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Paper Doll, Jenny Lind Paper Doll and Ten Costumes Designed for Her Operatic Roles
This is a Paper doll. It was subject: Jenny Lind. It is dated ca. 1850 and we acquired it in 1952. Its medium is lithograph on heavy white wove paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.
Paper to Plastic: How Technology is Transforming Doll Design
In 1925, Cooper-Hewitt added to its collection “Jenny Lind Paper Doll, and Ten Costumes Designed for her Operatic Roles” from an unknown designer. The object was featured in the 2005 "Faster, Cheaper, Newer, More: Revolutions of 1848" exhibition. The paper doll celebrates the career of famous opera singer Johanna Maria Lind, better known as Jenny Lind, the “Swedish Nightingale.”
Paper dolls have been popular toys for more than a hundred years. A paper doll is a two-dimensional figure drawn or printed on paper for which accompanying clothing has been made. By the mid-nineteenth century, around the height of Jenny Lind’s career, boxed paper doll sets of famous ballerinas, opera singers, and historical figures were commonly produced in Europe and America. In the set for the Jenny Lind paper doll, ten costumes are kept in a cardboard container, allowing for easy access during playtime while showcasing the rosy-cheeked soprano and her operatic roles, which are listed in both German and English on the interior lid. The paper doll pieces were made using the process of lithograph on paper. Each costume is designed to be placed over the doll and tied with a green ribbon. The individual costume pieces include the doll arms making various gestures and stage props, such as sheets of music and a bouquet of flowers.
Over the last hundred years, doll designers have shifted to focusing on children’s interests and broadened doll design to include various materials, including plastic. Today, toy stores are filled with doll collections of animated characters, superheroes, and television personalities. Paper dolls have been replaced with plastic dolls like Barbie, whose fashions are designed using realistic fabrics and featuring accessories that include jewelry, shoes, and handbags, which are sold separately.
What will the next hundred years of doll designs look like? It will be interesting to see how the doll market might be impacted by individuals having more accessibility to technology such as 3D printers and the ability to easily create miniature figurines. While the materials and process of making dolls might change over time, what remains timeless is children’s interest in toy dolls.
This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled Paper to Plastic: How Technology is Transforming Doll Design.
This object was
donated by
Mrs. Frederick Rosengarten.
It is credited Gift of Mrs. Frederick Rosengarten.
- Bandbox, Castle Garden
- block-printed paper, wood support.
- Gift of Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt.
- 1918-19-7-a,b
Its dimensions are
largest example from group: 7.9 cm (3 1/8 in.) H: 10.1 x W: 3.5 cm
Cite this object as
Paper Doll, Jenny Lind Paper Doll and Ten Costumes Designed for Her Operatic Roles; Subject: Jenny Lind; lithograph on heavy white wove paper; largest example from group: 7.9 cm (3 1/8 in.) H: 10.1 x W: 3.5 cm; Gift of Mrs. Frederick Rosengarten; 1952-8-1-a
This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Faster, Cheaper, Newer, More: The Revolutions of 1848.
