Mary Martin paper doll, c. 1944/Convention update

I can't think of a better emissary for news about the 2012 paper doll convention (Aug. 9-12 in Dayton, Ohio) than Mary Martin, a classic Broadway star of the 1940s-1950s. Mary Young, Peggy Ell and Louise Leek are organizing this year's event. All three are collectors with deep knowledge about the history and production of paper toys in books, newspapers, magazines and greeting cards. And of course Mary Young has written the definitive identification and price guides to the vintage paper dolls we love.

Garth Lax has started up his email blasts about the convention city, Dayton, Ohio. I'm playing catch up, but will do my best to post them all before the convention.  Scroll to the bottom for the convention registration form, or simply hit the Convention 2012 logo on the left side of your screen.

Thank you, Garth, for your excellent work pulling together this information!

2012  INTERNATIONAL PAPER DOLL CONVENTION                                 COME  FLY  WITH  US !                                          Email #2                                        ANTIQUING   Antique venues in the Dayton area tend to be clustered, and three of the clusters hold the most promise for the avid antiquer. Let's see.   SPRINGFIELD ANTIQUE MALLS   20 or so miles to the east of your Convention Hotel are three large Antique Malls that are quite close to each other and present excellent opportunities for the acquisition of treasures.       AAA I-70 Antique Mall at 4700 South Charleston Pike, Springfield,     Ohio 45502 has over 200 Dealers in a 32,000 square foot building.     They generally have Paper Dolls, Dolls, paper ephemera, toys,     vintage clothing, glassware, books, porcelain, and much more.     They're open 10 AM to 6 PM every day except three Holidays.     Their telephone number is (937) 324-8448.        Springfield Antique Center at 1735 Titus Road, Springfield, Ohio     45502 has about 350 Dealers with a wide variety of antiques.     They're open 10 AM to 6 PM seven days per week.     Their telephone number is (937) 322-8868.       Heart of Ohio Antique Center at 4785 East National Road,     Springfield 45505 is a huge building, with over 650 Dealers     in a display space of 116,000 square feet. If you get hungry,     they have a cafe that serves deli sandwiches, soups, salads,     and beverages with tables inside or on an outside patio.     They're open 9:30 AM to 6 PM every day except three Holidays.     Their telephone number is (937) 324-2188.       To get to these three, you drive from the Convention Hotel out     to the main road, Ohio 444. Turn left and go northeast on OH-444     to I-675. Take I-675 north to Exit 26A (I-70 East).     Drive east on I-70 for 15 miles to Exit 59 (Route 41, Charleston Pike)     Turn right on the Charleston Pike. AAA I-70 is right across the road.       For the Springfield Antique Center, after you turn right onto the     Charleston Pike, go just past the AAA I-70 to Titus Road on     your left. Follow Titus Road to the Springfield Antique Center     (it's just behind the AAA I-70 Antique Center).       These two Antique Malls are about 21 miles (23 minutes) from     your Convention Hotel.       For Heart of Ohio, get back on I-70 go 3 miles farther east and take     Exit 62 (US 40/Springfield), At US 40, turn left and go under I-70.     Heart of Ohio Antique Center is across the road on your left.     The entrance is just beyond the building.       From the Hotel, Heart of Ohio is a 24 mile drive (27 minutes).   Other than at one of the giant antique shows, I doubt that you'll find so many antique Dealers and such a quantity of merchandise anywhere else!!   TIPP CITY ANTIQUE SHOPS AND MALLS   Tipp City is a small municipality about 13 miles north of Dayton, which has a reputation as an antiquing center. I won't try to list every shop, but I'll tell you about four right on or near Main Street.      Midwest Memories at 20 West Main Street, Tipp City 45371,    has a number of dealers in a 10,000 square foot facility.    They do have Dolls, plus a lady who does Doll repairs,    paper ephemera, and primitives among their general antiques.    They're open Monday-Saturday 10 AM to 5 PM,  Sunday 1 to 4 PM.    Their telephone number is (937) 669-0316.      Benkin Antique Gallery at 14 East Main Street in Tipp City 45371    has 40 Dealers. They have no paper dolls at the moment, and no    Dealers that specialize in Dolls. They do have Dolls scattered    among the Dealers, some paper ephemera, a Postcard dealer,    cut glass, plus general antiques. Their second floor has a lovely    Fine Arts Gallery with works of watercolor, oil, photography, and 3D.       Open Tuesday - Saturday, 10 AM - 5 PM; Sunday 1 PM - 5 PM.    Their telephone number is (937) 667-5526.      Past Perfect is at 126 East Main Street in Tipp City 45371.    It has a true eclectic mix of vintage and antique items - -    glassware, Christmas material, pictures, frames, pottery,    china, figurines, I spotted some Kewpies, wall decorations,    all sorts of items, tastefully presented.    Open Monday 10 AM - 3 PM, Tuesday-Saturday 10 AM-5PM,    and Sunday 10 AM - 2 PM. Telephone (937) 667-7887.      Patriot Antique Shoppe is at 15 North 2nd Street in Tipp City.    Its focus is on items produced prior to 1850. While it is unlikely    to have Paper Dolls of that era, it does have (3-dimensional) Dolls,    old furniture (Windsor Chairs, etc.), pewter, red ware, glassware,    old bottles, tinware, wood ware, household implements in wood and    iron, baskets, pictures, etc.     It's open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 11 AM - 5 PM, and    Sunday 1 to 5 PM. Telephone number is (937) 667-1243.      