Go to the website to see pictures of the dining room and more. Probably, if I had known the book was this well-done, I would have bought one all those years ago when it could be had for a relatively reasonable price. Maybe they will reprint it. I haven't searched too hard for one lately, so it may yet be out there.
This Italian blog shares some wonderful images of the interior of the Victorian Paper Doll House produced by Piggy Toes Press. I had always wanted one of these, but never picked one up. I think now they are getting hard to come by except in used (and tattered, most likely) condition. The pictures show off how much amazing detail went in to designing this lovely pop-up house.
Go to the website to see pictures of the dining room and more. Probably, if I had known the book was this well-done, I would have bought one all those years ago when it could be had for a relatively reasonable price. Maybe they will reprint it. I haven't searched too hard for one lately, so it may yet be out there.
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Today a gorgeous young Victorian woman from 1885 by contemporary artist Helen Page. You can download this doll and several other beauties at Helen's website.
I have for you today an embossed chromo-lithographed paper doll probably from the very late 1880s or early 1890s. Royal subjects were very popular and this one is Kaiserin Augusta Victoria of the Hohenzollern Portrait dolls produced by W & S. The seller of this doll notes that "The same doll is shown on page 13 of Marta K. Kreb's book The Royalty of Paper Dolls and a copy is reproduced in that book as a centerfold." I have that book and this is entirely true This is an image of the original, however, and it sold on eBay this year for $67.68 (seems like a bargain!). The doll was accompanied by four gowns, one jacket, and two hats. The doll measures 6 1/2" from the top of the head to the tip of the toe. It's interesting that the original does not include the square base pictured in Kreb's book. Here is a pair of dolls from the Nadelman Folk Art Collection at the New York Historical Society. The collection looks lovely ~ unfortunately these were the only images from it that I could find to share, but the site does have a lot of other wonderful ephemera to browse through. Anyway, these handmade dolls are a wonderful example of mid-1800s paper dolls made by loving hands: "Jessy" and "John". There is great quality in the details: the patterns on the woman'sapron and dress, the full milk pail, the tiny shoes, the ribbon on the hat, the curl in her hair. It's interesting that both dolls are in profile, facing in the same direction. They may have been copied from images in magazines or books (or at least modeled after such). John, has a nice book in his hand, a subtle pattern on his trousers (very fashionable in the 50s), and you gotta love the carpet and the chair. John appears to be from the 50s because of his clothing and hairstyle (Jessy is not as easy to place in time since her simple dress could easily be from a number of decades.). But John's sideburns, lack of a mustache, broad-skirted frock coat, and patterned light-colored trousers seem to set him solidly somewhere between 1845 and 1860. The finding aid dates one of these dolls are definitely from 1855 and the other as undated. I wouldn't be surprised if John was the dated doll or if they were made at roughly the same time. As always, you can see a little more detail if you click on the images. Today a doll that testifies to America's unending fascination with the foreign royals: a doll of the Czarina of Russia with a veil and traditional Russian costume. Also, the inclusion of a dressing screen described as a "piece of furniture" on the back of the doll (I didn't post the verso here). This is one of many dolls produced by McLaughlin's Coffee and was found on eBay. McLaughlin produced these dolls mostly around the turn of the century. Based on the costumes, this one was likely created in the early to mid-1890s.
