That's right! Behold a new paper puppet! A Victorian tattooed lady paper puppet doll to be exact.
Dame Miss Suzzette is a special lady of Victorian times long ago. With a fondness for the sea and the sands of travel, Suzy knows the best way to show off her tattoos is in her favorite nautical sailor bathing suit!
This paper doll is part of a larger series that includes other Victorian tattoo ladies (and men too!) that I will be making. Suzy is the first of many and pretty much inspired by the photograph below.
The wonderful lady above was a woman called Maud Stevens Wagner. She was one of the first 'tattooed ladies' of her day - basically making a living by being tattooed. These women of their day would show their tattoos off in traveling circuses and curiosity museums (aka dime museums) that were considered entertainment at the time.
Remember, we are talking pre-radio, pre-movies, pre-ladies being able to show their ankles in public. This was also a time were women didn't make their own wage either (let alone vote!). So considering the circumstances of the day, Maud Steven Wagner was one of many few progressive ladies out there! It's a bet most people see photographs of these victorian/early 1900s ladies and the assumption is they were prob just prostitutes! Far from that.
If you'd like to know more about the history of women's tattoos - there is a lovely book called 'The Tattooed Lady' by Amelia Klem Osterud. This book really digs into these women's lives, the roles they countered, and is also filled with some lovely archival photographs / prints too.
Another wonderful book on vintage early 1900s tattoos (mostly for dudes) is "Vintage Tattoos : The Book of Old-School Skin Art" by Carol Clerk.
Anyway, this paper puppet doll has many moving joints and adjustable parts! It can be propped up against other obviously less memorable things, or easily framed. The puppet is approximately 9 x15 inches in size. She is available for sale in both the Etsy Crankbunny shop & the regular Crankbunny store.
Look out also for more ladies! I'm just finishing up all their tattoo work (who would have guessed its so time consuming to tattoo paper dolls!)
