Professor Hamilton's Diary: June 18, 1935

He buys Mary Elizabeth a sunsuit; Sing Sing ex-con allowed to play pro baseball

Professor Hamilton took his daughter Mary Elizabeth downtown and bought her a lightweight cotton sunsuit today. “Her sunburn pained her much in the night, & blistered, so that we were much concerned,” he wrote. In fact, he took her in to see her pediatrician, but he simply advised applying lotion.

In the headlines, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, baseball commissioner, allowed a convicted felon who had served time at Sing Sing prison to play professional baseball. Paid subscribers can read on about the remarkable story of Alabama Pitts. Still reading for free? Click below to upgrade and get a mini-history lesson every day for just 16 cents!

This adorable Dy-Dee doll from the 1930s is wearing a typical child’s sunsuit. How odd that a father whose child had a severe sunburn should buy her clothing that exposed more of her skin to the sun! The picture comes from the website dollyology.com.