“The dolls had been having their afternoon nap, but they were awake now, and Bertha said she heard them crying; so the little girls left off playing “Hide and Seek,” and went back to the nursery. Here Mary taught her doll to walk, leading her by the hand, and pretending they were out in the green fields; while Bertha tossed her child in the air – “the higher the better” – and made such a merry noise, laughing and talking to her, that if Dolly was not amused, it must have been her own fault.”

This adorable vintage engraving of two little girls playing with their dolls is from Little Folks and Little Friends by Oscar Pletsch, circa 1880.

Click on image to enlarge.