Children of Japan

Children of Japan
Courtesy, R. John Wright

Hinges and Hearts

Hinges and Hearts
An Exhibit of our Metal Dolls

Tuxedo and Bangles

Tuxedo and Bangles

A History of Metal Dolls

A History of Metal Dolls
Now on Alibris.com and In Print! The First Book of its Kind

Alice, Commemorative Edition

Alice, Commemorative Edition
Courtesy, R. John Wright

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Emma, aka, La Contessa Bathory

Emma, aka, La Contessa Bathory
Her Grace wishes us all a Merry Christmas!

Annabelle

Annabelle

Emma Emmeline

Emma Emmeline
Our New Addition/fond of stuffed toys

Cloth Clown

Cloth Clown

Native American Art

Native American Art

the triplets

the triplets

c. 1969 Greek Plastic Mini Baby

c. 1969 Greek Plastic Mini Baby
Bought Athens on the street

Iron Maiden; Middle Ages

Iron Maiden; Middle Ages

Sand Baby Swirls!

Sand Baby Swirls!
By Glenda Rolle, courtesy, the Artist

Glenda's Logo

Glenda's Logo
Also, a link to her site

Sand Baby Castaway

Sand Baby Castaway
By Glenda Rolle, Courtesy the Artist

A French Friend

A French Friend

Mickey

Mickey
From our friends at The Fennimore Museum

2000+ year old Roman Rag Doll

2000+ year old Roman Rag Doll
British Museum, Child's Tomb

Ancient Egypt Paddle Doll

Ancient Egypt Paddle Doll
Among first "Toys?"

ushabti

ushabti
Egyptian Tomb Doll 18th Dynasty

Ann Parker Doll of Anne Boleyn

Ann Parker Doll of Anne Boleyn

Popular Posts

Tin Head Brother and Sister, a Recent Purchase

Tin Head Brother and Sister, a Recent Purchase
Courtesy, Antique Daughter

Judge Peep

Judge Peep

Hakata Doll Artist at Work

Hakata Doll Artist at Work
From the Museum Collection

Japanese Costume Barbies

Japanese Costume Barbies
Samurai Ken

Etienne

Etienne
A Little Girl

Happy Heart Day

Happy Heart Day

From "Dolls"

From "Dolls"
A Favorite Doll Book

Popular Posts

Jenny Wren

Jenny Wren
Ultimate Doll Restorer

Our Friends at The Fennimore Doll and Toy Museum

Our Friends at The Fennimore Doll and Toy Museum

Baby Boo 1960s

Baby Boo 1960s
Reclaimed and Restored as a childhood Sabrina the Witch with Meow Meow

Dr. E's on Display with sign

Dr. E's on Display with sign

Dolls Restored ad New to the Museum

Dolls Restored ad New to the Museum
L to R: K*R /celluloid head, all bisque Artist Googly, 14 in. vinyl inuit sixties, early celluloid Skookum type.

Two More Rescued Dolls

Two More Rescued Dolls
Late Sixties Vinyl: L to R: Probably Horseman, all vinyl, jointed. New wig. R: Effanbee, probably Muffy, mid sixties. New wig and new clothing on both. About 12 inches high.

Restored Italian Baby Doll

Restored Italian Baby Doll
One of Dr. E's Rescued Residents

Dolls on Display

Dolls on Display
L to R: Nutcrackers, Danish Troll, HItty and her book, Patent Washable, Mechanical Minstrel, Creche figure, M. Alexander Swiss. Center is a German mechanical bear on the piano. Background is a bisque German costume doll.

A Few Friends

A Few Friends
These dolls are Old German and Nutcrackers from Dr. E's Museum. They are on loan to another local museum for the holidays.

Vintage Collage

Vintage Collage
Public Domain Art

The Merry Wanderer

The Merry Wanderer
Courtesy R. John Wright, The Hummel Collection

The Fennimore Doll Museum

The Fennimore Doll Museum

Robert

Robert
A Haunted Doll with a Story

Halloween Dolls Displayed in a Local Library

Halloween Dolls Displayed in a Local Library

The Cody Jumeau

The Cody Jumeau
Long-faced or Jumeau Triste

German Princesses

German Princesses
GAHC 2005

A Little PowerRanger

A Little PowerRanger
Halloween 2004

The Island of the Dolls

The Island of the Dolls
Shrine to Dolls in Mexico

Based on the Nutshell Series of Death

Based on the Nutshell Series of Death
Doll House murder

Popular Posts

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A lovely dress

A lovely dress

Raggedy Ann

Raggedy Ann
A few friends in cloth!

