Paper dolls are the kind of simple toy that makes no noise (is there a more important feature?), can be stored in a small space, and provide endless hours of open-ended play. Thought to have originated with the dressmaker of Marie Antoinette who documented sartorial creations with miniature paper versions, paper dolls became a popular plaything in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Amid the noise and distraction of television and Barbies, paper dolls may have become a relic of the past if not for the ingenuity and industry of artist Tom Tierney. The genius behind more than 400 paper doll books, which have sold more than four million copies, Tierney “almost single-handedly revived the lost art of paper-doll making,” as the New York Times put it.
Tierney was born in 1928 in Beaumont, Texas. He attended Lamar Junior College and the University of Texas, earning a B.F.A. in painting and sculpture in 1949. Following graduation, Tierney worked as a fashion illustrator. In the early 1950s, he served in the Army, before resuming his career in fashion illustration, for which he moved to New York.
A man of many talents and great wit, Tierney was a much sought-after fashion illustrator—reportedly gaining clients including both Macy’s and Gimbles during his time as a freelancer. Beyond his illustrating, Tierney also painted portraits and sang in nightclubs, among other artistic ventures.
His career took a turn in the 1970s after he made his mother a small paper doll book featuring her favorite movie stars including Gretta Garbo, Jean Harlow and Clark Gable. After his delighted mother showed the book to a literary agent, Tierney found a new avenue for his artwork. His first commercially printed book of paper dolls was “Thirty from the ‘30s: Costumes of the Great Stars,” published in 1976 by Prentice-Hall.
From there, Tierney’s universe of dolls grew to include historical figures past and present, families emblematic of different decades and eras, fashion icons, and girls in ballet and period garb. The books, mostly published by Dover, have come to define paper dolls for a generation of children. As the New York Times notes, “Meticulously drawn and colored, and annotated with historical information, Mr. Tierney’s paper-doll books are not just for children — and some are not for children at all. His aim, he often said, was to contribute to the visual literature of costume history.”
This was a passion Tierney took seriously, often recreating with exactitude outfits really worn by the people depicted in the books. It seems, “Verisimilitude broke down, however, when it came to underclothes.” In an interview about his work, Tierney explained, “I was not privy to George Washington’s underwear.” He added, “I just put them in the underwear of the period. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong.”
After many successful years in New York, Tierney moved back to Texas, where he lived the remainder of his life in the small town of Smithville, Texas. With his nephew, Patrick O’Tierney, he established in 2007 Tom-Kat Paper Dolls and Shangri-La Emporium in Smithville, where he could be found signing copies of his books and telling stories of meeting the famous people he drew.
In his years in Smithville before his death in 2014, Tierney was one of the original members of Spoken Word, a local group for writers. According to an obituary, “In recent years, the group could look forward each month to hearing chapters of his memoir, which were always filled with interesting episodes and his remarkable memory and wit.”
Tierney leaves a legacy of exquisite paper dolls that are sure to be enjoyed for generations to come, preserving a simple toy that deserves to be passed along.
