None Such JAPANESE AND CHINESE PAPER DOLL

I collect paper dolls and am fondest of the ones made pre-1950s. I especially love old advertising dolls. The lithography gave them a richness you would never see in later day dolls.

I purchased this doll several years ago on eBay. The seller was elderly and selling off some dolls his late wife had owned. I told him they'd be taken care of.

When looking at old dolls like this I wonder more about the hands they've passed through than who manufactured them. This particular doll dates to 1895.

To receive this doll back in 1895 the buyer had to first buy five packages of None Such New England Mince Meat and cut the heads off the woman holding a pie on the package. Sounds a little brutal. They were then supposed to send 10 cents in silver along with the heads. Starts to sound a bit like a ransom. If they didn't have the 10 cents, which was apparently the shipping charge, they could cut off 20 heads and get it for free. Now it's just starting to sound like an episode of CSI.

To read about the company that sold the dolls, Merrill-Soule headquarter in Syracuse, click here. The printer was Forbes Lithography located in Boston, Massachusetts.

This post ties in with this weeks posts on my photography blog, Tattered and Lost Photographs, where the category is dolls.

ANIMAL PAPER DOLLS to Dress

I saw that Linda at The Paper Collector had posted this little bear. This encouraged me to take some shots of the whole book.

I purchased this many years ago; fell in love with at first sight and had to have it. I'd have been nuts for this set as a child but have no memory of ever seeing it.

It was published in 1950 by the Saalfield Publishing Company.

I don't know who the illustrator was. That's a shame, because it's just such a happy set.

I don't know if a set like this would sell today, but I'm betting it would. I mean really...a bowlegged monkey in a pink skirt and boots? How can you say no?

My other car is a TROLLEY!

Before I gave up on eBay I was buying very old advertising paper dolls. Some of my favorites were made by Lion Coffee. I collected many in a series of nursery rhyme characters. And I got this one in the bargain. I wish I had all of them. The back of the toy says there were ships, cars, and fire engines. I've never seen photos of these so I have no idea what they're like.

When a container of Lion Coffee was bought the youngsters were sure to be standing by, waiting to see what sort of a toy was inside. Remember diving into a cereal box hunting for the toy? Cracker Jacks?

I've created some products at my Cafe Press shop utilizing this image. Know a friend who loves trains or trolley cars? How about a trolley car t-shirt or mug? There's a link on the left.

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Yesterday I received the blog award to the left from the very nice Leslie Ann at Ancestors Live Here. In turn I'd like to recommend some other blogs for folks who like genealogy and old photos.

First off is Pieces of the Past. One woman's journey through her family memories with stories and images.

Photo Detective

Dead Fred

Everyday Ago

And a little plug for my other site that people visiting here might not know about:

Tattered and Lost Photographs

Thank you Leslie. It's always nice to know someone is enjoying my little worlds.

ELVES GONE WILD!

As we all get ready to start partying for the next month and a half until the final tolling of the bell on New Years Eve, I think it's time we take a few moments and silently reflect on elves. Yes, ELVES! What do we know about them? Really, nothing. They're the straight men to Santa's one man show. They're the ones left behind Christmas Eve at the melting North Pole. And what exactly do they do that evening? Okay, so probably they're still working that night in case Santa has any screw-ups along the way. But when the jolly one pulls the sleigh into the barn and says "No, really, no more cookies. I'd like a nice California Chablis, a bag of Cheetos, and my slippers" what do the elves do? I'm thinking...they get plastered! Elves Gone Wild! I give you Beech the dancing party fool, and Ham the mixer of all things lethal. Imagine the YouTube videos of the mayhem. I'm guessing the partying goes on for a couple days before Santa tells them all to chill out and get started on next years haul of consumer items. 

Okay, so maybe it's just my imagination run wild, but I often like to think of what elves do in their time off. Maybe it's just me.

As often is the case there's more to this story. These little fellows are actually advertising promotional paper dolls from the late 19th century offered by the Beecham's Pill company. Want to know why they look like this? I think they might have used the product. Do you know what happens when you take a pill made out of soap? Well...you get Elves Gone Wild! but not in the way they'd hoped for.

Beecham's Pills were a laxative first marketed around 1842 in St Helens, Lancashire. They were invented by Thomas Beecham (1820–1907), grandfather of Thomas Beecham (1879-1961).

The pills themselves were a combination of aloe, ginger, and soap, with some other more minor ingredients. They were initially advertised like other patent medicine as a cure-all, but they actually did have a positive effect on the digestive process. This effectiveness made them stand out from other remedies for sale in the mid-nineteenth century.

The popularity of the pills produced a wide range of testimonials that were used in advertising. The poet William Topaz McGonagall wrote a poem advertising the pills, giving his recommendation in verse. Two slogans used in Beecham's advertising were "Worth a guinea a box," and "Beecham's pills make all the difference."

The pills, and their marketing, were the basis for Beecham's Patent Pills, which became Beecham Estates and Pills in 1924, eight years after the death of Sir Joseph Beecham, the son of Thomas Beecham. The pills continued to be made by a succession of Beecham Pills Limited, Beecham Pharmaceuticals Limited, Beecham Health Care, and SmithKline Beecham. The manufacture of the pills was discontinued in 1998. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

And so it goes...so to speak.