Bunny Boy and His Playmates

Bunny Boy and His Playmates paper doll book 

was published in 1938 by Whitman, #987.

Bunny Boy and his clothes are the front cover of this paper doll book. 

The dolls and the clothes are all punch-outs from a lightweight cardboard.

Three pages were in the Ebay listing I won, plus assorted clothing 

from other dolls that were not included in my win. 

This is Bunny Boy

 Bunny Boy had 3 sets of clothing, 

3 hats and a hoop with a stick for rolling.

and Funny Bunny

Funny Bunny also had 3 sets of clothing and 3 hats.

and Marigold Bunny

Marigold had 4 dresses and 3 hats...

but one hat goes well with 2 of the dresses.

Here are my 3 bunnies showing off their duds!

Whoops, maybe not!

Evidently Funny Bunny didn't get the message to dress his best.

Whoa! Marigold has changed her dress!

This looks like a fun day for all!

Marigold likes to be the center of attention!

Or maybe Funny and Bunny Boy needed to be separated.

These are the extra items that were included 

that did not match any of my three bunnies. 

Three items of the clothing and the straw hat belong to Jerry Bunny. 

My  Jerry Bunny is somewhere without his wardrobe! 

I think the fish must have been caught by Jerry Bunny.

Also missing from my book is Susie Bunny. 

She was on the back cover, 

and here is a picture of Susie and her clothes.

This strip of small bunnies came with my set.  I am not sure 

if they were a part of the paper doll book. 

Two of them are action figures....

the bunny pulling the cart and the bunny holding the top. 

The dress and hat shown with Jerry's clothes belong to  

Clover Bunny and most likely come from this book. 

....which was also published by Whitman as # 987.

Here are some other bunnies that were probably 

part of  Daisy Bunny and Her Playmates paper dolls.

Primrose Bunny

Sunny Bunny

Tuffy Bunny

 Clover Bunny

Buster Bunny

In researching these delightful paper doll bunnies, I discovered

 that the Chicago Sunday Tribune newspaper ran a contest

 to give away $5000 in prizes to 490 contest entries. 

The Tribune published 12 sets of the bunnie paper dolls. 

I found 7 of the advertisments for the contest.

Set # 1

Set #2 (Set 1 and 2 combined)

Set # 3 (Sets 1, 2 and 3 combined)

Set # 4

Set # 5

Set # 6

Set # 7

The Tribune wanted children to collect the sets of paper dolls and dress the bunny from each set in what they thought looked the best on the bunny. Parents could help. They didn't have to buy the paper....they could copy or trace the cut-outs from the Tribune at their offices or at public libraries. All 12 dressed bunnies were to be sent in at one time. Cash prizes ranged from $5 to a top prize of $1000. I am sure, with this contest coming at the end of the depression years, there were many children/parents entering this contest hoping they would be one of the lucky winners. 

I would love to hear from anyone that entered this contest,

 or from their children or grandchildren who remember

 their mother or grandmother talking about the fun and hope of winning.

Vicki the VELCRO paper doll

This is Vicki, a VELCRO paper doll and  a   Gabriel's exclusive. She has a LIFETIME MAGIC FASTENER.

touch! costume is on zip!costume is off

I am guessing that would get any little girl's attention.

This information was found in Mary Young's 20th Century Paper Dolls Identification & Values published in 2006. When I opened my Ebay win, I found two paper dolls with matching clothes. Not only did I have Vicki, I also had Valerie.  

Gabriel Industries also produced this set, and I was lucky to have a combination of the two sets.

Vicki

Valerie

Valerie and Vicki have a thick T-shirt of Velcro attached to their frames to hold their dresses. This design with Velcro made it easier for the younger child to play with the dolls. 

My combined sets have mostly the same designed clothes.

Clothing designs are typical of the late 1950s.... 

....through the early 1960s.

It is hard to find production dates for paper dolls produced by Samuel Gabriel Sons & Co. Gabriel began selling children's books in 1892. Samuel Gabriel Sons & Co. was founded in 1907 selling paper novelties and publishing children's books. According to Mary Young, a very early series of Gabriel paper dolls is called Funny Folk in Fur and Feather. The first dated paper dolls she found were a series of Dolly Dear dressing dolls dated 1911. 

A previous owner has penciled January 27, 1967 on the front of this box of Velcro paper dolls.  Velcro was invented by Swiss engineer George de Mestral in 1941, leading to a patent in 1955 and a commercial launch in the late 1950s. He created the name VELCRO as a portmanteau of the French words "velour" (velvet) and "crochet" (hook). So I am assuming these paper dolls with Velcro were produced sometime after 1960. 

I am giving this set of paper dolls to Audrey, the five year old granddaughter of a very good friend. She should be just the right age for a set of Velcro paper dolls! 

Velva Doll - The Magic Playmate

 

Velva Doll was produced in 1932 by Kingston Products Corporation. Information above is from Mary Young's  20th Century Paper Dolls. Two sized Velva dolls were produced....one large 17" doll and a smaller 13" doll, both named Jill. Mary Young indicated another version of the Velva doll has been found, so dolls may vary. 

My Jill doll is 13" tall and came with many items of clothing. 

      

 Jill is made of 1/8" cardboard with a velvety surface. Her neck has been repaired and her coloring has faded, but you can still see her red hair and pale blue eyes. 

These are the clothes made of felt that came with Jill.

In addition to dresses, jackets and slacks,  several collars and yokes, plus suspenders, hats, gloves and a neck scarf were included for play. 

 

  

Playing with accessories..... 

     

            

Instructions came with Velva dolls....

and also suggestions for creating different outfits.

Checking this sheet, I think Velva arrived with her complete wardrobe!

A more detailed set of clothing came with Velva, and I was curious what doll they belonged to. 

Looking through Mary Young's wonderful book on paper dolls, I found several sets of "magic" paper dolls....

       

                   The Magic Doll for the Little Dressmaker, $40.00

and discovered that the extra clothes were part of The Felt-O-Gram Doll and Her Wardrobe. This set was made by The Poster Products Company of Chicago in 1932. The the black and yellow dress on the front of the box and the little red dress, boots and cap in the lower left corner of the box are the same clothes that came with Velva. Between 1932-1934, the Poster Products Company made several other sets of Felt-O-Gram dolls....Twins, All American Boy Bobby, Black-Eyed Sue and I'm  Bebé  of All Nations.

Just for fun, I dressed Jill in the extra set of clothing even though they were a bit large for her......

     

     

I am always happy to learn more about the paper dolls I have collected. And thanks to Mary Young for her exceptional book 20th Century Paper Dolls!