From 1800 to about 1920, the late Industrial Revolution continued to provide innovative and less expensive ways to manufacture, print, and distribute paper. Coupled with Westward Expansion in the United States, a rise in the middle classes, increased leisure time for more people (not just the wealthy), and increased awareness of and interest in children's welfare, education, and social-emotional development, the advances in the quality and quantity of inexpensive paper crafts provided ample opportunities for the creation of educational as well as entertaining paper models. This was the age that gave birth to the paper theatre, paper dolls, Chinese lanterns, paper firecrackers, etc. Children and adults delighted in these models that captured one's imagination before and during the proliferation of other forms of entertainment and inspiration which eventually overshadowed paper-based ones. During both World Wars I and II, when metals and other materials were largely conscripted for use by and for the military, paper provided not only the newsprint necessary to disseminate timely information but also the cardstock and magazine paper printed with delightful models children and adults at the time could cut out, assemble, and enjoy as a necessary reprieve to the stressors of wartime. After WWII ended, human society all over the world was hungry for new forms of entertainment and relaxation. During the late 20th century, television, movies, and radio increasingly filled this void. As adults began enjoying newer models of actual cars, new ways of transportation (i.e., the commercial airplane and more convenient and comfortable public trains and busses), and advances in domestic appliances' technology (i.e., microwave, refrigerator, coffee-maker, etc.), children also enjoyed new forms of toys made of materials now free for public use. Metal toy model cars, wooden dollhouses, and plastic dolls of all kinds rapidly overshadowed and made obsolete their paper model predecessors. Still, the art and craftsmanship of the paper model continues to delight and inspire contemporary artists and educators even into the twenty-first century.
Please click on the following links for free access on shared Google Docs to hundreds of printable images of 19th C papercraft models:
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