500TH POST! CARNIVAL DOLLS

CARNIVAL Background Left Side

CARNIVAL Background Center

CARNIVAL Background Right Side

500TH POST!  CARNIVAL DOLLS.

We've reached our 500th post here at Paperdollapalooza and it's a big one. Six dolls and over twenty colorful carnival costumes. Plus a tri-fold background to pose the dolls in front of. What this blog has always been all about.

Having reached this milestone I have to announce that I will be stepping back from the every weekday postings. Keeping up that pace has become a bit too much for me. But there is still plenty of material available and I will continue to post periodically, perhaps only once a week going forward.

For everyone who has followed this blog THANK YOU so much. Please continue to do so and help spread the word about all of the hundreds of paper dolls that can be found here.

 

SCISSORS BIRD DOLLS

SCISSORS BIRD DOLLS.

Remember safety scissors? We kept them in a zipper pouch with three holes that clipped into our binders at school. They were not much good for cutting anything but soft construction paper to use in art projects but we felt so grown up using them.

There were originally two other dolls to this set but I don't have scans for them unfortunately.

 

CHATTY CATHY

CHATTY CATHY.

She was the first successful "talking" doll. By pulling a string on her back she could say different short phrases. At 20 inches tall she was also a bit easier to dress and to make clothes for than the equally popular Barbie. Although this paper doll version is of course mute she still sports a nice wardrobe.

 

JAUNTY JUNIORS 1946

JAUNTY JUNIORS 1946.

Oh those jaunty juniors. Somewhere in the 1930's the concept of the "Teenager" became a thing and companies began marketing to that age group like never before. Instead of children being raised as little adults, by teen age they began to take on identities of their own leading into adulthood. No doubt the Great Depression and resulting WW II had a lot to do with it. 

This nice but spare little set reflects those times perfectly as America began to emerge from the turbulent war years into a new reality. Paper dolls were never just toys but served to reflect the history around them as well. I think that's the reason that I like them so much.