Tillie the Toiler paper doll, Feb. 1933

I think Tillie has the perfect outfit for New Year's Eve--and the morning after. 

That's Mac's profile peeking out on the turtleneck. Well, she could have had his face embroidered onto the sweater, I guess.

These fashion designs are 90 years old, but they would pass muster today!

J&P Coats Spool Cotton trade card ca. 1890s.

What's not to love about this whimsical image? 

Perfect for sailing into a new year.

Red Riding Hood, Crackerjack prize, 1946

 

Baby Bunting, an Oilette postcard

This is a reproduction of an Oilette postcard.

 

Oilettes were introduced by Raphael Tuck in 1903, but this postcard looks more like the teens or the twenties. Illustrated by M.E. Banks.

 

Brenda Starr's Christmas Greetings, Dec. 1941

 

Happy Holidays Sticker Snowman paper doll, Hallmark

 My friend Anita sent me this one, and I knew I had to scan it in so I can play with it. I'm guessing this came out fairly recently. 

It's marked "Hallmark Cares," indicating a card made from "well-managed forests."

"Winter Joys," Hood's Sarsaparilla 1918 calendar

 

A lovely illustration from 105 years ago to mark the winter solstice. 

The back shows the item was cut some time ago; the months of June and December are missing. I love reading the grandiose statements of early advertising, and Hood's does not disappoint! 

I'll take the Peptiron, Dys-pep-lets and the tooth powder.

Jen, a Christmas Cutie paper doll, Carlton Cards, ca. 1995

 

Her name is "Jen."

This lovely card sold for $3.59! You got a lot for a little money: It is nicely drawn and doesn't skimp on accessories; love the Christmas tree on the last page.

The Paper Doll Greeting Cards reference work that Fran Bornman put together some years ago helped me date this card to circa 1995.

Christmas stockings, 1925

These rosy cheeks remind me of a paper doll artist whose name I can't recall...

Poor Miss Margaret! What a Christmas message. This was hand-delivered, I guess, since there is no postage stamp, just two "Cinderella Stamps" dated 1925, with the American Lung Association logo.

 

A sleigh with boughs of holly, 1917

A Christmas greeting from grandma.

 

Lots of fun at Christmas time, 1920

 A fine bit of mayhem for a Christmas card! 

Nice Cinderella stamp marks this as a 1920 missive. 

As best as I can make out, this is the text:

Dear Cousin

Dear Jake

How are you

I  am well and hope you are the same

on this card this is Jake and his wife 

having lot of fun on Christmas morning

well goodby Ha Ha

wash you a marry Christmas from 

Gladys Nicholas

Fröhliche Weihnachten, postcard ca. 1930s

Translation: Merry Christmas

German, ca. 1930s

The reverse shows a stamp marked German Reich, with a von Hindenburg medallion. Lots of German text, but I can't imagine it was anything but personal, family news in that era to get safely through the mail. But if anyone knows German, I would love to know if my guess is accurate.

"Congresswoman Barbara Lee Speaks to Me," paper doll, 2023

 

I love collecting paper dolls of historical figures--past and present. So, when I heard that writer Arabella Grayson and artist Bruce Patrick Jones had teamed up for a paper doll book of Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), I knew I had to have it. The book--a folio of 12 unbound pages--is a lovely tribute to a trailblazer.

"Congresswoman Barbara Lee Speaks to Me," immerses the reader in the life and times of the congresswoman who has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1998. The folio features a six-and-a-half inch doll and 11 outfits.

Rep. Lee has become a beacon of progressive leadership on issues such as racial equity, women's rights, climate change, restorative justice, gun control, LGBQT rights and more. She's also running for the U.S. Senate seat once occupied by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who died in September. Although the book's release coincides with Rep. Lee's run for the U.S. Senate, it is independent of her campaign.

Arabella Grayson, a journalist, has compiled a timeline of Lee's life and career interspersed with inspirational quotes from the congresswoman's speeches and writing.

"Why Barbara Lee?" Grayson wrote recently. "I used to live in her district in the San Francisco Bay Area. We're both Mills College alums, graduating when it was still a women's college. We attended the same church. She's a staunch advocate for children's, women's and workers' rights."

Grayson curates "Two Hundred Years of Black Paper Dolls," containing more than 100 Black paper dolls from her collection for a touring exhibit that has traveled to The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum, the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles and the Mills College F.W. Olin Library. She earned a master's degree in liberal studies from Mills College and holds an undergraduate degree in public relations from San Jose State University. She studied acting at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. A talented writer and award-winning photographer, her work has appeared in numerous, books, magazines and newspapers. She is a contributing writer to Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Write to the New First Lady (SUNY Press, 2009).

Bruce Patrick Jones is a longtime illustrator and paper doll artist, well known and beloved in the paper doll community. His exquisite illustrations have made his paper doll books highly collectible.

To order the paper doll folio, click here.

Boots cutouts, December 14, 1941

Thanksgiving is over, and now the Christmas season begins. 

When this Boots paper doll ran in the newspaper on 12/14/41, a tumultuous week in the U.S. passed. Somewhere, a child cut out Boots and her wardrobe, not knowing what was to come next.

 

"The Ferryman." The Peerless Coffee trade card, ca. 1880s

 

I need a story about The Ferryman and his transportation service in the wetlands.

Child Life magazine with paper doll, October 1943

 This 80-year-old magazine has seen better days, but it's priceless record of the war years. There's a quiet optimism and a "we're all in this together" spirit that is lovely to read.

Miss Minne Apolis vintage advertising paper doll for Fall

Minneapolis Knitting Works ca. 1930s

 

Hildur of Sweden, 1932

 

This is one of 10 dolls from one of my favorite sets,  Dolls of Many Lands, 1932, Whitman. 

I'll be selling my duplicate pages from this set soon. My preference is to sell on one of the Facebook paper doll groups; if it doesn't sell there, I post on eBay.

Mary Poppins paper doll book for sale

Check out my eBay listing for this paper doll book:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/295939534239

Here's the Bride paper doll book for sale

Check out this uncut book I am selling on eBay--lots of pictures, take a look!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/295938624203

The Laundress, Lion Coffee ca 1898

 

Remembering those who work at home and make a home this Labor Day weekend.

Barbie, Ken and Midge, 1963, Whitman Pub.

This will no doubt be remembered as the summer of Barbie.

 

A few pages of clothing...nice that Barbie and Midge can share outfits:

 

Summer frolic trade card sample ca. 1890

This might have been a salesman's trade card sample, with blank space on the bottom for placing the name of a store or brand name of an item such as soap, tea or coffee. The back of the card is blank, and that is usually reserved for an advertising logo and a description (and high praise) of the product.

At 3 x 5 inches, it's also possible it was promoted as a premium--a collectible card tucked into a canister of tea, flour, or coffee.

Summer Girl Sue, 1952 Saalfield

 

This is a nice-sized book, about 11.5 x 12 inches.

(I'll post the other doll in this book, Winter Girl Wendy, when the temperatures drop!)

Little Flower of Japan, 1932

 

1932 Dolls of Many Lands, Whitman.

Happy Fourth of July