Essentially, a paper doll is a 2D figure drown on paper. The figures come with various clothes and accessories that little girls can use to dress up the dolls. In most cases, the paper dolls are people, but animals and other innanimate objects can also be designed and decorated.

Although, a paper doll may not seem as much fun as a real baby doll, Barbie, or even a Cabbage Patch Kid, but paper dolls provide loads of pleasure and entertainment for children around the world.

Paper dolls have come in the form of popular figures (celebrities, politicians, etc.) as well as regular people, and even cartoon characters such as Sailor Moon.

Paper dolls have been popular amongst little girls and children since about 900 A.D. where they were used in ancient Japanese ceremonies. France had an assortment of paper dolls in the 1700s, and in 1828, McLoughlin Brothers, was was the largest producer of paper dolls, was founded.

McLoughlin Brothers actually produced their paper dolls from thin slices of wood that sold for five to ten cents.

Throughout time, paper dolls have been imported and exported through European and American manufacturers. These simple designs were famous worldwide, and even today make a great collector's edition.

If you have a fascination with paper dolls, and remember playing with them when you were younger, by all means, start or continue your collection. There are many people in the hobby, so you definitely won't be alone.

When collecting paper dolls, many teens and adults actually start their collection with paper dolls of an older female in the family getting passed down, or even a find in your own attic of paper dolls you used to play with as a child. In any sense, maybe you're just a big lover of dolls, and want to add a section of paper dolls to your doll collection.

However you get started collecting paper dolls, make sure that you know the ins and outs because, as I mentioned, it's actually a fairly large hobby.

When you start to get serious about collecting paper dolls, you want to make sure that you know how to preserve them as best as you can because in any sense the dolls are still paper.

The best way to keep your collection of paper dolls from getting damaged, is to prevent the damage from occuring in the first place, and trust me, there are a number of different things that can damage paper dolls.

• Bending or folding
• Corner dings from improper packing when mailing
• Tearing from play
• Ball point ink bleeding through the back.
• Scraping surface ink
• Compressing inks from pressure from packing too tight
• Putting dolls in brown paper, cardboard, or acidic materials
• High humidity causing mold
• Too much dryness
• Excess heat or cold
• Rodents
• Exposure to dirt, dust, oil, smoke, sprays, etc.
• Paper clips
• Florescent lights
• Using improper adhesives, rubber cement, or cellophane tape
• Using PVC covers and photo albums to display

If you can prevent the above damaging situations, you can prevent your paper dolls from becoming damaged.

When storing your paper doll collection, you want to follow the below tips, so that you can prevent any damage or prevent further damage to your collection.

• Use "Archival" and "Acid-Free" materials to store your paper dolls because acid can literally kill paper and cause it to become brittle and break. You want to seal the paper dolls to the archival material with a clear sheet of mylar polyester film with ATG tape around the edges.
• Dab a little bit of matching watercolor ink to cracks in the original ink on your paper doll. Use just the tip of a fine brush, and carefully apply a thin layer of ink. If you have problems matching the ink, ask an artist or a professional. You may need to mix inks to get the desired color or shade. Just remember that paint typically dries darker; you can darken the ink by adding another layer, but it's harder to lighten it.
• When storing your paper dolls in boxes, always use acid-free materials. You can purchase acid-free tissue paper to place between each paper doll when stacking. If you use a cardboard box, you want to line the box with mylar and then stack the bottom with a layer of acid-free paper before placing your paper dolls in the box.
• If you're going to file your paper dolls, make sure to line the hanging files with acid-free paper. Also, make sure that you don't tightly pack the files because the pressure can cause stress cracks in the ink.
• When framing paper dolls, make sure to always use a mat that will keep the doll from touching the glass of the frame. Mats leave an air pocket so that the paper can breath; they also let out extra humidity. If you put your paper doll up against the glass, the paper can mold between the gap and hte paper can buckle. Again, make sure that you use acid-free materials- acid-free mats, backing paper, and boards.
• You can microwave your paper dolls, if you notice that pests have gotten ahold of them. You'll notice tiny pinholes in the paper if bugs have gotten to your collection. Place a small bowl of water in the microwave, set it on high for about 30 seconds, and the bugs will be zapped dead.
• You can even microwave mildewed paper dolls, but before putting the paper doll in the microwave, make sure to brush off as much as the mold as you can. Use a damp cloth to brush away the corners and outside surfaces, and then just put the paper doll in the microwave for 30 seconds (no bowl of water).

If you decide to sell you paper doll collection, whether the entire collection or just a few of the dolls in the collection, consider selling on eBay, conventions, or various paper doll collector websites and forums.

When listing your paper dolls for sale, you'll want to carefully list the number of dolls, type (die cut, book, etc), title of the doll, publisher, condition, and price of the dolls that you are trying to sell.

Condition codes that you'll want to use include:

• Pristine Mint-PM
• Mint-M
• Near Mint-NM
• Very Fine-VF
• Fine-FN
• Very Good-VG
• Good-G
• Fair-F
• Poor-P

When trying to decide how much to charge for the paper dolls, you'll want to consider the condition of the doll, how much you paid, the year the dolls was created, and the availability of the doll. By attending conventions and staying in the hobby, you'll be able to better price your paper dolls without under or over charging.