To get to Tipp City from the Convention Hotel, Turn left on Ohio-444 and follow OH-444 to I-675. Take I-675 north to Exit 26B (I-70 West toward Indianapolis). Stay on I-70 West for 10 miles, then take Exit 33 onto I-75 North toward Toledo.   Follow I-75 North for almost 7 miles to Exit 68 (Tipp City). At the end of the ramp, turn right onto Ohio-571 (West Main Street),   Total distance is about 23 miles or 30 minutes.    WAYNESVILLE ANTIQUE SHOPS AND MALLS   Waynesville is a small rural community south of Dayton that has a significant number of Antique establishments on and near Main Street. In fact, nearly every other building seems to be an Antique emporium. I'll tell you of just a few to give you the flavor. One caveat - - most of the Antique establishments in Waynesville are closed on Mondays.      Lilly's Corner Mall is at 109 South Main Street, Waynesville 45068.    Lilly's has a number of Dealers and 26 booths, The merchandise    is nicely displayed.    Lilly's also has "Lilly's Cafe" in case you get hungry.    Lilly's is open Tuesday - Sunday 11 AM to 5 PM,    The telephone number is (513) 897-0388.      Evansville Antique Mall at 69 South Main Street, has 50 Dealers    offering a variety of antiques including toys and jewelry.    They're open 11 AM to 5 PM every day, Sunday through Saturday.    Telephone number is (513) 897-8955.       C&R Living Antiques at 180 South Main Street in Waynesville 45068    specializes in difficult-to-find or "one-of-a-kind" items such as    sculptures both new and old, precious and semi-precious gemstones    mounted, vintage Murano glass, etc. They have little in the Paper Doll,    Doll, and paper ephemera categories.    C&R is open Monday-Saturday 11 AM - 5 PM; Sunday Noon to 5 PM.    The telephone number is (513) 897-0431.      Little Red Shed Antiques at 85 South Main Street in Waynesville    has general antiques, including Paperdolls and Dolls.    They're open Tuesday - Sunday 11 AM to 5 PM.    Their telephone number is (513) 897-6326.      Elizabeth's Vintage House and Gary's Antiques is at 98 South Main    Street in Waynesville. In one section it has some very nice    furniture; in another it has general antiques and collectibles.    They're open Tuesday - Sunday 11 AM to 5 PM.    Telephone number is  (513) 897-0451.      Dora's Place is at 234 High Street in Waynesville.    It has china, glass, pottery, general antiques, and some dolls.    It's open Tuesday - Sunday 10 AM - 5 PM.    No telephone listing.      To drive to Waynesville from the Hotel, turn right on Ohio-444,    drive 1/2 mile, and take the ramp onto Ohio-844 South toward    Wright State University. After a mile, take the ramp onto    I-675 South toward Cincinnati.      After 17 miles on I-675 South, take I-75 South toward Cincinnati.    After 5 miles take Exit 38. At the end of the ramp, turn left on Ohio-73    toward Springboro. Stay on Ohio-73 for 9 miles until you arrive at    US 42. Turn left onto US 42 (Main Street in Waynesville).      Drive two blocks to North Street, turn left, and the second street will    be South Main Street to your left and North Main Street to your right.      The trip in total will be roughly 30 miles or 36 minutes.      [Returning to the Hotel, just retrace your steps, but on I-675, take    Exit 20 ("Dayton-Yellow Springs Road"), turn left at the end of the    ramp, and follow Yellow Springs Road to Ohio-444. Turn left onto    Ohio-444. At the next traffic light, you're back at the entrance to the    Hotel, on your right.]     [Last year, even though we contacted the featured Antique shops and  areas, a couple of choice ones decided (just before the Convention)  to change their days and hours of operation, and one key one  went out of business suddenly. So - - this year, we'll continue to  contact them, but we'll provide you with their telephone numbers so  that you can verify days and hours before driving to the venues.]   By the way, if you're going to go Antiquing for Paper Dolls, you're going to want to bring the three major pricing guides - - the Lowe/Whitman, the Saalfield/Merrill, and 20th Century (for all the smaller US publishers). All three are by Mary Young. Remember that many Dealers have no clue as to the market value of Paper Dolls and it's very useful to be able to recognize a bargain as well as to know when an item is priced waayy too high. Since paper doll prices have remained somewhat stable for the past few years, each of the three publications is a valuable resource. So bring them if you have them, and if you don't have them, try to get them.   Everything considered, if you can visit only one area, I'd suggest those three big Malls in Springfield - - very large selections, very diverse selections, and the highest probability of finding Paper Dolls.   I'll be back in three weeks to tell you of some great Art Museums!!    - - Garth              2012 INTERNATIONAL PAPER DOLL CONVENTION                                August 9 - 12, 2012                 Hope Hotel, Wright-Paterson Air Force Base                                                                 Dayton,  Ohio                                                                      ******************************************************************************                           CONVENTION REGISTRATION   NAME__________________________________________________   ADDRESS_______________________________________________   CITY_______________________STATE_______ ZIP/PC__________   EMAIL_____________________________________   PHONE____________________________________   Registration:  $185.00 USD    Absentee Registration:  $75.00 USD   (Absentee Registrations are limited in number.)   Guest Registration (3 Meals) $85.00     GUEST NAME:__________________________________________   Make Checks payable to:  Louise Leek    Mail to:   Mary Young P.O. Box 9244 Dayton,  OH    45409 **********************************************************************************