Fennimore Doll and Toy Museum, WI

Fennimore Doll and Toy Museum, WI
Pixar Animator's Collection

Little PM sisters

Little PM sisters
Recent eBay finds

Dressed Mexican Fleas

Dressed Mexican Fleas

Really old Dolls!

Really old Dolls!

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Another Shirley Auction Plus Automatons, Courtesy Theriault's The Doll Masters


SATURDAY AUCTION: November 21
The Memory Of All That — An Important Auction of Fine Antique Dolls and Automata
Its pose, the lilt of its head, its costume, its saucy perching of a hat - these memory images of each doll that touches our heart stay with us forever. Yes, the memory of all that. Even better, bringing home the doll, itself.



Very special dolls await you at Theriault’s November catalog of antique dolls featuring selections from private collections including Mary Krombholz of Ohio, superb dolls and automata from private French estates, very fine maitrise quality doll furnishings, and with inspiration drawn from a private California collection of early/mid-20th century couturier lady hats which are also included in the auction.



SUNDAY AUCTION: November 22
Love, Shirley Temple, Take Two: More From Her Personal Archives
More film and personal costumes, ephemera, memorabilia, scripts, photographs, scrapbooks, dolls and fine jewelry from 1940 on, and concluding with her 1958 re-emergence in the NBC TV Storybook series.



Each object carries a certificate of authenticity from the family trust. Each of the more than 400 items is photographed and described with historical references in the lavish hardbound book that accompanies the auction.


October Week About.com Doll Collecting Newsletter! Boo!


Newsletter for Halloween Week 2015!
Boo to all Bebes! There seems to be no end to dolls in the news this week.  Blythe-Con recently wrapped up, and Antique Doll Collector Magazine featured many doll shows and auctions in its listings, published in the November 2015 issue.  McDonald's is offering "The Minions" on its Halloween Pails, a tradition, and will release Peanuts Happy Meal Toys. New dolls are everywhere; Iris Clops joins Monster High,while American Girl will retire Grace. Madame Alexander has introduced Pixie Doodles, 9 inch Fairies with dresses you can color with Crayloa crayons.  Another Shirley Temple Auction is approaching, hence an update of our tribute to her. Here, also, are another installment of "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" and dolls, as well as the selected bibliography for doll scholars. Finally, here is an update of a profile of our talented and generous friend, paper doll artist Stephanie Hammonds. Next week, more posts on dolls in TV drama, on interesting others in collecting dolls, and much more!
Ellen Tsagaris
Doll Collecting Expert
Shirleys favorite odll
An Update to an Elegy for a Beloved Star; For Shirley  
Another auction of Shirley Temple Memorabilia is coming up November 22nd; here is an updated tribute to the star.
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Halloween Candicorn doll
Puritan Poppets, Cornhusk Dolls, and Magic  
Here are the references for the posts on Witch of Blackbird Pond; many are books with references to dolls, toys, and games.
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Amelia-Caroline-1.JPG
A Paper Doll Artists who is a Renaissance Woman and is Keene!  
Paper doll artist, writer, teacher, doll collector, tekkie, Renaissance Woman; here is an update on our friend, Stephanie Hammonds, showcasing her work on Katy Keene.
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Pilgrim
The Witch of Blackbird Pond and Dolls; IV  
Our study of dolls, toys, and games in an award winning children's novel set in 17th c. New England continues.

Which to Keep?



Which to Keep?

“Do not be afraid to weed your collection” admonished Doll Guru of Gurus, the late John Noble in his classic “Dolls”, which happened to be my first book on the subject.   My mom bought it for me when I was 7.



I was horrified at the thought.  At age 7, it was hard enough to be able to get dolls to add the collection I officially started at age 3, let alone get rid of them!




But, over the years, I did give dolls away, many of them.   My ne’er do well cousin in Greece managed to talk my mother out of two after we visited there; then her mother complained that they had to pay taxes on them.  “Then they can send them, back!” was my answer.  The offer still stands, by the way.


Now, I buy dolls to donate for good causes, and will occasionally make one as a gift, but I don’t weed, and I have never sold a doll, and unless I have to, probably never will.

