American Toy Theaters – Patents

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American Toy Theater Patent

Just spent some time researching American Toy Theaters at the The United States Patent and Trademark Office. You can also search at Google’s patent section. If you like research this is fun! I found so many wonderful paper toy patents from the late 1800′s to the early 1900′s. Patents make great wall art and are fun to work with in digital and paper collage. If you like Steampunk (like I do) this is a great resource for inventions at the turn of the 20th century. Keep in mind, not all patents can be used. The illustrations etc. may also be copyrighted. Please read further info on this at The United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Alice In Wonderland Paper Toy

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I love to collect and design antique and vintage style paper toys. This paper toy is part 1 of a series of 4. I like paper that has movement. When cut out and put together the Queen and King move side to side. I also designed this so it will fit a 7 x 5 inch card. Simply punch holes through the card and attach.Click on the image below and download a pdf file.

Alice In Wonderland Paper Toy

Have fun!

Story Book Sundays – Alice In Wonderland Illustration by Bonnibel Butler

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Please join me on Sundays for vintage and antique illustrations from my story books. I am always discovering illustrations I never knew existed. This journey has led to looking for information about the illustrators and their work. I am often surprised how little information exists. Below is a delightful illustration by Bonnibel Butler. Click on the link to download a zip file. The image is from the book page in actual size at 300ppi. These are in tiff format so image information is not lost.

Alice In Wonderland illustrated by Bonnibel Butler

This illustration is from the book Let’s Pretend, published in 1914 by Volland. Bonnibel Butler illustrated several books I am aware of. The list is below:

  • A Book of Delights
  • Holland Stories
  • Favorite Mother Goose
  • The Baby’s Record of Mental and Physical Growth

I hope you enjoy the illustration. Please feel free to add any information you have on Bonnibel Butler in the comment section.

Toy Theater – Little Red Riding Hood – Boston Sunday Globe

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The Boston Sunday Globe included numerous supplements that are highly collectable today. One of my favorite series is the Toy Theater scenes. This particular toy theater scene was published by The Donaldson Brothers in New York, 1895. I cannot bring myself to actually cut it out, so I usually scan these, print and cut. Give me some scissors and glue and I am a happy person. This sheet would be great for your altered art projects.Click on the image to download a pdf file.

Toy Theater - Little Red Riding Hood

Make a Mother’s Day Gift Tag

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I enjoy making dimensional gift tags, but sometimes I do not have all the materials I need handy. Below is a gift tag I made using paper with pattern pieces all on 1 sheet. Of course you can always add additional elements. Click on the image below to download a printable pdf. Simple cut out the elements, add pop dots or glue in layers. Card stock is best, but you can always print on regular ink jet paper and glue the base to a cereal box. The finished tag measures 2.75 x 4 inches.

Mother's Day Tag

May Day By Ida Waugh

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Every May always brings back fond memories of the Maypole Celebrations in Golden Gate Park. While browsing through some books, illustrated by Ida Waugh I came across the image below. Click on the image to open the large file and right click to save. This image is in 300dpi saved in png format. This image would be great for any number of paper projects.

May Day by Ida Waugh