attached at either end to the mask. This fancy dress costume was bought from Jay’s Ltd for a children’s party in the 1920s. The clothes and accessories that make up the costume reflect a generic ‘American Indian’ stereotype which was depicted in Wild West stage shows and later Western films. Caricatures in these entertainments informed the game of 'Cowboys and Indians' which became popular in the United States and United Kingdom.
Provenance
Owned by donor’s family and donated to the Museum of Childhood by Jane Osgood in March 2011.