A Squirrel’s Guide to Fashion

2 minute read

In the early 1940s, LIFE magazine reported that a Mrs. Mark Bullis of Washington, D.C., had adopted a squirrel “before his eyes were open, when his mother died and left him in a tree” in the Bullis’s back yard. Here, in a series of photos by Nina Leen, LIFE.com chronicles the quiet, rodential adventures and sartorial splendor of Tommy Tucker, the orphaned — and, in 1940s America, the celebrated — squirrel.

“Most squirrels,” LIFE noted (with a striking lack of evidence), “are lively and inquisitive animals who like to do tricks when they have an audience.” They do?

LIFE then went on to observe that the squirrel, dubbed Tommy Tucker by the Bullis family, “is a very subdued little animal who has never had a chance to jump around in a big tree.”

“Mrs. Bullis’ main interest in Tommy,” LIFE continued, “is in dressing him up in 30 specially made costumes. Tommy has a coat and hat for going to market, a silk pleated dress for company, a Red Cross uniform for visiting the hospital.”

“Tommy never seems to complain,” the LIFE article concluded, “although sometimes he bites Mrs. Bullis. Mrs. Bullis never complains about being bitten.”

[Read more about Tommy Tucker in this Washington Post article]

A Squirrel's Guide to Fashion
This Year's ModelNina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A Squirrel's Guide to Fashion
Simple, Yet ElegantNina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A Squirrel's Guide to Fashion
Sorry, Did You Say Something?Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A Squirrel's Guide to Fashion
The "Little Squirrel on the Prairie" LookNina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A Squirrel's Guide to Fashion
Forever GinghamNina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A Squirrel's Guide to Fashion
I Call This My "Going Visiting Dress"Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A Squirrel's Guide to Fashion
Chill in the AirNina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A Squirrel's Guide to Fashion
Can't a Squirrel Eat in Peace?Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A Squirrel's Guide to Fashion
CPR: Cute Professional RodentNina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A Squirrel's Guide to Fashion
Sharing Is CaringNina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A Squirrel's Guide to Fashion
Too. Much. Starch. Can't. Breathe.Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A Squirrel's Guide to Fashion
One Sample per Customer, PleaseNina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A Squirrel's Guide to Fashion
A Clean Squirrel Is a Happy SquirrelNina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A Squirrel's Guide to Fashion
Ahhhh. Warm Towels.Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A Squirrel's Guide to Fashion
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream ... of Acorns ...Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

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