Ebony paper doll

...well, not exactly, more like a paper-doll motif layout--playful treatment for an article with a playful theme! June 2011 issue of Ebony magazine.

Memorial Day 2011

From around the web... two beautiful cards. The first card had been listed on eBay, and the seller has others you can see here. The second card is from a web site that has many others posted here.

Decoration Day was the original name of the holiday. After the Civil War, survivors of the Union and Confederate army dead decorated the graves of loved ones. Last year on Veterans Day, I posted a Raphael Tuck Decoration Day postcard from my collection. You can see it here.

Family Circle paper dolls

June 2011 issue (page 16) on sale now.  Thanks to Faye Phillips on the yahoo newsgroup for the heads up! I like this page because the outfits actually appear to fit. I like how the shoe boxes and the mailbag help shape the costume. Plus, the whole thing is tied to information about first jobs, wages and the cost of living.

And celebrity gossip! Who knew Pitt donned the costume for El Pollo Loco? Not I. The celebrity likenesses by Brian Taylor are OK, although Clooney looks like a cranky old man and none of Steve Carell's loony charm is evident. But hey, it's a paper doll page! The clothes have tabs and appear to fit. That's good enough for me.

UPDATE: Err, forget the fit. Clothes are smaller than dolls. It looks like the production people just wanted to get everything on the same page, and reduced the costumes. Too bad.

Pastel envelope liner, c. 1930

More vintage envelope liners, c. 1930

Building motif, c. 1930

More vintage envelope liner.

Vintage French envelope liner, c. 1930

From a terrific stash belonging to Carol Carey.

Bergen Mall, Paramus, c. 1961

Stern's and Ohrbach's are gone. This mall has been transformed, and is now one of my favorite places to shop because it has Whole Foods anchoring one end. Target, Nordstrom Rack, Marshalls, Century 21 (designer labels reduced) are also big draws. Not as big as Garden State Plaza, easier to navigate, get in and out quick.

Hackensack, c. 1961

Something about this view reminds me of an early scene in Psycho, when Janet Leigh is absconding with bank funds, driving down a busy street and running into her boss who thought she went home sick.

A lot of main streets looked like this, chock full of interesting stores and movie theatres--I'm impressed there are two here, the Oritani and the Fox. Franklin Simon and Arnold Constable used to anchor this street. All gone, as people moved to suburbs and shopped at malls. A lot of these low-rise buildings are still there, repurposed for other businesses, Mexican and Central American restaurants, a beauty school, state offices. I think Cowan's lasted until a few years ago.

How to be a girl, 1946

We really let ourselves go during the war. Time to step up your game, girls!
Re-scanned for readability...

The Coolerator

Another ad from Woman's Day, Jan. 1946. Women couldn't wait to get the latest appliances in the post-war era. The artist is Gladys Parker of Mopsy and Flapper Fanny fame. The porter and his dialect speech are reminders that African-Americans were still routinely caricatured in print, radio and the movies, reflecting their continuing segregation in American life. In 17 years, A. Philip Randolph, famed black leader of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, would organize the March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.

Dry Cleaning, 1946

And I thought at-home dry cleaning products were a recent invention! Great era for illustrations, before photography took over the ad pages. It's a busy page for an ad, lots of text, but the lively drawing and color draws me right in. Click image to read.

Recycling, 1946

More from the "Found Money" section of the 1946 issue of Woman's Day shows how to create an updated look from old styles. D.I.Y. and recycling are always in fashion!

Click image for readable (I hope) size.

Woman's Day, 1946

This January 1946 issue of Woman's Day (newsstand price: two cents) is a chronicle of life returning to "normal" after the war, the pent up demand for material goods, and the yearning to create a home, what one sociologist has called "a haven in a heartless world." It is the beginning of the Baby Boom years.

Click on the images to enlarge.

Looking through this issue, I was struck by the articles and ads drawing women back to their traditional roles at home after working in factories or heading the household while the man of the house was at the front. People were still "making do" as shortages continued.

Over the next few days, I'll post a few more sample pages and ads from this issue.  I'm still figuring out how to size pictures for best readability on my new MacBook Pro, so if it's not legible at first, I'll fiddle with it till I get the proportions right.

The Many Faces of Brenda Starr

 Actually, the many coiffures...

New Year's Eve wardrobe. Dec. 28, 1941.

Another Brenda Starr character

c. 1947. No clue who she is...

Dolls Magazine

Spring 1983. These back issues are worth tracking down on eBay or at doll shows. "Dolls" is where I first encountered the writing of John Darcy Noble. I don't collect dolls, but I bought his doll books because I enjoyed his writing. He did write magazine articles about some elegant antique paper dolls and toys, and many are included in his Selected Writings volume.

The Lettie Lane cover is one I will frame. It refers to an article by Anne Tolstoi Wallach, which was later included in her excellent book about paper doll collecting.

Camel cigarettes paper doll

1934.

Paper doll in pencil, c. 1940s

The Lady of London, c. 1850

A 1994 Dover reproduction. I hope everyone had a Mother's Day to remember.

GQ Presents: The Lady Gaga Paper Doll

 

Bizarre and fab, kind of like the Lady herself. Go to the link below to see the doll. It's interactive, so you can dress her online. And the May issue should have the doll, too. I'll look for it tomorrow. And thanks to Jeff DiGangi for the link!

GQ Presents: The Lady Gaga Paper Doll Music: GQ.com

A Mother's Day perm

Fravessi-Lamont, Inc. greeting card. No date, unused. That perm contraption could date this card sometime in the early 1950s...

A Brenda Starr mystery

Can anyone ID this character? She was part of the cut Brenda Starr paper doll treasure trove I won recently on eBay.

Also: I never heard of Bill Blackbeard until I read his obit. He was obsessed with newspaper comic strips, and saved newspapers when libraries were tossing them in the garbage. His massive archive is now at Ohio State University. A great story, and newspaper and comic strip lovers are forever in his debt.

Greeting card by Bette Wells

Bette Wells creates lovely cards. This one is entitled, "We will always have Paris to remember." It was featured in Somerset Studio magazine.

Once the small flap on the right is opened, you can see the full picture; the card opens further to write a message, but I don't think I can part with this lovely art work.

Abretha Breez

c. 1947, part of a Brenda Starr stash that I bought on eBay a month or two ago. All nicely cut, but I've had a devil of a time matching pieces. Tornado the dog belongs to Abretha, not Daphne, as I mistakenly posted in March.

Move over, Kate!

An unflagging spirit

Baby Wills

A blast from the past. Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster, 1983. By Clarissa Harlowe and Cathy Camhy. Illustration: Emanuel Schongut. Design: Sara Giovanitti. An 18-page book! Here's a sample: