Who might have believed that one of the more unusual bits of movie star ephemera is making a vibrant comeback?  Movie star paper dolls, once a popular marketing tool (only they called it publicity back then) designed to satisfy the audience’s desire to get close to their favorite performers, were big sellers to little and not-so-little girls back in the day.  The popularity in the late 1950s of fashion dolls like Barbie was tied to the demise of the celebrity paper dolls as a big moneymaker, and so they fell out of style.  Collectors always sought out the vintage movie star collections, but it was the incredible skill and excellent timing of artist Tom Tierney which precipitated the revival of this charming art form.  Remembering the paper dolls his mother had collected and kept, in the mid-1970s Tom created his first movie star paper doll which led to a long-standing relationship with Dover Publications.  The rise of interest in classic movies which occurred at that time (That’s Entertainment, et al) provided the perfect opportunity for these unique paper dolls to catch on and he’s been going strong ever since, joined by other artists who have all helped revive this lovely tradition.

If you are a classic movie lover, I think you’ll find these paper dolls to be fascinating.  Not only are they amazing achievements in purely artistic terms, they’re a delightful celebration of motion pictures as a cultural force.  Paper doll artist David Wolfe, for instance, has many well-researched articles on his website, all designed to increase the appreciation of his impeccable re-creations of actual movie costumes and personalities.  The attention to detail in the works of all the movie star paper dolls artists is breathtaking.  Even though we can instantly watch many of the movies on a whim these days, the capturing in tangible form of the beautiful costumes is a seductive pleasure to experience.  Artist Brenda Sneathen Mattox is another star of the genre, with a wonderful website featuring her many original celebrity and historial paper doll collections.   Other favorites include Marilyn Henry, Norma Lu Meehan, Donald Hendricks, and others whose names you will encounter once you enter the world of contemporary paper dolls.

There are many excellent websites where you can dip your toes into the world of movie star paper doll collecting.  For general paper doll resources, OPDAG — Original Paper Doll Artists Guild – is a wealth of information, as is Jenny’s Paper Doll News blog.  Several online merchants offer a wide variety of merchandise, such as Paper Goodies, Paper Doll Review, Paper Studio Press, and others that you can find with an internet search.  No doubt the best way to become interested in this intricate and unusual form of art and play is to look at the creations themselves.  Some of the following are reproductions of vintage movie star paper dolls, and others are artist-created new collections, but all are amazing.  From the sublime — Bette Davis — to the hilarious — Phyllis Diller — enjoy!