Temple Tuesday: Bunny in the Bungalow

This recent Shirley Temple photo acquisition sparked another rabbit hole…literally! Taken inside her 20th Century-Fox Bungalow, Shirley is opening a rather large box. Most people would initially wonder what was in the box; not me. I wanted to know if the sheet of paper on the end table could be read! I zoomed in, but to no avail. It doesn’t appear to be a script, so who knows.



The great Rita D., Shirley expert supreme, was able to fill in the rest of the story that this series of publicity shots was about. The image below shows Shirley at the front door of the bungalow (love that decorative Hand of Fatima door knocker!) receiving the package.



The back of the image is date stamped January 1938, which lets us know that the photo is no more recent than that period, but possibly a month or more older. Before the lightning fast internet and digital photos, timed layouts had to be planned and executed way in advance to meet publishing deadlines.



Another image from Rita shows Shirley playing with some kind of custom-made wooden logs. The story behind this set is still unknown.



In searching to find out if this was what Lincoln Logs looked like back in the day, I learned that the original Lincoln Logs were designed/created by Frank Lloyd Wright’s son, John Lloyd. That’s some provenance! From the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office FB page:

Lincoln Logs were more than a toy; they were a patented invention that inspired generations of young builders. John Lloyd Wright, the second son of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, received U.S. Patent No. 1,351,086 in 1930 for a “Toy-Cabin Construction.” His design used notched wooden logs that could be stacked to form interlocking walls for miniature structures— without glue or nails. Inspired by his father’s earthquake-resistant construction techniques, Wright used architecture engineering principles to create a toy that was both educational and imaginative, helping children learn about construction while building realistic log cabins.



According to the Modern San Diego website, John Lloyd Wright designed many homes and commercial structures here in San Diego. I’m going to need to do some exploring, Lucy! Back to the originally scheduled program (oh those rabbit hole digressions). Rita dug up this clipping with the text that accompanied it showing Shirley’s wonderment at the bunny. I wonder how many times she had to show that face for the photographer?

When this big box came, Shirley thought someone had sent her flowers. She could hardly wait to see whether they were roses or daffodils, acacia—or what! Imagine her surprise when she opened the lid, and there was a white bunny that looked almost as real as a real Easter bunny!



Melissa (ala “The Colonel”) dug up this download from her web archive which shows more of the image:



This previously posted image from my collection has artist Feg Murray visiting Shirley between takes of “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,” being filmed in 1937. Same dress, and the curls match, so there’s a good chance it was the same day.



Artist Feg Murray visits Shirley Temple between takes of “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,” 1937. According to the AFI website, the production dates for that film were early October through November 1937. And there you have today’s trip down the bunny path.

See more Shirley Temple Fox bungalow and trailer photos at my main website.