Wednesday, September 12, 2007

The Best of Both Worlds


Collecting doesn't have to be an either/or proposition. You can build a collection that includes vintage and new paper doll artists. In fact, if I hadn't started collecting the vintage items, I never would have discovered the new artists out there. And vice versa.

Case in point: Kwei-lin Lum's paper toy sets such as "Fortune Cookie" and "Day of the Dead." Part of the pleasure of collecting those sets is seeing how she organized information and thought through layout and construction. As a result I look at older paper toys with new eyes and seek out special ones to add to my collection.

Kwei-lin's art is a factor in my developing interest in old paper toys, especially the card stock supplements that were included in newspapers more than 100 years ago. I found this lovely May 1898 Baltimore American supplement "Puss and her family" at last year's convention in Indianapolis.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for mentioning me, Linda. I never would have thought my artwork would inspire an urge to buy vintage, but it should not be a surprise. I am intrigued with those very old sets which unlock a long-gone world.

Kwei-lin