Paper doll book | paper doll:Big Sister Paper Dolls

Paper dolls set clearly reflect the times in which they are published. This set offered Big Sister four career choices: secretary, nurse, (and on the back cover) movie star, and artist. Two occupations might be considered tradditionally appropriate for women in the "helping" professions; the other two occupations seem so exotic, so interesting, and so unrealistic. When Abbott Publishing released its Big Sister set in the early 1960s, career opportunities for women were indeed limited. Most young girls playing with these paper dolls thought of their own futures as primarily housewives. Few would have selected a career over marriage and family. A short decade or two later, girls found many more career choices.