I've been caught up in other things and neglecting this blog horrifically. Part of it was just my annoyance at all the spam (and thinking to move to another platform), but things have quieted down lately and I want to try to recommit some effort here! So you don't care about what rabbit hole I have been down, let's look at some cool pictures! Today I have a handful of auctioned dolls found while browsing Theriault's (a great site for pictures of these sorts of things!). The first is an unusual set of "overlay" dolls (where a cutout image is placed on top of the figure in order to "dress" it). The description on this one reads, in part: "one illustrates the 'management of pale/dark complexion' by showing judicious use of proper costume colors, and the other, a full-figure model, with die-cut face, compares 'simplicity and ornament' in costume." A fun an interesting reminder that many of these early paper dolls were not just considered playthings, but were ascribed an educational and practical value for women navigating a society full of very particular expectations. These are American and marked as being produced by Scofield & Voorhees. By the styles, they were made in the early 1840s. The second image is also unusual and one that I had never seen before: The Paper Doll Family (circa 1857). This was apparently a set in which the family members were packaged and sold individually (I love the envelopes!). Also, notice that the clothes are designed in the style of having a "ghost" back to hold them in place (and are not two-sided as was typical of the fancier models of the era). The lack of a back made these cheaper and faster to produce. Unlike the overlays above, these were definitely playthings for children. The description on the site says: "Comprising the complete seven piece family set (Father, Mother, Miss Adelaide, Clara, George, The Baby, Bridget the Nurse), each in its own envelope along with complete uncut set of double-sided colored costumes, along with matching uncolored costumes designed for child play. Sizes vary, father is largest at 6.5". Also included is advertising flyer for The Family, and envelope wrap for "Paper Dolls Furniture" with price lists and 8 small furniture accessories." Fun! These were produced by Anson Randolph. And finally, below is a collection of German paper dolls produced by Mainz bei Josef Scholz (circa 1850s). This is a hodgepodge of mostly dolls of children. I love their tiny feet and little boots! Click on any of the images in this post to better see some of the details on these lovely very old dolls! Today’s offering comes from Eclectibles.com, a very cool online market with lots of funky Victorian ephemera. This particular piece is listed as “Uncut Paper Doll Sheet, Neue Ankleidefiguren, with 4 Paper Dolls with Costumes & Room Settings 1880s”. The description from the website reads: A 13 ½ x 17” color paper doll sheet titled Neue Ankleidefiguren (New Dressing Figures) No. 1198 with four (4) different paper dolls the costumes and accessories. Includes two young women, each approx. 5 ½” high, each with two costumes, hats and furniture accessories. The third is a bid more matronly and perhaps a maid, as she has various serving items associated with her costumes. The final is an infant or baby with three costumes an bundle, hats, a rattle and a bassinet. Paper age toned with board chips. Fragile. The lot is currently selling for $90. These are lovely in their simplicity and variety (and all the lovely little props). Some of the nicest Victorian paper dolls I've seen have been produced by European printers. The subjects seem generally more sophisticated (possibly due to the popularity of royal personages) compared to most American paper dolls of the same era, which tended to represent children and storybook characters. As always, click on the images to see them at their best. I may share a number of items from this website as it contains a good number of pieces that I have not seen elsewhere around the web. It’s always cool to come upon new stuff! For fashion plate Friday I have two lovely things to offer from two distinct periods. The first, to the left is from the Revue de la Mode (obviously a French fashion journal) from it appears to be 1886 (that seems right given the style of the bustles ~ my eyesight is kinda killing me at this point so it'shard to read the tiny faded print in the lower left. I love the gold and green dress most, but the evening gown with the satin or velvet bodice and then the contrasting gold overskirt and purplish flowers. It works, I guess, but this is one of those places where I just know my sense of color is "off". I would never imagine deliberately making such a combination! The other image for the day comes from 1837 and shows various women in evening or mourning dress. Because mourning was such a huge part of the culture, it's always interesting to see how women tried to make it fashionable as well (within reason, of course ~ ostentation would have been grossly boorish). It's also interesting to note that black was actually popular in fashion during various periods, which helped alleviate it of its reputation for being the color of mourning. Though we still associate it with funerals today, it's also known as common party or cocktail wear: that "little black dress" for any and all occasions. There's no lack of cool things to post about! Today I bring you some interesting new paper dolls from Noble Rose press. Though I have not seen any of these dolls up close and personal, they look like a very nice collection and there's a huge variety to choose from (and from all different periods in history). Among the 19th century choices are: Mary Anna Jackson, wife of General “Stonewall” Jackson, and Susannah Spurgeon, wife of Charles H. Spurgeon (both shown at left). This series looks like a nice educational series aimed at homeschooling Christian mothers (for their daughters), and appear to be nicely painted and produced with good quality. I will (most likely) acquire the above set eventually and maybe share more at another time. It appears that each doll only comes with three dresses, so they aren't very extensive, but nevertheless they look fun (I would have loved them as a child). I hope the sisters who pr might make more dolls from the Victorian period as their collection grows. Today's quickie Fashion Plate Friday is a trio of gents hanging out from a Winter 1856 plate out of Gentleman's Magazine. We see here a nice array of evening wear, formal wear, and after-dinner wear (a robe for smoking, lounging, etc.). Obviously these are well-to-do fellas who have the leisure and money to spend on fancy clothes and a variety of pieces that would be far above and beyond the casual 19th century man. Too bad there aren't any fashion plates for the "other half" as the non-wealthy class was termed (though they were hardly half ~ more like 80% or even more). I should look into that and see if I can find more common dress. Typically you can find fashion plates for the "peasantry" of other countries, but I can't say I've ever seen such for America. Also, even the lower classes who couldn't afford fancy clothes tried to dress in the basic style of the rich (where they could). So their textiles might be more pragmatic or even shabby, but the general cut of the cloth was usually emulated wherever and whenever possible. One gets a better sense of the regular clothes of the day from photographs ~ of which I will have to remember to share more! |
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