The Dolly Dimpler

ADvent Calendar Day 6ADvent Calendar Day 6

Designed to create adorable dimples where there were none before, devices like this appeared in the 1920s. Evangeline Isabella Gilbert of Rochester, NY, filed a patent in 1921 (not granted until 1926) for a dimple-producer that involved two pointed knobs fitted to a spring bow that pushed them into the wearer’s cheeks. Her later improved version included a fitting for a chin dimple and screws to tighten the pressure for a more pronounced effect.

This Dolly Dimpler, advertised in Motion Picture Magazine in 1924, appears to be either Gilbert’s own invention or something inspired by it. Perfect for the ‘party season’ that the normal people apparently engage in this month.

 

dolly dimpler motion picture

Gilbert's Dimple Machine, 1936

 

Advert: Motion Picture Magazine, August 1924

Photo: 1936 image of Gilbert Dimple Machine, from Modern Mechanix

 

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