Get well wishes to Tom Tierney

That's the King of Paper Dolls with the white turtleneck and rhinestone bow, in the middle of a big love-fest at the 2008 Paper Doll Convention.

Tom's not feeling well, and won't be able to join us in Dayton next week. But I bet he'd love to hear from all his paper doll fans out there. You can write to him at:

Tom-Kat Paper Dolls & Shangri-La Emporium

216 Main Street

P O Box 269

Smithville, TX 78957

Surrounding Tom with love, from left: Judy Johnson, Samy Odin, Gregg Nystrom, Karry Fuller, Ralph Hodgdon, Karl Beason and Bruce Patrick Jones.

Girls paper dolls

I'm a big fan of Lena Dunham's "Girls" on HBO.

You can find these on the New York Magazine blog,  Vulture.

Trini y Nieves

From Recortables Ninon. These are the last two sheets in the sets.

Nuri y Pepita

From Recortables Ninon.

Pura y Cinta

From Recortables Ninon.

Fani y Fredi

From Recortables Ninon.

Lolita y Mari

From Recortables Ninon.

Toni y Carmina

From Recortables Ninon

Recortables Ninon

I love to search for "recortables" on Google images to see Spanish cut-outs. This is one I purchased at the Morgantown luncheon this year. Corto y visto -- cut and see.

Inside, 12 pages, about 5 X 7 inches with front-and-back dolls and clothing. Also, an adorable closet to store all the cut-outs! I'm guessing this was published in Spain, c. 1950s.

Over the next week I'll post the sheets in pairs.

And to see more wonderful recortables, check out this site. 

Paper Doll Circle, July 2012 issue

Another wonderful issue from Lorna Currie Thomopoulos, chatty and informative. I always see paper dolls in this issue that I've never seen anywhere else, from places like England, West Wales and Australia. Lorna is a world traveler with highly attuned radar for the paper doll hunt! And she also features the remarkable antique finds of Marion Jennings, in this issue, a set from 1855 believed to be German.

Click the image below for subscription information:

 A back cover featuring the lovely work of Ralph Hodgdon, the actress Joan Collins.

Lorna tosses in some Jubilee memorabilia for her readers -- a table napkin with collaged images of the Queen and other iconic images of that sceptered isle.

Wilma Goss

I was sorry to hear of the death of Wilma Goss, shown here on the right with Paula Sherrick at the 2009  Las Vegas Paper Doll Convention. Wilma was an elegant presence, just plain fun and full of high-spirits. We'll miss her.

The Pied Piper cut out story book, c. 1930s

An exceptional advertising booklet with paper dolls, from the 1930s, I'd guess. This is a few of the 15 pages; the rest tell the classic children's story, and then updates it for the hardsell -- the Pied Piper leading the children to the best shoe brand! Each page illustrated beautifully.

Quinkie by Kathy Lawrence

c. 1999. Kathy Lawrence is the artist; she is the daughter of the artist Queen Holden, who was famous for her Whitman paper dolls of babies, children and celebrities, 1929-1950.

Martha Washington paper doll, c.. 1880s

This is one of those dolls you could bend to sit or stand, and amazingly, she was never folded in the middle by a little girl. Perhaps mom advised her to store her away carefully. McLaughlin Coffee produced a lovely series of First Ladies of the world, and Mrs. Washington, of course, was included. Each doll came with a piece of furniture, and Mrs. W had this elegant bookcase.