Paper doll:Little Americans from Many Lands-Matsue from Japan

Early paper dolls came in books, boxes, folders, magazines, newspapers, and advertisements. By the 1920s and 1930s, most paper dolls came in a book with the doll figures on the cardboard covers and the clothing on the paper pages within. These paper doll books sold for just five cents or a dime, even during the Great Depression. Paper dolls were most popular during World War II probably because materials needed for other kinds of toys were directed to the war effort. Once American kids discovered television, however, many gave up their paper dolls. The toy form was never again as popular as it was in the first half of the 20th century.