Grace Gebbie Drayton's Paper Dolls

Grace Gebbie Drayton's most famous creations are the Campbell Soup kids. Spawned from the "roly-polys" created by Drayton, the Campbell Soup kids followed Drayton's wildly successful paper doll characters: Dolly Dingle and her friends.

Dolly Dingle first appeared in 1913 in The Pictorial Review and continued though 1933. Easily the most popular paper doll of her time, Dolly Dingle was actually made into a doll, painted on china, used on stationery and other commercial items.

Drayton's husband, Theodore E. Wiederseim, Jr., was employed by a lithographic manufacturing company in Philadelphia. When making a pitch to the Joseph Campbell Company, Wiederdeim asked his wife if she would sketch some figures to be added to the layout he was proposing.

Interestingly, the Campbell Company was looking for a way to target housewives and children, and the Campbell Kids have served as the foundation of Campbell's corporate identity.

The Dolly Dingle paper dolls appeared regularly in The Pictorial Review until 1933. The characters continue to have recognizable appeal and popularity. The Dolly Dingle paper dolls in the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection were donated by Dr. Peggy Carlin, a professor in the department of Speech and Hearing Science.

If you are interested in viewing the paper dolls, visit the 3rd floor of McCain Library or contact Ellen Ruffin at ellen.ruffin@usm.edu or 601.266.4349. 

 

For more information on paper dolls:

Drawe, Judith Anderson. Lithographic Paper Toys, Books, and Games: 1880-1915. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Company, 2000. (McCain Library NK4893 .D73 2000)

Howard, Marion. Those Fascinating Paper Dolls: an Illustrated Handbook for Collectors. New York, NY: Dover Publications, 1981. (Cook Library NK4893 .H64 1981)

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Text by Ellen Ruffin, Curator of the de Grummond Collection
E-mail:ellen.ruffin@usm.edu