Paper Dolls Once Provided Hours of Entertainment for Young Girls

Carol W. Kimball

Paper Dolls

Kim11-052

Scrapbook

8: Communication Artifact

Documentary Artifact

The Day

New London, CT

09/24/2007

Carol W. Kimball

Paper dolls were something most baby boomer girls played with. They were inexpensive and their fashionable paper wardrobe was easy to own. Some magazines and newspapers included paper dolls and Woolworth's had books of them for a dime. There was Dolly Dingle, Rose O'Neill Kewpies, Betsy McCall, the Lennon sisters, Antoinette Funicello and other TV stars, paper Barbie and Ken dolls, Judy Garland and the Dionne Quintuplets. Some paper dolls were jointed with wrap around clothing. It is said the first paper doll was Little Fanny, created by S & J Fuller in London in 1810. By 1840 boxed sets of Queen Victoria paper dolls were available in England. Some clothes fastened to the doll with paper tabs, some used beeswax, others had magnets. They aren't as common as they once were but the popular American Girl doll company issues sets for each of its characters. They have become very collectible, although the collectors prefer whole uncut pages. Gone with the Wind paper dolls published by Merrill in 1940 bring $400.00 as of 2007.

Menzie, Cathy
Lane, Lettie
Dingle, Dolly
O'Neill, Rose
McCall, Betsy
Lennon sisters
Funicello, Antoinette
Barbie and Ken
Dionne quintuplets
Garland, Judy
Temple, Shirley

Little Fanny paper doll
paper dolls
baby boomer girls
collectibles