From Our Collections
The Joy of Paper Dolls
By Linda Deaton, Chief Curator
Do you remember paper dolls? The two-dimensional printed dolls came with a paper wardrobe. It took careful work with scissors to artfully cut out the doll and its assortment of paper clothes, making sure not to tear the white tabs that extended from the outfits, since those were needed to attach the garment to the doll’s body.
During the 20th century, publishers and toy companies produced a variety of paper dolls for children’s enjoyment. Hollywood starlets, smiling girls and boys, and even cuddly paper-doll animals provided inexpensive entertainment and kept many a child occupied for hours.
Purchased at local drug stores and Five-and-Dimes, these very affordable toys were particularly popular during the Great Depression. Women’s magazines such as McCall’s,
Ladies Home Journal, Women’s Home Companion and Pictorial Review included pages of paper dolls for their subscribers’ children.
The Pictorial Review featured Dolly Dingle, Grace G. Drayton’s creation. Some of these enchanting paper dolls are now part of the Tallahassee Museum’s collections. The donor, Letitia Croft, could hardly wait for the arrival of each issue of the magazine to catch her up on what Dolly and her friends were up to. The Museum is grateful for Ms. Croft’s generosity. Her treasured collection gives us a sense of history and will share her joy of paper dolls with generations to come.
The Tallahassee Museum collects objects related to our region’s culture and natural history from the 19th century to the present. If you have an item you would like to donate, please call curator Linda Deaton at (850) 575-8684, ext. 113.
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