I’ve slowed down considerably over the years, after all, one can’t have everything.  But were I forced to start shedding dolls, I wouldn’t know where to start.  Which to keep?   My goal is a brick and mortar museum that will cover the history of dolls, and with it, a good deal of human history.   It is precisely that dolls are ephemeral that I feel they should be preserved.  I love the staggering variety of my dolls, from the tiny Ushabti and rice Kokeshi dolls, to the 8 ft pirate for Halloween, and everything in between.  It took years to find just a few French bisques, and some of the automatons were mine by sheer luck.  The dolls that my mother and family bought?  Nonnegotiable.  They stay.  Same for the dolls my dad brought from trips, and the ones that my uncle brought from Korea and Japan and later gave to me.




I could probably fill the drawers of a good sized bureau with Frozen Charlottes and penny dolls, and several file cabinets with paper dolls and paper doll books.  Yet, no two are alike, and each has a story and a reason for being in the collection.  Don’t even think the “H” word; we don’t believe in such heresies here.




Crowded and cluttered we may be some time, but messy and dirty we are not. As that great collector who inspired me, the late Lenon Hoyte said in “Who won Second Place in Omaha?”  “clutter is clutter and a mess is a mess.”



It’s a worthwhile full time job to manage such a big collection, but it’s rewarding, too.  Now, when even holidays are denied me, and I can’t decorate for lack of time, I can steal down to my storage places and look through the ornaments labeled “Halloween” and “Christmas,” “Thanksgiving” and “Easter”, and by looking at the holiday dolls relive happier times.



Which to keep?  All of them.  We’ll manage, and we’ll have that museum.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Antique Doll Collector Magazine: November Sneak Peek! Updated

Antique Doll Collector Magazine: November Sneak Peek!:   Readers will be delighted to see that Chiffonnette graces our cover this month. In her article Sylvia MacNeil, whose patterns and s...

Antique Doll Collector Magazine: November Sneak Peek! Update

Antique Doll Collector Magazine: November Sneak Peek!:   Readers will be delighted to see that Chiffonnette graces our cover this month. In her article Sylvia MacNeil, whose patterns and s...

About.com Newsletter; Free

Very Uncanny; Nutcracker Maker Files Bankruptcy
Truly, frost was on the pumpkin this week. We covered our plants Friday night, including a pumpkin vine I grew from seed. Leaves are falling, and I've pressed one red leaf in my copy of James Patterson's "Kill Alex Cross." Falling leaves mean the West Central Illinois Doll Club's annual field trip to Gigi's Dolls and Sherry's Teddy Bear. Sadly, Steinbach recently announced that after 200 years, they would file bankruptcy.  We will truly miss the beloved maker who made the figures that inspired Hoffman, and later Freud.  This year, Lestat by Crees and Coe came home with me. Last week's trip through the Spoon River Scenic drive yielded even more treasures. Theriault's Matter of Circumstance Auction takes place Monday. If there were ever a better time to be a doll collector, please let me know!!
Ellen Tsagaris
Doll Collecting Expert
Nutcrackers
Very Uncanny  
Dolls that are too realistic often attract attention from the scientific, medical, and psychological communities.
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A Renowned Scholar Publishes Postive Doll Book  
Review of an early doll book by G. Stanley Hall, student of William James and first person to receive a PhD in psychology in America.
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Ravyn
Dolls and Disobedience  
Dolls in "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" and Puritan Culture. Children in 17th century American lived lives dictated by discipline and restraint, not whimsy and imagination.
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Patti Playpal
Patti Playpal; still Playing Patticake after all these Years!  
We are taking another look at a beloved doll of the late 50s and early 60s.  Thanks to our reader Terri Lee for recommending this post.
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Lucy Gets A Paris Gown
Dolls in Sitcoms: Bebes in TV Land  
Read about how dolls infiltrate their way into your favorite past and current sitcoms.
READ

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Doll Museum: Oct. 12th Free Newsletter

Doll Museum: Oct. 12th Free Newsletter: Newsletter for October 12th ...

The Girl in the Spider's Web and Artifical Intelligence

If you love AI and automatons, or any mechanical dolls, you will like David Lagerkrantz's  continuation of Stieg Larssen's Millenium series featuring Lisbeth Salander. A scientist developing revolutionary  artificial intelligence projects is at the heart of this thriller, which makes other allusions to dolls.

Many doll events going on, a lot of new dolls on the shelves.  Read me also at collectdolls.about.com, and Happy Collecting.  Here is a Mummy girl, dressed in vintage lace that I created.  I bought the mummy at Marshall's.


Doll Museum: Oct. 12th Free Newsletter

Doll Museum: Oct. 12th Free Newsletter: Newsletter for October 12th ...