Tot Depot: 1927

Those are some brutish looking baby mannequins.

"Tot Depot" and "vaguely unsettling retail displays" Keep up the good work. I don't often laugh out loud ... just keep up the excellent work. Thank you.

As an artist and fabric designer, I can tell you that the circus drapes and the plush toys look darn good! They are very similar to things I see today in the best kids' boutiques and in the handmade section on Etsy. Bury the creepy babies in the long fussy dresses and this might be a scene right out of some posh store on Madison Avenue, especially with the fur trimmed robe. I bet three years after this picture was shot, though, kids' departments had a much more austere offering as hard times set in.

Man, I dig those curtains.
Any more shots of them, Dave?

[Alas, no. - Dave]

Compared to baby stores we see today, this store looks like a Rodeo Drive boutique with its limited display. It must be a very pricey place to be able to pay the rent with that inventory.

[This is a small part of a big department store. I'd imagine that most of the merch is off camera. - Dave]

Enters from stage left.

What were they thinking?

At the bottom of the chest seems a little spooky and may need watching after midnight.

as the headless baby mannequins I saw at Sears on the weekend. It is especially disturbing when they have those same headless babies strung up the sides of poles and things like kids at play. Shudder. I try to avoid Sears baby department.

You will find my plaster mother and on the third floor one of those plaster people is my dad.

Set for the all-child remake of "The Loved One."

I expect to hear the rat-a-tat of the custard-firing machine guns any moment now.

Gee, I always wanted a fat plaster kid.