Cheerful (not Dismal!) Desmond @MoC
Dismal Desmond and Cheerful Desmond
History of the Desmond toy
According to the V&A website:
Dismal Desmond was designed by Richard Ellott and was one of the most successful toys of the 1920s. He was the mascot of the England Cricket Team that year, as well as a mascot in the ladies changing rooms at Wimbledon. Desmond remained in production until the World War II, and was reintroduced in the 1980s and 90s.
More information can be found here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20240525131513/https://allyoucanbear.com/blog-1/f/dismal-desmond
Christies website notes:
Ian Hassall is credited with creating this character for a children’s magazine Toby. Desmond was dismal because his owner Miss Daisy Doodah had died, ‘not that he minded very much, but he was left quite alone in the world’.
There was even a song written:
Dismal Desmond song, 1926
Cheerful Desmond was introduced in 1929 but wasn’t listed in Deans catalogue for very long.
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