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Friday, July 12, 2013

800 to 900 Timeline : From Cave Paintings to the Internet

800 to 900 Timeline : From Cave Paintings to the Internet

Update to Ancient Doll/ True Colors and a comment from Anne Rice

True Colors Above is "The “Alexander Sarcophagus” (c. 320 B.C.), was found in the royal necropolis of the Phoenician city of Sidon. But it was named for the illustrious Macedonian ruler, Alexander the Great, depicted in battle against the Persians in this painted replica. Alexander’s sleeved tunic suggests his conquests have thrust him into the new role of Eastern King, but his lion-skin cap ties him to the mythical hero, Herakles, and alludes to divine descent." Retreived from Smithsonian Magazine. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/multimedia/photos/?c=y&articleID=19828084&page=3 (July 12, 2013). I was born in Athens, and these relics are beloved and part of my heritage. These, and other ancient statues from various cultures, and the dolls and toys, were originally painted in bright colors. This exhibit courtesy of Smithsonian, shows us what they may have been like. Below is Anne Rice's Comment from Facebook, and we than her: "True Colors" from the Smithsonian Magazine may shock some people. The ancient Greeks actually painted their marble gods and goddesses in very bright colors. The dignified white marble fragments we view today in museums were in fact originally presented in hyper-realistic flesh tones with brightly painted eyes and with clothes in different hues. I've known this for decades but can't claim I was overjoyed to learn it when I was younger. Thanks to Phillip Cohen for this interesting story.

Friday, July 5, 2013

More Paper Dolls; Some Reading

Normally, I take Wikipedia with a grain of salt. I find good inforamtion, but because of free editing, anything can be said. Yet, the sources for the paper doll article come from many well researched articles I have read, so I include it here. If he agrees, I will post a guest blog by my friend, veteran Paper Doll expert and doll authority, Mr. R. Lane Herron. Paper doll From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Paper doll (disambiguation). A girl playing with paper dolls Paper dolls are figures cut out of paper or thin card, with separate clothes, also made of paper, that are usually held onto the dolls by folding tabs.[1] They may be a figure of a person, animal or inanimate object.[2] Paper dolls have been inexpensive children's toys for almost two hundred years. Today, many artists are turning paper dolls into an art form. Paper dolls have been used for advertising, appeared in magazines and newspapers, and covered a variety of subjects and time periods. They have become highly sought-after collectibles, especially as vintage paper dolls become rarer due to the limited lifespan of paper objects. Paper dolls are still being created today. Some flat plastic figures are similar to paper dolls, like Colorforms figures and Flatsy dolls.[3] Paper dolls have regained popularity with young children featuring popular characters and celebrities. Online and virtual paper dolls like KiSS, Stardoll and Doll makers also have a popular following, with users able to drag and drop images of clothes onto images of dolls or actual people. Contents [hide] 1 History 2 See also 3 References 4 External links History[edit] 1919 magazine illustration of actress Norma Talmadge and some of her film costumes in paper doll form Paper dolls have been around as long as there has been paper. Faces or other objects were applied to the paper and they were used during religious rituals and ceremonies in the Asian cultures many centuries ago. The Japanese used paper for Origami, artful paper folding, and dating back to 800 AD they folded paper figurines in the shape of Kimono. Balinese people made paper and leather into puppets since before the Christian Era. Other cultures around the world have had paper formations or paper art, including in Poland, where they were called Wy'cinanki. These early types of paper figures differ from typical paper dolls today, as no clothes were made to be used with the dolls. In Europe, particularly France, the first paper dolls were made during the mid-18th century. The paper was jointed and they were called pantins meaning dancing or jumping jack puppet. They were intended to entertain adults and spread throughout high society. They were drawn or painted like people with fashions for each doll. These were more similar to contemporary Western paper dolls. Rare hand-painted sets of paper figures dating to the late 1780s can be found in some museums today. The biggest American producer of paper dolls, McLoughlin Brothers, was founded in early 1800 and was sold to Milton Bradley in 1920s. Around this time paper dolls became popular in the USA and then grew in popularity in the following decades. Paper doll with clothes Book publishing companies that followed in the production of paper dolls or cut-outs were Lowe, Whitman, Saalfield and Merrill among others. Movie stars and celebrities became the focus in the early days of paper dolls in the USA. Paper dolls are still produced today and Whitman and Golden Co. still publish paper dolls. Vintage paper dolls with hand-painted artwork are becoming increasingly rare due to paper aging issues. They have become collectible, and the prices for mint uncut sets can be between $100 and up to over $500 for a sought after title. A paper doll convention is held every year in the United States, with hundreds of attendees. See also[edit] Jumping jack (toy) Fashion doll Dress-Up References[edit] History of Paper Dolls 1.^ "Paper doll". The Free Dictionary By Farlex. Retrieved 2012-19-05. 2.^ "History of paper dolls". OPDAG. Retrieved 2012-19-05. 3.^ Frederick J. Augustyn (2004). Dictionary of toys and games in American popular culture. Routledge. pp. 80–81. External links[edit] Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Paper dolls The Original Paper Doll Artists