The Holly-Days are Here...

greeting card ca. 1940s

 

La Résistance

 From the archive of Agence Eureka...a 1940s era homage to the French Resistance, the antifascist brigade during the Nazi occupation.

Here is an overview from the Library of Congress:

"The French Resistance is a topic much examined by French historians searching to understand and highlight what was a small but fierce minority in France who operated in secret to actively resist and sabotage the Nazi invaders during WWII."

Cardui, the Woman's Tonic, ca. 1908

An advertising cutout featuring a woman wearing an apron...

 

Save the Date: The 2026 Morgantown Paper Doll Luncheon

 Saturday, April 25, 2026

Join us for the Morgantown Paper Doll Luncheon 

at the Holiday Inn, Morgantown, PA

Our theme will be aprons of all kinds: kitchen aprons, pinafores, cobblers, work aprons, evening aprons and more!

Friday night room shopping for the early birds.

Sales Room * Luncheon at noon * Dress-A-Doll 

Raffles * Freebies

More information to come!

Be sure to join us on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/paperdollsinPA

Dale Arden cutouts by Alex Raymond, 1934

 This is the first Flash Gordon paper doll.

(First newspaper version, I guess.There might have been 

cutouts in a different format published before this one). 

Katy Keene's Future Land Wedding

 

Katy Keene in Outer Space

 

Check out the latest issue of Paper Doll Review Magazine for more Katy Keene and more other-worldly paper dolls!

Lettie Lane and Punch and Judy, 1911

This appeared in the March 1, 1911 issue of The Ladies' Home Journal.

"Lettie Lane's Around the World Party in Which Her Married Sister Sends Her Pictures of a French Girl and a Punch and Judy Show." Artist: Sheila Young.
 

Character Constructions by Catherine Moore

I just stumbled on this website, and thought it was pretty wonderful.

Have a look:

Character Constructions

Bessie Bliss, ca. 1875

From an online auction catalogue. 

If you're interested in antique paper dolls, be sure to check out Abe Books.

 

Jane Arden's pal, Johnny Brown, ca. 1930s

 

Dutch Boy Pure White Lead Paint, 1941

Now we know better...

McCall's Magazine, 1967

In the 1960s, ad copy could be witty and wordy.

 

Elizabeth Taylor, Photoplay magazine, May 1951

A favorite.

 

Springing into the Future

 A 1911 advertisement for a hat. No hatpin required.

Dany, a French paper doll ca. 1930s

From the remarkable archive of Agence Eureka.

 

Calendar by Theresa Borelli

Theresa Borelli's 2004 calendar is a gem. Here's the illustration for the month of March. 

 

Muñecas de La Tijera ca. 1930s

This is Maruja, Number 123 from Series 10.

La Tijera means scissor!

There is a trademark near the doll's right arm, but I don't recognize the initials.

 

Katy Keene Fashions for her Trip to Australia

More from Katy Keene Pin-up Parade, Number 6, Spring 1959, by Radio Comics. 

 

Debby's Typical Teenage Fashions, 1959 Katy Keene comic book

This is from the Katy Keene Pin-up Parade, Number 6, Spring 1959, by Radio Comics. The comic book had water damage, so I picked it up for about $4 at a flea market two years ago. I took out the paper doll pages and attempted to fix the water damage and overall foxing of the page. Always a tricky business when you're trying to maintain the original coloring of the doll and clothing.

 

Paper Doll Community Crafting at the Ridgewood Public Library in NJ

Paper doll artists and collectors! 

If you live in the tri-state area, and miss gathering with fellow artists and collectors, we have an excellent opportunity to meet in person once a month starting in March 2025. 

The Ridgewood Public Library is making space available to us at no cost. You don’t have to live in the Bergen County, NJ, area to participate in the program, which would offer three hours of paper doll crafting with a dress-a-doll—which means you’d have a chance to bring in a doll and take home new outfits for whatever figure you choose: paper doll, advertising figure or comic strip character.

The library is eager to host our group, thanks to one of their librarians: Mary Sienkiewicz, whose paper doll art you might have in your collection under the name Mary Lacro.  

Mary would host the program and would conduct registration through email. The library has a variety of exhibits and there would be an opportunity to display our paper doll art in the auditorium.

The library is a modern facility with a comfortable conference room that accommodates 12 people or an art studio that can hold more. There’s ample free parking, and for anyone taking mass transit from New York City, the library is easily accessible by New Jersey transit trains (from Penn Station, with a change at Secaucus). The Ridgewood train station is a short walk to the library. 

Ridgewood is an easy walkable town with a ton of cafes and restaurants, although the library allows people to bring goodies into the conference room, and a mini kitchen will allow us to serve tea and coffee.

I hope you will join us to keep our favorite hobby alive and draw in new members to the paper doll community. 

How to register and how to get there

Address: Ridgewood Library, 125 N Maple Ave., Ridgewood, NJ 

Conference Room (3rd floor) 

Parking:  There is a large lot (free) behind the library.  To access, going north on N Maple, go past the N Maple Ave library entrance and follow the sign marked Village of Ridgewood. 

                If going south on N Maple, find the sign marked Village of Ridgewood.  The road will take you around Ridgewood Police Station and Village Hall to the library.  

From Ridgewood NJ Transit Station:  Head East on Franklin Ave 5 blocks, make a left on N Maple and the library is a few feet on the right (just past Ridgewood Water). 

Dates: Saturday, March 22, April 19, and May 10.  

Time: 11am-2pm 

Registration: 

https://ridgewoodlibrary.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/adult-crafting-paper-dolls/

                    

OR

https://ridgewoodlibrary.org/calendar-newsletter/

                     

Go to March 22 and click to open a link to the registration page

Registrants can also email Mary directly at mary.sienkiewicz@ridgewood.bccls.org

Be sure to include your name, email, and phone number.  

Meet Jimmy Carter, 1976 handbill

 

My mother belonged to the garment workers union and brought this home after attending the rally. 

The reverse side of the handbill reminded voters that New York City had received no help from the government as it sought a way out of a fiscal crisis that had been decades in the making by municipal mismanagement.

Fact: In 2008, the government did not hesitate to bail out banks and other financial institutions: JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America-- who were the architects of the crisis, through risky mortgage lending and other questionable practices which they pursued in the wake of bank deregulation.

Paper Doll Cat Goes to Market, 1940

For reasons too dreary and obvious to state, I'd rather not use the actual title of this paper doll. 

Search engines have a way of mixing things up. 

I'm guessing this ran in a teachers' magazine or workbook; it's dated September 1940. The exercise is geared toward "Early Primary Seatwork" -- coloring by the student and perhaps cutting done by teacher or parent. Artwork by Ruby Wagner.