We’ve Found The Vintage Amy Carter At The White House Paper Doll Set


Millennial children might have gawked at the idea of playing with cardboard, but for Baby Boomers, cardboard political toys were all the rage.

Meet Amy Carter: America’s First Daughter during the Carter administration from 1977-1981. Unlike the other children who lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Amy Carter had an action figure modeled after her.

s-l1600 (3)
s-l1600 (1)

The Amy at the White House Play Set was first manufactured shortly after the presidential election of 1976 by The Toy Factory. The complete set includes all of the things any presidential kid would ever need:

  • Washington Monument
  • Bench, bike, and a table
  • Secret Service agents
  • Helicopter
  • White House
  • Rose Garden
  • Presidential limousine
  • President Jimmy Carter
  • First Lady Rosalynn Carter
  • First Daughter Amy Carter
  • First Dog Grits Carter

s-l1600 (2)Perhaps the greatest addition to the play set is Amy’s lemonade stand — because capitalism, am I right? Glasses of lemonade have a going rate of 5 cents.

Oddly enough, Amy’s dog Grits is also included, but missing from the set is the First Family’s Siamese cat, Misty Malarkey Yin Yang.

Amy Carter

If you’re a Millennial who’s a bit confused at the concept, think of it as a cool Barbie dream house. But, instead of a ginormous plastic pink dollhouse, you get a small paper printout of the White House. Which, during the Carter presidency, was apparently a big deal for kids.

Museum of Play
Museum of Play

Unfortunately, the toy was a bit of amiss in the late 70s, as it turned out kids didn’t (and still don’t) really care about politics or presidential kids. However, the concept of Amy at the White House was ingenious. During the 70s, cardboard play sets were high in demand, as children sought out miniature versions of their favorite Marvel comic book superheroes, Planet of the Apes animals, and the characters from Space: 1999.

s-l1600

Feeling nostalgic yet? You can purchase your own Amy at the White House Play Set for a cool $20 USD.

Image via: MuseumOfPlay