Shown here is just a sampling of the new books we published throughout 2024 covering fashion history, Classic Hollywood, folk costumes, bridal gowns, historic figures, fanciful characters and adorable children.
Our titles represent a Who's Who among paper doll artists—Eileen Rudisill Miller, Julie Allen Matthews, Brenda Sneathen Mattox, Alina Kolluri, Kwei-lin Lum, Sandra Vanderpool, Deanna Williams, Jim Howard, Tom Tierney and Marilyn Henry. Plus we've introduced a few more vintage reproductions including the darling Judy & Jim paper doll book by Hilda Miloche from 1948.
We're delighted to bring two additional artists into our fold—Dan DeSantis and Ralph Hodgdon. Ralph has been self-publishing his paper dolls for decades and he recently turned over a big stack of his original art for us to transform into beautifully published paper doll books. Dan DeSantis is a name that some folks might remember from the 1990s when he was contributing paper dolls to OPDAG's Paper Doll Studio magazine. An artist and fashion designer, he's found his way back to paper dolls. His first book is Cairo Pemberton, an Egyptologist and Socialite. In 2025 we'll publish two more books featuring Cairo's friends Mandaling and Lockie.
For a behind-the-scenes look at some of these books, visit Julie Allen Matthews' Paper Doll School Blog. Julie has a hand in just about every project we do, including our magazine, which I'll talk about next.
Though our magazine subscription is quarterly, it takes a little longer than three months to get a new issue out. So I like to say it's a 4-issue subscription to give myself (and our contributors) a little extra time between issues.
Our first edition of 2024, Issue 90 is a celebration of Hollywood Glamour with features on Ava Gardner (including a dress-a-doll), Brits in Hollywood, Hollywood Sopranos, plus fabric rendering tips, UK greeting cards and more. Issue 91 covers Colonial Fashion, Native American PDs, History of Pockets, Cataloging Paper Dolls and more. Issue 92 has a few wintery themed features including Santa paper dolls, Nativity play sets, Victorian Christmas Traditions and a dress-a-doll. We also cover rare paper dolls from the 1830s, how-tos from vintage books and the 2024 paper doll convention report. Each issue is a visual delight, with a beautiful balance of paper doll art and articles. To keep our magazine in print it's important to keep up our subscription base, so if you're not already a subscriber, I hope you'll give it a try! Click here to subscribe.
My goal this year is to keep up with my blog! With the assistance of Julie—the queen of project management—I've come up with a monthly plan of things to share throughout the year. Speaking of calendars, I highly recommend Julie's 2025 paper doll calendar called Emma McKay Every Day.
Here's to a paperdolly new year!
