Recently I have seen a lot of posts about paper dolls. I have not seen any that I had as a youngster. My favorite set was a set of twins. They came in a cardboard case so I could carry them around. They were probably about two or three years old as their clothes indicated.

More than half the fun with paper dolls is when you got to cut out their clothes. There were always tabs that fit over the shoulder to hold them on.

I was an only child so I played alone a lot. Paper dolls were some of my favorite things to play with. On nice days when it was not windy, I often took them out to the back porch to play. I used the stairs to set them on.

Of course, as I began to see paper dolls, I had to find out more about them. The article I read said that paper dolls originated in Europe during the 18th century. They were developed for upper class children.

They were mass produced beginning in the 19th century. Did you know that the artist, Andy Warhol designed some paper dolls. I could not find any more about his dolls but he took credit for the development and the popularity of paper dolls.

There were some paper dolls that were designed around the history of the U. S. Women in colonial dress were offered. Then there were the favorite movie stars of the day. I recall having some of those, but I cannot recall who they were. All I know is that they had a wonderful wardrobe.

Therapists use paper dolls when they work with children. They use them to role play. Children are very responsive to the paper dolls. As they play, they forget that they are just playing and often reveal a side of their personality that they would rather forget.

When I was traveling, I found some paper dolls to bring home to my granddaughter. The set I found had a magnetic quality so you did not depend on the tabs to hold clothes on. The magnets held them on. In some ways that was more convenient. I think the dolls were made of heavy cardboard. They had stands to be able to stand them up. Carly played with them. They were convenient to carry when she went places because they did not take a lot of room.

Another thing that has popped up a lot lately is metal doll houses. I had one of those too. My first doll house was a crate made into a house by my grandfather. He put boards in to separate the crate into rooms. He laid carpet and linoleum in it for me. My great aunts bought me many things for my doll house.

When I visited a cousin in Kenmore, NY she had one of those nice metal doll houses. That went on my wish list for Christmas. I now realize how hurt my grandpa probably was when I abandoned the crate house he made, but I was young and the new modern one appealed to me more. When I think back, I am ashamed that I put his creation aside for the new model.

The new model came complete with a family of little dolls. You could even put them in chairs. I remember the day that I dug out my doll house. I had it sitting on the dresser in the back room when my granddaughter came to visit. I babysat for her every Friday. Her eyes lit up when she spotted it. She quickly pulled up a kitchen chair and began to play with it. She spent hours that first day with the dollhouse and family. What a joy it was for me to see it being used once again.

I kept the doll furniture in an old metal picnic basket that came from my grandparent’s house. I explained to Carly about the picnic basket. It made a very sturdy place to house that fragile furniture.

How ironic! My neighbor who was unable to attend Carly’s wedding shower decided she wanted to give her a picnic basket. Her husband gave me some money and I took charge of ordering the one Carly and Paul wanted and had it mailed directly to them. Now whenever they use it, they will think of the neighbors.

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell. Contact her at hickoryheights1@verizon.net.