Although I see virtually no use of paper dolls in the last 38 years of The Friend (a search of “paper doll” at lds.org turns up only 16 hits, most of which are suggestions to teachers and Sharing Time leaders for use of teaching aids; only one appears to be a page printed in The Friend for kids to cut out and play with), paper dolls were a staple in the old Children’s Friend. Sometimes the dolls would illustrate the theme of an issue. Most often the twelve paper dolls in a year’s issues would have a theme of their own.

The paper dolls printed in 1935 illustrated the traditional dress of a dozen cultures around the world (not surprisingly, a very common theme for a year’s worth of dolls in the Children’s Friend). You’d expect a girl in a drindl skirt representing Germany, maybe a boy in a fur parka illustrating Eskimos, and that’s true of most of the dolls — but this one I didn’t expect for some reason.

Your thoughts?