Christmas mile marker, c. 1920s

I couldn't figure out this little 3 X 4 card for the longest time -- what is that stump, which almost looks like a mystery doorway to nowhere? I settled on it as a mile marker (there's a .5 on it, with some other writing I can't make out). I think the children are marking the distance to Santa's house. It's not a postcard, but perhaps this was  meant to be handed to a friend or tucked in an envelope and mailed. "Germany" on the back, nothing else. Very sweet, and strange.

Loving thoughts and wishes at Christmas, 1914

A pensive Christmas poem. Printed by P.F. Volland & Co., Chicago, 1914.

"Though we have not/often met/Since the days of/long ago,/Loving thoughts and/wishes yet/From my heart at/Christmas flow."

Debby Fashions by Bill Woggon

c. 1956

Fairy City, 1919

 Kwei-lin Lum just sent me pictures of a remarkable new acquisition to her collection: "Fairy City and A Story of The Giants of Lilliputania." Here's Kwei-lin with more information:

It's a paper toy miniature city from 1919 which was designed by a man who had designed paper dolls in 1917.  His full name was Will Pente and I suspect that his wife Meta was a suffragette.  He seems to have been quite the dreamer.  The set comes with a small booklet written (not particularly well) by Will Pente from 1916 which is the story on which this set is based.  I see that it came out in a full book in 1917, now rare and with color illustrations, where Will Pente was a collaborator but the author was H.S. Tibbs. 

Inside: a  large cardboard city map, "The Giants of Lilliputania, An Animated Fairy Tale," which includes a standing backdrop of a river view panorama,  24 pre-cut cardboard buildings of stores, city hall, opera house, school, and garage.  To punch-out: a giant Irish policeman, German professor, Chinese laundryman, full circus, fire truck, airplane, hot air balloon, and passenger cars.  The tallest structure is the Woman’s Temple. Kwei-lin's research found that a huge 12-story Women’s Temple in Chicago was built in 1892 as the headquarters of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union; it was demolished in 1926.  Kwei-lin notes that this paper toy came out just before Prohibition and the passage of the 19th amendment, which gave women the vote. 

Fascinating indeed. A few years ago, I read a book called "Last Call," by Daniel Okrent, about how the Prohibition and suffragist movements converged -- women were the force behind banning alcohol which destroyed so many families, and it empowered them to fight for the vote as well. And "Lilliput" as a word to describe something small came out of Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels," the great 18th-century political satire. I also appreciate the ethnic groups represented here, albeit in stereotype -- this was during the great wave of European immigration to the U.S. 

Click on the photos to enlarge, and find such gems as "Groceries -- Adam Hustler," or "I.M. Pillman -Druggist."

More from Kwei-lin:

This set was on exhibit at an architectural exhibit space in Montreal about 15 years ago and the curator noted the industrial nature of the buildings.  The Woman's Temple is far more modern than the one in Chicago.  The street- front windows have weird stuff, including a harp and maybe a drum, guns, and barrel, feels a little masonic.  And then there's Lung Laundry with a Chop Suey restaurant on the second floor. . .

Thank you for sharing this with us, Kwei-lin! A great find. 

Paper Doll Pals

Letty Schwarz and Jim Howard

Dee Radcliffe, Ron Fong and Paula Sherrick

Brenda Mattox, Sandy Vanderpool and Scott Jorgenson

Karl Beason and Tom Tierney

Sylvia Kleindinst

Paper Doll overlay

UPDATE: Kwei-lin just sent me the following information:

I do not know for sure what media were used for Gene Maiden's original. However, from the look of it, and from what I've seen of very old paper dolls, I'm almost certain that it would be watercolor. Absolutely not pastel or pencil. You can see brushwork and there's a transparency typical of watercolor.  I call this type of paper doll an overlay because that's what others out here in L.A. call it. It's the kind which has a specific sized format and each panel or oval lays on top of the other, and all fit very well into a box.

Another wonder from the collection of Kwei-lin Lum. This is an excellent copy of a Gene Maiden antique. An androgynous profile, with clothing that is both masculine and feminine. The hat and costume are placed over the profile, each time creating a delightful transformation.

Christmas paper doll, c. 1890s

From the collection of Marion Creamer, a lovely entry in the Competition at convention.