Aug. 24th Doll Collecting at About.com Newsletter

Doll Collecting at About.com Newlsetter Week: August 24th By now, many of the "junior" collectors among us are heading back to school! I think it would be fun to talk about dolls and education, and dolls with back-to-school themes. Ideas, readers? It might be fun to survey doll themed school accessories, doll and character erasers, school houses for dolls, school desks for dolls, and school clothes for dolls. How many of us remember playing school with our dolls and being the teacher? I do, and now, I "play school" in real life! Many doll collectors were educators, so it is fair to dedicate this newsletter to them. Also, fall and Halloween are close, so here are a couple posts on dolls in scary flicks, including "Dangerous Worry Dolls", which slants traditional wool and wire-wrapped dolls from Guatemala with "sinister intent." One reader suggested more posts on our beloved Raggedy Ann, who turns 100 this year, but who inexplicably has inspired a "haunted" doll named Annabelle. Japanese dolls have been the muses of artist Glorie Iaccarino for some time; read her story below. Finally, here are some history bytes on dolls and toys inspired by crime and punishment, meant to teach moral lessons to naughty children. These are notes and comments from some of my other research on capital punishment and popular culture. Finally, a doll mystery; were T. Recknagel doll maker and T. Recknagel artist the same person? Next week, posts on "My Ballerina Dolls", Native American dolls, more German doll makers, American Girls, and more. Ellen Tsagaris Doll Collecting Expert

Doll with a Candy Heart gets a Birthday Cake with 100 Candles!! Raggedy Ann, one of the most beloved dolls of all times, turns 100 this year! Every day I see some indication that Raggedy Ann is as popular and loved as she ever was. Last week, I saw a sign for "Annies", a gambling establishment with a vintage Raggedy Ann as its logo! A Raggedy Ann was a prop in an old episode of "Gun Smoke." She and Raggedy Andy ride a horse in a PBS public message. This is one in a series of stories I am writing about the little doll who gave me, and millions of other children great happiness. READ NOW

Japanese Doll Photos by Glorie Iaccarino Beautiful Japanese Dolls inspire photographs by an artist. The graceful dolls representing characters from the Kabuki Theater are made in Japan by special artists. They were once more plentiful than they are no in the United States, where they often show up as "second hand" items in online auctions, thrift and antique shops, yard sales, and doll shows. A few years ago, the dolls were reproduced faithfully in China, but these dolls are harder to find now, too. Artist and collector Glorie Iaccarino creates beautiful art photos inspired by these lovely, graceful figures. Read more about her. READ NOW

These are NOT your Average worry Dolls Worry dolls take worries away; they aren't supposed to cause them! I'm sure many readers are familiar with these 1 inch beguiling little figures made of bits of cloth and yarn wrapped around wire. They come in tiny boxes or miniature handwoven bags. Some have clay heads. Others may be a couple inches, and some appear as kits where little girls can make them with clothespins and yarn. They are meant to bring good luck and peace of mind. You tell them your worries, and the dolls take away your cares, according to tradition. In this film, worry dolls do just the opposite! READ NOW

Dolls, Toys, and Capital Punishment; Read for More Information Dolls with criminal justice and legal significance and a puzzle for my readers, these are "doll bytes" of a much larger work, which give us a glimpse of what "educational toys" were in the past. With Halloween coming, such toys show up as props and decorations, and some inspire horror flicks. These topics about dolls like this often appear at literature and film conferences, too, creating a whole new category of collectors. Read more. READ NOW

Recknagel; was the artist also the doll maker? Theodor Recknagel made bisque heads, some with googly eyes, and dolls with unusual bodies. They are often a little more expressive than the average "dolly faced' dolls made between 1890 and 1920. At the same time, there was an artist of the same name who painted delicate portraits of children. I'm trying to find out if they were the same man, but there is little biographical information on either. If any of you has information about either the doll maker or artist, please write to me!