Family Fun To-Go Crafts : Victorian Paper Dolls

Free craft kits available until supplies run out. We've included something for the boys and girls for this craft!

Paper dolls were popular playthings from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. Technological advances in the 19th century dropped the cost of printing and made reproducing pictures much easier, leading to an explosion of illustrated, paper ephemera including prints, books, magazines, and cards. The first American paper doll commercially produced as a children’s toy was Boston-based J. Belcher’s “The History and Adventures of Little Henry” in 1812. The dolls accompanied a children’s book and were designed to act out various scenes as the narratives unfolded. Paper dolls only grew in popularity over the century. Newspapers and magazines published paper dolls both as playthings and as vehicles to illustrate current fashions for girls and women.

You may also like the following events from Fulton Mansion State Historic Site:

• This Sunday, 27th July, 01:00 pm, Croquet by the Bay at the Fulton Mansion in Fulton
• Next Sunday, 3rd August, 01:00 pm, Croquet by the Bay at the Fulton Mansion in Fulton
• Next month, 9th August, 10:30 am, Second Saturday Family Fun Craft : Hat Making in Fulton