By Jeffrey D. Brasie
Images by Judy M. Johnson
Collectors of all ages, particularly baby boomers, can recall grabbing their scissors and diligently clipping out paper dolls along with the accompanying fashions and other pertinent items. Think Betsy McCall or the paper doll cutout books purchased for 25 cents from a local pharmacy. Residing in Marquette County, Michigan, is Judy M. Johnson, whose household contains 1,000-plus paper doll designs and more than 8,000 books of all kinds.
Her artist journey began when she was barely 10 years old. Her uncle John Heath guided her into the artistic world. Johnson said, “My uncle helped me begin to understand composition, color mixing, techniques, and related art and design aspects.”
Johnson recalls in her youth purchasing and playing with a variety of paper doll designs and themes. Paper dolls of movie stars were popular at the time, but she said she rarely went to the movies and therefore gravitated toward those with beautiful art, babies, children, and dancers. She added, “My mother and grandmother both enjoyed paper dolls. Thus, it kind of flowed onto me.”
Born in 1946 in Marquette, her early life travels took her to Lansing, Michigan, where she graduated from high school and attended Michigan State University. She made her way to New York City in 1965 to work with puppeteer Bil Baird at the World’s Fair. While Baird was out of the country for a month, Johnson said, “I wound up doing charcoal portraits for a manager who had many artists throughout the fair. I earned 75 cents per portrait ($1.50 split with my boss), and that paid for my next term at Michigan State.” After university, she spent 10 years helping home contractors with exterior and interior decoration selections.
In 1984, Johnson and others founded what is now known as the Original Paper Doll Artists Guild. Their mission was to learn, support, and showcase each other’s original and contemporary artwork. Within “the world of paper dolls,” Johnson is internationally known for her numerous designs and artwork.
Also in 1984, she began a design relationship with publishing company B. Shackman. Johnson then entered a business venture with Dover Publishing, creating clip art books and paper dolls for their Little Book line. Next, she was employed by Magicloth Toys, the owner of which hired her to work on the company’s magnetic version of paper dolls. She said, “I designed a couple packages but painted dozens of titles for their internationally award-winning product. That moved to Schylling Toys, who did a variation of magnetic ‘paper’ dolls too. I must have done a dozen titles for them. … Their product art included the covers, so I designed those too.”
Johnson’s talents and expertise continued to expand. She entered the paper doll self-publishing arena, in addition to restoring vintage paper doll artwork. In 1998, she created her website. At the time, it was the world’s largest one dedicated to paper dolls.
These days, she offers well over 2,000 items, all uniquely categorized on her website. Her massive inventory has numerous themes, such as vintage, comic, movie and television stars, historic figures, sports, military, distinguished and important women and men, American Western, animals, bridal parties, babies and children, and careers. Some of her creations include Princess Diana, actress Betty Hutton, Santa and Mrs. Claus, Amanda Panda, and dozens upon dozens of others.
Ranging from people in the education and library professions to those from Hollywood and the fashion industries, Johnson has a diverse group of customers. She said, “Many of my customers are 50-plus years in age and enjoy reflecting upon the nostalgia of their youth. In some instances, they are teaching their grandchildren — perhaps offering insight into various aspects of history.” When it comes to paper dolls, there’s something for everyone.
Judy’s Place
Brief History of Paper Dolls
By Jeffrey D. Brasie
In an article authored by Judy M. Johnson, one of the founders of the Original Paper Doll Artists Guild (OPDAG), she states, “Paper dolls have existed as long as there have been paper and creative people to apply images to it.”
OPDAG was established in 1984 and has over 800 members from across the U.S. and other parts of the world.
Johnson noted paper figures have been used in Asian ritual ceremonies for many centuries. An ancient Japanese purification ceremony dating back to at least A.D. 900 included a paper figure and a folded paper object resembling a kimono, which were put to sea in a boat.
By the 1700s, the French had their version of paper dolls, or pantins, showcasing society and royalty. In 1857, the New York City-based company McLoughlin Brothers became the first publisher of paper dolls in the U.S. Early sets included Little Lady, Little Fred, and Minnie Miller.
Good Housekeeping and similar publications printed paper dolls in their magazines from the late 1880s until well into the 1920s. Betsy McCall made her first appearance in 1951 in McCall’s magazine. Over the following years, paper doll books were sold at drug stores and grocery stores for 10 to 25 cents each.
According to Jenny Taliadoros, daughter of Johnson, today’s paper doll collectors tend to be at least 50 years old. She said, “A huge part of paper doll collecting is educational. A prime example is the American Girl paper doll series.”
Taliadoros added, “There is something nice about handling paper. Many adults today want to bring children back to more organic ways of being, self-entertainment, and education. Paper dolls are a good vehicle for this quest.”
For more information on OPDAG, based in Kingfield, Maine, visit opdag.com.
Jeffrey D. Brasie is a retired health care CEO. He frequently writes historic feature stories and op-eds for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and social media sites. He resides in metro Detroit.
