Have you seen a Reely-Trooly Paper Doll?

Here are my Reely-Trooly paper dolls.

They stand 8½" tall and have a printed cloth backing with cardboard cutouts of head, arms and legs glued to the fabric.

The back view of my four dolls.

Produced circa 1915 by the Reely-Trooly Company of Boston, they were advertised as "The dolls that educate and amuse because the children make them." 

Included in the boxed set were six pieces of colorful fabrics with the template of a dress form printed on each piece of fabric. For each dress form there were heads, arms and legs to cut out and glue to the dress in appropriate places. The dolls even had names....Virginia, Betty, Helen, Myra, Dorothy and Ruth. 

My little dolls came to me in a large group of paper dolls I found on Ebay. The first information I found on my unusual set of dolls was in Mary Young's 20th Century Paper Dolls, Identification and Values.   I discovered there were 6 dolls in the set....a picture of 3 of my little dolls was included. But there was more information to find! 

Here is a finished group of the six dolls that were included in each set. 

Mary Young shared that later the set of dolls were available with the template printed on colored cardboard instead of fabric.

Instructions were included on how to make the Reely-Trooly Dolls....

Dear Little Friend:

There are enough materials in the envelope for you to make six Reely-Trooly  Dolls, the very sweetest little dolls that any one ever saw. They are named Helen, Betty, Dorothy, Myra, Ruth, and Virginia, and we know that you will wish to see them all fixed up right away.

First, select parts of one doll bearing the same name, then with a sharp pair of scissors cut out first the head, legs and arms, and after moistening the gummed side, place it on card exactly in the position outlined for it. When all the paper parts are in place, press the doll in a book until dry and then cut it out along the black line and around the pieces you have stuck on and you will have a finished doll. Each doll is made exactly the same way. Designs can be drawn on the dress in water color or colored pencil.*

 

*These instructions must have been included in the later set of dolls with forms printed on colored paper instead of fabric.

This is an advertisement used by the Reely-Trooly Company at the time the dolls were available. It reads...

"These are the cutest and most life-like dolls ever offered. Making them is a supreme delight to any child. Packages contain materials to make six dolls. On sale to retail stores or direct by mail, at 25 cents per package.

Many mothers have welcomed these dolls as an entertaining diversion for children’s parties. One set is given to each child and time is devoted to making one doll. Such parties have the distinction of being new and novel. We have been variously informed  “the children loved the dolls at once and making them seemed to afford them the grandest time of their lives.”  

WOW!  But wait....today you can buy fabric printed with this advertisement from Spoonflower Fabrics.

                                                                             

The Paper Collector post of August 12, 2014 has shared an excellent copy of the head, arms and legs of each doll, plus three  pieces of the original fabric that can be used to make your own Reely-Trooly paper dolls.

Or, you can choose your own fabric and make your dolls like I did! Have fun!

    

   

The Trailer Family

The Trailer Family cutouts doll book was published by The Saalfield Publishing Company in 1938, identified as #2169. It was designed by Dotty Doivns. It came to me new and uncut, and not too fragile for its 88 years....until I started putting it together. 

THE TRAILER FAMILY

 

INSTRUCTIONS: Cut out the Trailer Family. Bend out each base at the ankles. Paste the fronts and backs of the figures together. Paste the bases together where they overlap.

When I folded them together, the sides did not match. I separated the 2 sides and trimed the back side so the edges wouldn't show from the front. I then lightly glued back to front and created the stand.

While being cut out, the cat ended up losing an ear and the tip of his tail.

They are a handsome family....from the front!

BUILT-IN FURNITURE FOR THE TRAILER

INSTRUCTIONS:  Cut out, and fold on all the dotted lines. Paste the numbered tabs on the corresponding numbers.

There were 2 pages of furniture for the interior of the trailer.

Furniture folded in shape and ready to be installed in the trailer....one bench seat didn't make it into the picture.

THE TRAILER

INSTRUCTIONS: Cut out the trailer from this color side. Cut along the solid black lines around three sides of the door. Fold back along the dotted line. Cut the slits beside the windows as marked. Cut slits 1, 2, 3, and B. Paste the pieces of cellophane on the windows if you want them to look like glass. Now fold along all dotted lines. (no cellophane was included.)

The interior was rather drab compared to the brightly colored furniture.  

I used colored pencils to add a touch of color before pasting the furniture inside.

These 3 pictures show where the appliances and furniture were to be placed.

INSTRUCTIONS:  Put the furniture inside before your fasten the trailer together.

Furniture installed.

Window box, awnings, trailor hitch....

and the trailer top.

INSTRUCTIONS:  Put tab 1 in slit 1, tab 2 in slit 2, and tab 3 in slit 3. The two ends of the tabs should be folded before inserting in the slits, then unfolded. Paste tabs on side and bottom.  

Easy peasy? No. It just did not work that way. The 88 year old card paper was fragile and folds tore easily and tabs, once folded, tended to fall off. The design was "tab and slot" but was helped along with 21st century scotch tape, glue stick and super glue. I never decided if there was a flaw in the construction design, or if there was a flaw in the 81 year old model maker. 

Trailer is fastened together with the top in place,

the awnings in place and the window box on the back of the trailer.

The interior of the trailer.... 

starting with the door on the right side.....

the cupboard/icebox, stove and seat for the table....

the table and two seats at the back of the trailer....

the seat, sink (tight squeeze)  and wardrobe....

unattached chair beside the studio couch at the front of the trailer.

Installation of the studio couch almost ended up with this adorable little trailer tossed in the dustbin. 

Interior looking at the right side of the trailer,

interior looking at the left side of the trailer,

interior looking from the top of the trailer. Yes, it has a wonky side, but I forced the top on it without a problem.

TRAILER FAMILY CAR

INSTRUCTIONS:  Cut out the car, and cut slit A at the back. Fold in on dotted lines. Paste tabs 1, 2, 3, and 4 inside the radiator, and tabs 5 and 6 inside the back of the car. 

Here is the pattern for the car. Feel free to copy and make one for yourself. "It will be fun," she said. 

It did turn out nice and did not come as close to going into the dustbin as the trailer did.

Big, safe 1938 automobile. They were made of steel, no plastic bumpers on these babes. Can you imagine driving this beast without power steering?

And away we go!

Hope the awnings stay on...

and the window box doesn't fall off.

So long and have a safe trip to the Trailer family.