For the Library: A Literary Shelter for Misfit Dolls

It has been a busy month for doll collecting activities. I had my first obscene nasty spam on my other web museum, called simply, Doll Museum. I marked it spam and deleted it. I can’t stress enough that this is a family blog. We simply are not THAT kind of doll! My thanks to the RI Library Friends. We had a lovely time at lunch, and my program was well-received. I was told the topic, “A Literary Shelter for Misfit Dolls” was a hit. Many of my teachers, neighbors, and professors were there. I received a lovely Peruvian doll, called “The Peruvian Barbie,” a small china doll of Becky Thatcher, and a lovely round doll trunk from the fifties. These were gifts from some very kind people who wanted to show their appreciation. Many people had questions; the men were as interested as the women. I organized the displays around the dolls appearing in the novels of George Eliot, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Anne Rice, and Laura Ingalls Wilder. I talked about one of my favorite web sites, The Shelter for Misfit Dolls. The venue, The First Baptist church, was also the first place I ever gave a talk on dolls. It was 1969, and I was earning my Girl Scout Collectors badge. One doll from that talk made her return engagement; she was a dried apply granny my mother bought for me for Christmas. She was a penny saver advertisement, but from the Amanas, where an elderly woman made apple dolls for years. There were people in the audience who had given me doll and added to my collection over the years, and I thanked them. I was asked to do other programs, which always makes me happy. The museum is, after all, to share, that the dolls may teach and learn. Saturday was our second book signing at The Book Rack, and our third for With Love from Tin Lizzie. We are very grateful to the store who allow us to hold signings.