Little Alice Busy Bee

American Colortype Company printed paper dolls from the early 1900s through the first World War. Little Alice Busy Bee is thought to have been printed circa 1910-1920. 

When published, Little Alice came with three outfit sheets....915, 916, and 917.  

                       

       

My Little Alice Busy Bee wasn't so lucky, 

but she did come with some clothes and accessories.

Here is my Little Alice Busy Bee at 12¼" tall. 

She is in fairly good condition for being over 100 years old.

Here is patriotic Little Alice Busy Bee.

Little Alice also has a festive hat 

to wear with her pretty pink dress.

On other days she takes her dolly for a walk.

When autumn is in the air, Little Alice Busy Bee 

bundles up in her brown checked coat and leggings.

And if there is snow on the ground, she bundles up 

her dolly and gives her a ride on her own small sled.

Here are some other items

that came with my Little Alice Busy Bee....

Copies of the same clothes shown above, 

but these are on water color paper 

to give the child even more playtime!

Puppies and Kittens

    

Cut-out Dolls Puppies and Kittens with their Clothes and Playthings was published by Whitman in 1939. It features Mopsie the kitten, Flopsie the puppy, Trixie the kitten and Pixie the puppy. This is a large format paper doll book measuring 16½" by 10". This allows the dolls to be 6-8" tall and a good size for small hands.

Mopsie and Flopsie are on the front cover...

with Trixie and Pixie on the back cover.

The first page in this book of paper dolls features a snowman with a hat, a cane,a pipe and buttons to dress him and also a sled since there is snow! There is also a "Fido in the Box" to fold and play with, a wagon to pull and  a boat with gun turrets. For Trixie there is a ball of yarn, a necklace and a bone. I think the bone must be meant for Pixie, the pup! Pixie also has an old shoe, his favorite plaything.

In the middle of the book are two pages of clothes for the pups and kits that cover everything from swim trunks to playing in the snow to costumes for dress up play. Each outfit has an explanation of how and where the costume can be worn.

  

 

The last page in the book features toys for playing at the lake or the beach....including a sail boat, an inner tube and a rubber horse to ride the waves, and of course a pail and shovel to dig in the sand.

Paper dolls in the 1930s and 1940s were so creative for boys and girls, and also an inexpensive toy to buy during the depression years leading into the war years. 

Honey the hair-bow doll

YES! That's a real bow in Honey's hair!

Honey is a large paper doll at over 16 inches tall.

The bow is royal purple....not sure if that is the 

original color as Honey was new in 1950.

Along with her adorable dresses....

        

are sweet little notes about her clothes.

Honey has all the right clothes for a day at the ranch!

Her "on the town" hat, gloves and purse 

evidently go with the clothes on the next page.

These are Honey's "dress-up" clothes.

 Warm and comfy clothes for playing in the snow!

and also for

summer sun!

For night time, Honey has a "slumber pal"....

       

Honey has a "peasant dress" for dancing....

with lots of bows!

 

To keep Honey warm and to keep her dry, 

Honey has a Sunday town coat 

decorated with green leaves....

and a blue sky rain cover

and little red boots to keep her dry!

Here are some of the toys that live with Honey!

The Twins and Their Trousseau

This is a sweet little set of paper dolls published by 
Samuel Gabriel Sons & Company of New York and indentified as No. D137. 

A published date is not available, but the design of clothes

 for the dolls would put it in the mid 1920s.

The dolls are of sturdy cardboard and feature front and back design. 

They stand 7 ½" tall. Eight sets of 'dress with matching hat' came in the set. 

The box is shabby, but the dolls and their clothes are in excellent condition

 for being right at 100 years of age.

Small print at the bottom of the doll stand reads Made in Germany.

Eight little dresses with matching hats.....front,

and back of the eight little dresses and hats.

The back of the dress has a one inch split to facilitate dressing the doll.

Slide the dress over her head....

Then turn it clockwise and the little doll is dressed.

The front and back pieces of the dress are held together with a piece fabric tape.

The hats are folded over ....

and fastened with the tiniest of brads.

Two sweet little girls ready for a play date....

and off they go! Have fun!

Dresses in fall colors of orange and green,

and just as cute from the back as from the front.

Looks like it's party time! 

I am sure they have been told to be their very best!

All bundled up in their warm winter coats and snug little hats.

And away they go!