Pages

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Throwback Thursday: Betsy McCall Paper Dolls

Do you remember Betsy McCall paper dolls?   When I was growing up, McCall's magazine featured a paper doll page in every issue.  The paper doll was Betsy McCall, a little girl who had everyday experiences like Girl Scouts, painting, making Valentines, decorating for Christmas, and more.  Betsy had a little Dachshund dog named Nosy.  As a lifelong "dachshund person," of course I love the Nosy paper dolls most of all.

I used to cut these paper dolls out and play with them.  Since they were on magazine paper (thin), I sometimes mounted them on cardboard. 
I purchased a few McCall's magazines not long ago, and plan to frame the paper doll pages for my study.  

Do you remember Betsy McCall paper dolls?   Did you play with any other paper dolls as a child?   I would love to hear from you in the comments, below. 

15 comments:

  1. I remember these things when I was a kid!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I remember this stuff from when I was a kid. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I loved paper dolls when I was little!! I think they used to sell them at the grocery store right beside the check out....not the best place for parents but I loved them!!


    Andrea

    ReplyDelete
  4. I DO remember paper dolls and am familiar with McCalls but not sure those are the one's I played with. My how much simpler life was back then. I was happy to play with paper dolls. The worst thing that could happen would be for the tab to finally break on an article of 'clothing' for one of my paper dolls. Fun memories!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I remember playing with paper dolls when I was little. Not nearly as much fun as regular dolls, but it was fun making and coloring new clothes.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I loved paper dolls when I was a kid. My grandmother subscribed to McCall's and I always looked forward to the Betsy McCall pages that she'd save for when I was visiting. Great memory, and great idea to frame these for your study!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for the comments! I enjoyed reading your paper doll memories. I loved the traditional paper doll books too (the kind that were sold at dimestores, etc.).

    My Mom read McCall's monthly, so the Betsy McCall pages were always a treat. :-)

    Trish

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh yes I remember these! Love them. That's a really cute idea to frame them. We need to bring more of these things back for little girls of today.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I did play with paper dolls, a lot, I think although I don't really remember which ones I owned. Maybe Barbie paper dolls? Great idea to frame them for your study, Trish.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Brenda, I had a set of Barbie paper dolls -- loved those as a little girl!

    Trish

    ReplyDelete
  11. Paper dolls weren't still in production (as far as I know) when I was little, but we found some while thrifting one time, and I loved them! These will be so cute and nostalgic in your study! =)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Una Margrét JónsdóttirApril 29, 2021 at 7:45 PM

    I don´t think we had any Betsy McCall paper dolls here in Iceland, but I´m sure I would have loved them, it seems she does so many different things. like going on an Easter egg hunt - very original. But I had a full box of other paper dolls which I still have, actually.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Una Margret, how neat to hear from a reader in Iceland! That is great that you have a box of paper dolls. I have a few older paper doll books here as well. - Trish

    ReplyDelete
  14. I was doing some research on Betsy McCall paper dolls when I came across your blog. Yes, I enjoyed cutting out Betsy and her friends as a child as my mother was a subscriber to McCall's magazine. My sister and I played often with paper dolls each having a shoebox filled with our own characters.

    In the 1990's I worked for a company named The Wooden Paper Doll Company, a division of Bethany Farms. They produced handmade dolls made by gluing paper images onto thin wood. Instead of tabs the clothes had a hole which slid onto a peg mounted on the doll's chest or head to accommodate a hat. They had secured the license to reproduce some of the 1950's images of Betsy McCall. I had come full circle; from playing with paper dolls to selling them. The highlight of me Betsy history was attending a Betsy McCall convention in the Dallas, Texas area.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Lynnett, thanks for your comment! I enjoyed reading about your Betsy McCall history. I bet the Betsy McCall convention was wonderful! (Also - I need to look online to see if I can find any of the wooden Betsy paper dolls.)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comment! Please note: Your comment may take some time to appear, but should be visible shortly.