Nativities made from paper and cardboard

Although we do not consider cards as part of our collection, we made an exception with this one that Kathy gave us in 2018 since it is dimensional

This and the following pictures are of 4x8 sheets of paper with nativity figures are them. They were printed in the 1940's and intended to be mounted on marine plywood for outdoor display. They were a gift from the Warren Robison family. 

Everything except the wooden stable is made of paper. The art is called quilling. Thin strips of paper are formed into shapes and glued in place. Carole used to do a lot of quilling but never made anything like this nativity. This piece came from the Folklife Festival in Kutztown, PA. The festival features and explores many aspects of the lives, history and customs of  the Amish. We have been going to the festival periodically ever since our girls were little.
Quilling is an ancient art that began soon after Bibles were first published. People would trim off the edges of the pages of the Bibles and roll them into shapes. Many of the Bibles featured gold edged papers.

This piece also came via the Kutztown Folklife Festival in Kutztown, PA. Carole commissioned the artist to make her a nativity and encase it in beveled glass. The paper is hand cut and the art is called scherenschnitte.

This is one a only a few nativities in our collection that are based on a greeting card. It is a stencil  placed in a plastic frame.

This and the next one are sturdy gift boxes that Kathy gave us.