The 19th century was dominated by the reign of Queen Victoria (and so is considered for the most part, the "Victorian" Era). Much as I like the term, it brings to mind a particular style for most people: the fashions of the "High Victorian" era, namely large bustles, high collars, and lots of neck jewelry ~ popularized by the beautiful Princess of Wales Alexandra (later Queen Consort to Edward VII), actually. When you think about the range of fashion throughout the century (Victoria was crowned in 1837 and died in 1901), calling everything "Victorian" can sometimes feel a little pointless, so I have opted to stay away from the term for the most part in favor of the American époques which break down into smaller, more defined sets of years/styles.
Nevertheless, I thought it was important to put Victoria up front and center since she still lends her name to most people's impressions of the 19th century, and because there are certainly a fair share of Victoria paper dolls out there (and I imagine there would be more if she weren't so sour and dowdy-looking most of the time). This particular one (click to see a slightly large image) is from Tom Tierney's Great Empresses and Queens. Tierney is probably the most prolific paper doll artist producing today. I have a lot to say about that, but rather than overwhelm, we'll just take it one day at a time.
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