"PLAYTHINGS BY THE YARD".

In the late 1800s to early 1900s, many children's favorite playthings were stuffed dolls, printed commercially and then completed at home. Ranging from animals and puppets to baby doll and tin soldier motifs, the printed-panel creations were representative of the styles and popular toys of the time, including racist caricatures. The development of lithographic printing on cloth eventually led to a cost-effective process for producing dolls and other toys. The first fabric panel doll was patented in 1886 and printed by Oriental Print Works. Later, Arnold Print Works, Art Fabric Mills, Selchow & Righter Company, and Cocheco Manufacturing were a few of the cotton fabric mills manufacturing and marketing cloth dolls and toys. Saalfield Publishing was instrumental in the production of children's cloth storybooks. Through examination of contemporary catalogs and advertising, newspapers, panels and dolls, and quilts, this research reveals the story of these imaginative, artistic, colorful products and the aggressive marketing techniques behind them and their place in quilt history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]