Friendship Club paper dolls

Mark Woodcock sent me these images while I was away at the convention. The artist is Barbara Briggs, who did Cathy Goes to Camp. 

The convention is a kind of friendship club, come to think of it. David Wolfe and Jenny Taliadoros did an outstanding job -- the right mix of workshops, programs, entertainment and of course beautiful souvenirs. The Raffle Room was amazing -- so many generous donations from artists and collectors. 

I'll post more convention images in the days ahead, and link to Anne K. Donze's convention blog and a Facebook page that I believe Kim Cataldo is putting together...

Fun on the Farm Cut-Out Book sketch by E.A. Voss

Another super sketch from the Jean Woodcock files of Merrill's unpublished cut-out books. Circa 1950s.

(I'm assuming this was never published, but correct me if I'm wrong.)

Thank you, Mark!

The Wedding of the Paper Doll Twins

More Merrill artwork from the collection of Jean Woodcock, courtesy of her son Mark. This book never made it beyond the draft stage. The artist provided three different covers. Mid-1950s, my guess. Thank you, Mark! These are fascinating, and so glad you can share them with us.

Artist Mary Murray, from the Merrill Archives of Jean Woodcock

Here is more original art for a paper doll book that was never produced, this time by Mary Murray. Ultimately, Charlot Byj created a book on this theme for Merrill in 1949. 

Mark Woodcock says he never found any clothes for this particular version. I initially posted this item as a mystery, but Mark found the name of the artist in his mother's files. 

Does anyone have any further information about Mary Murray? And thank you Mark for these delightful pictures!

E.A. Voss sketches from the Jean Woodcock collection

Always a pleasure to hear from Mark Woodcock, who has been organizing his late mother's collection of original artwork from the Merrill archives. These sketches by the artist E.A. Voss were done in the 1950s for books that were never produced.

The Cotsen Children's Library at Princeton University has an interesting article by Andrea Immel on the artist Elizabeth Anne Voss (1925-1969):

Voss’s fans have speculated that there were two sisters working for Merrill at the same time because covers in the same style are signed “E. Voss,” “E. A. Voss,” “B. Gartrell,” “Betty Gartrell,” and “Elizabeth Gartrell.”  

Thanks to a recent gift of a small group of covers and artwork by Voss from the late 1950s and early 1960s from her husband Donald H. Voss [Princeton]’44, *49, I’ve pieced together some information about Betty Anne, as she was known.  She was the daughter of Nancy Reynolds and the engineer Robert D. Gartrell, who is famous in horticultural circles for the Robin Hill Azaleas, a group of hybrids he developed while living in New Jersey.  One cultivar was named after his artist-daughter.   Before her marriage to Donald Voss in 1952, Betty Anne signed her work with her maiden name Gartrell.

Covers in the Voss donation suggest that cover designs signed “Gartrell” or “Voss” could be in simultaneous circulation for some years, so it’s no wonder  people have assumed that E. A. Voss and B. Gartrell were two people. This confusion might have been cleared up much sooner if Voss had illustrated picture books instead of covers, in which case it’s more likely that she would have been the subject of articles in standard reference sources.   

The copies of Little Miss Christmas and Santa and Little Miss Christmas and Holly-Belle in the Voss donation suggest that Merrill must have asked her to redo the cover paintings periodically to keep them fresh. Voss designed new gowns and accessories,  added and subtracted figures, which necessitated rearranging the composition, etc. The typefaces and their layout could vary significantly from cover to cover, although at first glance they look rather similar.

I've quoted from most of the article, but go to the Cotsen site for more information and more images of this beloved artist's work. Excellent research for those of us fascinated by the life and work of earlier paper doll artists. And I love that the first line in the article refers to Paper Goodies from Judy's Place!

Dressed Animal of the Zoo, c. 1890s

From Mark Woodcock:

These two animal paper dolls are from a different series. These have "Yale Coffee" stamped on the back. They're 3.25"x6.5".

Animal Series of Paper Dolls, c. 1890s

Here's Mark Woodcock on these fabulous animal paper dolls:

Here are a few uncut advertising paper dolls. They're 4.5"x7". Four of them are stamped on the back "U.S. Standard Baking Powder" and one "Flag Coffee." They're not numbered so I don't know how many were in the series. I'd be curious to hear if anyone has others. For people who collect animal paper dolls, these are amazing.

Indeed, they are amazing. I'm guessing they're c.1890s, the heyday for this kind of advertising premium.

Ballerina Cut-Out Dolls by Merrill

This is a prototype of a Merrill Book that was never published. Mark Woodcock, the son of the late collector and writer Jean Woodcock, sent me an e-mail saying that, although he has been selling some of his mother's estate, he held on to several items for sentimental reasons. Many of these items have never been seen by most people. This prototype falls into that category. Thank you, Mark, for allowing me to share these pictures with my readers.