I recently purchased this Early 1870s Man’s card stock weight Paper Collar for study and sharing. It came in an exceptionally nifty full color box, such is often found in 1870s -1880s collars. I’m guessing originally the box would have contained more than one, as these collars are rather fragile. The box has both a color lithographed top picture and a side indicator of size, both pasted on the yellow top of the box.
Despite the splendor of the box, however, the collar is the real treasure. It has an unusually complex folding system for making the shape. I have photographed and scanned it every which way so you can see how it is made, and even reproduce it with cardstock on your own!
The Collar
The pattern of the collar as scanned, both partly folded and completely unfolded:
If Paper collars intrigue you, go to the cool illustrated 6 part scholarly article by Brenton Grom on the Disposable America site entitled Slaves of Fashion, Loafers of Industry: A History of Paper Collars and the Men Who Wore Them which has lots of pictures, incisive comment, research and, conveniently, patent illustrations that also can be used as patterns!
