Vintage valentines

 Marion Creamer took first place in Greeting Cards with the colorful This is Susan by Rust-Craft, c. 1970s.

 

Kwei-lin Lum took second place with this colorful Big Top valentine. It looks like an "A-meri-card" c. 1950s.

The Weather Bird, 1903

"Can you dress the weather bird and his sweetheart for their wedding?"
Ruth Morrison took first place in her category with these humorous newspaper cut-outs from June 14, 1903. Click on the image for a closer look--the illustrations between the outfits are funny, too.

The American Crayon Company, c. 1918

 

This is a great boxed set. I've seen the contents in separate envelopes, but never in this type of packaging, and with color-your-own pages included. Mary Young guide shows this also marketed by American Colortype Co., which is the one I'm familiar with. The names are as charming as the dolls: Little Alice Busy Bee, Little Willie Wideawake, Little Miss-Up-to-Date. 

June and Mary Lou, c. 1930s

Canadian Home Journal. Lydia Fraser is the artist.

Tarzan, 1935

From the collection of Joyce McClelland. Art by Charlotte Ware.

Grace Lee, 1858

McLoughlin Bros. Remember, once you click on the picture you can click again to see a larger version.

Alice in Wonderland

 Pictorial Review, 1909-1910. From the collection of Jane Borg.

The Convention Competition

  

 

Over the next several days I'll post pictures from the convention competition, where people bring in their treasures in a variety of categories--handmades, 19th century, foreign original art and contemporary artist, etc. Garth Lax did a terrific job of organizing this event, as he did last year. There are heartstopping beauties--old and new--that excite every collector who sees them in the Competition Room for the first time.

I don't have ID for these three, so if someone recognizes them--artists and owners--let me know! 

Lorna Currie Thomopoulus and Tom Tierney

Catching up during the cocktail hour. Behind Lorna and Tom: Beth Wilkins, Jan Belcher, Sylvia Shannon, Pam Brittenham and Dee Radcliffe.

Raffles

Ron Fong did an excellent job of organizing the raffles, which help offset the cost of the convention every year.

Gene Maiden paper doll by Sandy Vanderpool

Sandy did this paper doll of Gene in 1991.

Artist: Deanna Williams

 

 

Deanna had some of her own work on display in the Artists' Gallery.

Artist: Darlene Jones

 Darlene Jones with Jenny Taliadoros.

 

 

 

 

Diana and Garth Lax

So good to see Diana and Garth.  They brought some rare beauties to the competition, which Garth once again organized.

Artist: Gregg Nystrom

 

 

Gregg was there with his gorgeous movie stars. The printing is remarkable: the colors and texture pop off the page.

The Ron Fong Fan Club

 Elaine Price, Kathy O'Tierney, Jan McKay, myself and Marsha King with Ron Fong at the Saturday banquet.

 

Liberace rings

Elaine Price and Paula Sherrick show off their candelabra rings, souvenirs from the Liberace Museum.

Artist: Kwei-lin Lum

Kwei-lin's fanciful deck of cards.

Artist: Anne Donze

 

 

Anne Donze had some of her wonderful paper dolls of babies and children on display. 

Artist: Norma Lu Meehan

Lucky Dee Radcliffe! Paula Sherrick surprised her by ordering a custom made paper doll set of the two of them--Dee saw it for the first time when she wandered in to the Artists' Gallery.

Update: Thanks for your patience as I figure out the new formatting tools in Blogger. I've just pumped up the size of the two pictures.

I think Norma Lu did a great job capturing Dee and Paula, don't you? As I said, lucky Dee!

Artist: David Wolfe

David displayed his original art for the "Grease" and "Phyllis Diller" paper doll books at the Artists' Gallery. We were able to browse through his work and get a glimpse of his artistic process. You can purchase both books at www.paperdollreview.com

Deanna Williams

What can one say? Deanna soldiered on, just weeks after the death of her husband. And months after losing Gene Maiden.

And she did a fabulous job, with an excellent crew of friends and family to help her out. It was good for all of us to be there for her, and I suspect she took a great deal of comfort from knowing we were there, and that she was continuing the tradition that means so much to all of us.

Thank you Jan and Sam!

Jan and Sam McKay have once again provided an excellent record of the paper doll convention. If you have pictures or a link to your own convention memories, let me know and I'll post them here, too. The more the merrier! Above: Anne Donze, Sam McKay and Kathy O'Tierney.

Samy Odin and Jan McKay.

Artist: Lonnie Bullington

The Artists' Gallery at every convention is the place to see the latest from your favorite artists, and to meet new artists, too.

Lonnie Bullington is from Litchfield Park, Arizona, and designs paper and soft dolls. She heard about the convention from my other blog, The Paper Collector. (Alright!)

See more of Lonnie's work on her blog: http://ljstudios.blogspot.com/