Guys and dolls--paper that is

Collecting paper dolls is not something I do, but because I have scanned a few, my site meter shows that sometimes people interested in paper dolls do show up here at Collecting My Thoughts. I have a few of my childhood paper dolls squished into photo albums, and some that belonged to my mother which were cut from women's magazines. Paper doll collectors specialize just like other collectors of Ohio pottery, old quilts, or retro clothing (I seem to have a few of those, too--Hull, grandma's and mine).

Here's a bulletin board for collectors--very interesting to read even you aren't a collector. It's maintained by Joan, who has written a book on magazine paper dolls.

You can always tell when childhood memorabilia wasn't loved or played with--it's still in good condition! The dollies that survived my little girl loving were given to me when I was moving out of that stage, which is also why I have children's glass play dishes. The older ones were all broken or given away to younger children. So it is with these young men. My Mary Martin and Betty Grable and Gene Tierney paper dolls are headless, knee capped, folded and wrinkled. These guys are in near perfect condition (considering their age) and the tabs haven't even been folded on the little boy's clothing. Written on the back are Greg (2), Eddie, and Jerry, but I don't recognize the handwriting. We often renamed the paper dolls, even the movie stars, so those probably aren't the names they came with. From the clothing they came in, I'd guess they are ca. 1943-1946. What do you think?