Of Dollhouses, The Titanic, and Artifacts

My husband led me to a fantastic Victorian doll house yesterday. After we chatted with a great couple who built it, we came home with VanVooren house, or VVV House, as I've dubbed it. It will join my growing neighborhood of doll houses, miniature buildings, shops, and shadowboxes. A Mr. Harold, or Harry? Dirk built some lovely furniture, too. It is fully lighted, which has always been my dream. The tiny bulbs glow cheerfully, and the whole family is enamored of it. It proudly sits on our living room table, and the wonderful doll family has been joined by a couple of cherished dolls from my miniature collection, including a bisque and cloth doll created by my friend, Violet Ellen Page. I dressed her, and made a little wig. She is wearing a black and pink bustle dress, with tiny flowers in her curls. I call her Marchpane, after the doll in Rumer Godden's novel, A Doll's House, but my Marchpane is not homicidal; she is much, much nicer. One of my tiny Badekinder is in the pink porcelain tub, where else? There are little rugs, and gorgeous blue rooms. There is silverware in the tiny drawers, and china and canned goods in the pantry and breakfronts. The living room is red and red velvet, my other favorite color scheme. I have many memories of my Aunt Rose's Victorian red room when I was little and staying at her house before and after school. How I loved the red velvet settee! There is a tower room, and there are many miniature dolls in the nursery, which has a yellow rug. Think, Yellow Wallpaper! This, though, is a happy house. Of course,I added a tiny ghost and one of my litte Xmas trees. There is a little birds nest in the eaves, and a porch swing and picnic table. It is too fanstastic to be believed! It joins, of course, Plantagenet House, built by my dad, also named for Rumer Godden's works, and the Japanese Doll house, and several other cabins, haunted houses, kit houses Dad built, the "apartments" made out of clementine crates, Dunham's Cocoanut House, my tin fiftes/sixties houses, Barbie Houses, Golden Girl Celtic Palace, Bratz rooms, Polly Pocket mini compact houses, Princess castles, Sylvanian Family house, etc.

I have many fond memories of sitting by my Dad's workbench when he was building Plantaganet house. It is painted in a color then called "Chinese Red," and the doors have brass lion knockers and porcelain knobs. Miniatures of all types fascinate me, and my little boy was enjoying explaining to me how this new house might be in HO scale. The doll houses never bore me; like real houses, there is always something to do with them. Mom used to knit and crochet for them, and she made tiny rugs out of my old socks. She was also good at making beds from cardboard boxes and dressing the dolls. We made little quilts together, and I loved making food from Play Dough and salt clay, especially fruits and vegetables. When I was ten, I saw Mott's Miniature Museum for the first time at Knott's Berry Farm. It is no longer there, but it was my special place for many years. I got very inspired, especially by the doll shop, loaded with tiny dolls of all types.

We also saw the exhibit of Titanic artifacts. It was moving, and sad. There is, of course, a doll head still on the ocean's floor, and it is featured in the film. There were many tiny items, and many belonged to those who died. I saved the boarding pass tickets, and my souvenir was a Heart of the Ocean necklace. We have a trunk with white star stickers, and other labels from the sister ships of the line that sailed on WWII ships. I also have dolls of some of the people on it, and a tin sign. I will hang the tickets and necklace with the sign.The best book I read about Titanic, and the most horrific, was Walter Lord's, A Night to Remember. My mother sailed to meet my dad in Europe on the Olympia, another ship by Cunard. Our history is tied to this doomed vessel, it seems. My best friend Greg, had an album with a contemporary photo of its sister ship Olympic in it, too. I wish he were still alive; he would have loved this exhibit.

The museum continues to grow and change while looking for a new and permanent home. I will post photos as they become available. Till next time. Happy dolling.