To educate and amuse: paper dolls and toys, 1640-1900

Abstract

Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, certain cultural and economic changes occurred which succeeded in making children a major focal point of American family life and society. Earlier beliefs of children as beings tainted by original sin were modified by Enlightenment philosophy and concepts in progressive education. At the same time as these ideological changes happened, rapid industrialization and rampant consumerism also affected American family life. By the mid-nineteenth century these trends merged and resulted in the creation of a market aimed at the development and production of goods designed just for children. ☐ The Maxine Waldron Collection of Paper Dolls and Toys, housed in the Joseph Downs Manuscript and Microfilm Collection at Winterthur, provided an excellent opportunity to study one type of children’s material and popular culture. Business and marketing aspects of these objects were examined, as well as prevailing notions of children’s play, education and psychology. The paper dolls and toys themselves provided clues to their "adult" origins, popular imagery and ideas for correct use. Ultimately the project synthesized the blending of business and social trends which resulted in a proliferation of paper playthings for children in the late nineteenth century.