Huguette Clark's $2 million doll collection from the bestselling book "E...

3D Stereoscopic Photographs of Christmas in the Victorian Era (1889-1902)

Dolls, Hibachi, Assault, and Squirt Bottles; This one if PG-13!

Here is something to ponder the next time you are enjoying your eel and avocado roll; a restaurant Hibachi chef in Murfreesboro,TN is  in trouble for sexual assault; he use the little doll that doubles as a squirt bottle to squirt a male customer while preparing the man's meal on a Hibachi grill.  Did I mention the little doll was a little boy, and he squirted water from his dolly peepee?


I have fond memories of this town; they antique malls were to die for, including one that featured GWTHW memorabilia.  I found the body to one of my Minerva tin heads there, a doll pictured in my book "With Love from Tin Lizzie; A History of Metal Heads . . . "  I attended a doll show there, and found a wonderful black papier mache nun from Kimport, and missed out on a Famlee doll with two heads;I still regret that one!  We ate a terrific Greek restaurant there, but I love sushi and all things Japanese cuisine, art, and doll.


We have those little boy squirt bottles at our own Osaka steak house, my favorite restaurant.  No one has even complained, or been threatened by the little plastic doll.  In fact, I'm trying to find one to add to my collection.


So, does the doll get arrested?  The chef?  In my other life as a professor of criminal justice and legal studies, we address many definitions of assault, and I don't mean to trivialize any of them.  Kids, log off this blog, now, I'm going to include something adult. Here is one from the US Department of Justice: "Sexual assault is any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape." (https://www.justice.gov/ovw/sexual-assault).  I'm pretty sure they all involve live people, unless a deadly weapon is involved. Let me channel my favorite criminal law prof, Professor Josie G.?  What do you think.  I now want to get on LEXIS and research cases involving dolls as deadly weapons. 


Just last night, I was discussing a post I did for the now defunct doll site on About.com Doll Collecting called "Free the Talega 11!" where a gated San Clemente community freaked out because one of its residents left lovely dolls on the porches of her neighbors as gifts. The officer in charge of the investigation talked about taking dolls into custody.  Really?  Hmmm. Something else to  ponder.


To understand this case further, perhaps we need to reread Prof. Erica Rand's book, "Barbie's Gay Accessory", which scandalized me at first, but which I read after my friend, author, collector, curator, the late Mary Hillier, suggested I should read it and anything else pertaining to dolls that I could, especially if I wanted to research them and write.


Wee Pee the Wee Wee Squirting Boy, public domain image.  Available online.


As for me, I have to say no one rivals Japan for its rich and continuing history involving all types of dolls, masks, statues, and figurines.  Everything from ancient clay figures to paper dolls, Hina figures, Ningyo, Kokeshi, Hakata, Karakuri, Noh masks, Bunraku puppets, occupied Japan items, wind up toys, Morimura Bros. dolls, manga figures, Takara Barbie, and more has contributed to the dialog and culture of doll collecting.  I salute and honor them.


I think this little squirt doll is made in China, but no matter.  It was used in a sushi house.  Dolls as kitchen utensils are a whole other fun category.  I see new ones all the time, and try to buy a few here and there.  Max von Boehn wrote about them in his seminal work Dolls, Dover Books, transl. Josephine Nichols. I highly recommend the book.


As for me, I'm going find that little squirt bottle guy.  Anatomically correct dolls don't bother me; they are part of doll history. No one is bothered by him at our restaurants.  I did have an interesting discussion involving sushi the other day.  One of my colleagues, a young woman who was also my student in literature class, told me that our former custodian had an interesting conversation with her about her sushi lunch.  He caught her in our teachers' lounge, and enlightened her to the fact that all "ladies" smell like fish.  I know, don't go there.  He is no longer with us, but yesterday, I spilled canned salmon on my favorite black taffeta skirt.  Hmmmmm!

New Barbie Cosmetics for Grown-ups!

There they were at a local Walgreen's.  Nail polish, tiny mirrors, make up bags, make up kits of eye shadow, some attractively packaged in boxes that looked like books.  All were signature pin, with man sporting the portrait of the 1959 No. 1 Barbie.  Almost all have some kind of black and white striped packaging.  Great stuff, part of the Disney Princesses and Wonder Woman line of cosmetic products, I think.  I'll have to tell you the manufacturer later, but they were shelved with Jordana brands. Maybe Elf? Just Fab!  This makes the Barbie mouthwash and bandaids pale in comparison.  did I mention Barbie false eyelashes, too?  The Blonde One may be resurrecting a trend!

The Dolls of Autumn

I belong to a Facebook Group titled “For the Love of Fall and Halloween.”  That says it all.  We love, love autumn.  We countdown the days to Halloween, and share our collections of Halloween decorations and autumn leaves.  It is inevitable that the dolls and figurines of the season also frequently appear.  I love the season because of the memories it evokes.  When I started school, it always seemed to get cooler much faster than it does now.  Fall meant apples and new school books, new clothes, new friends, and new classes.  My mother would be sewing my Halloween costume, and we would be planting mums in different colors.

 

Autumn meant caramel apples and The Spoon River Scenic drive.  It meant leaf collecting, and handmade ink blocks to make our own leaf designs and stencils.  Fall fashion meant new sweaters and boots, plans for Thanksgiving, and cool, crisp nights.

 

We got out the blow mold ghosts and masks we loved to decorate with, and took out my cutouts for our window.  Some were vintage examples, scarred with ancient scotch tape but still beloved.  Others, equally loved were now faded, collage projects of construction paper, poster paint and old magazines.  My favorite decoration along these lines was a Halloween poster the local 7^th graders made for Bell’s Auto.  The grim reaper, hooded and draped with real material, reached out a hand made of chicken bones! The effect was truly eerie!  I wish I’d had Instagram in those days!

 

My collection of witch dolls, some from Salem came out, along with my Crypt Keepers.  Even our doll houses had ghosts. One Tootsie Pop ghost wrapped in Kleenex was a gift in grade school from a little friend named Joanie. It still haunts the doll house.  Others are was novelty candles.  Beanie Baby ghosts and other Halloween plush share room with vintage pumpkin lanterns and hard plastic figurines.

 

On Halloween night, after we decorated with gourds and as many jack o’ lanterns as we could carve; my dad took me and my friends trick-or-treating.

 

The next day, sugar skulls and assorted skeletons and Calaveras decorated the house for The Day of the Dead, an important holiday to my mom and me; we both taught Spanish.

 

By the time “The Nightmare before Christmas” came out, I was in Halloween Heaven! I also recommend Ray Bradbury’s The Halloween Tree and the Bradbury narrated animated film of the same title.

 

At Thanksgiving, my Pilgrims and Native American dolls decorated our table along with turkey statues and chicken candles.  We hardly had room to eat!

 

In memory of those wonderful days, and of my family that made them so good, I share with you some of the fall dolls and collectibles from my collection.  Turn out the lights, plug in the blow mold décor, switch on the led candles and turn up the air conditioning so you can cuddle up under your favorite blanket as you enjoy this tour of autumn dolls, toys, and collectibles.

Courtesy, Headless Historicals and Shiva Rodriguez

Courtesy, Anja of Etsy

Tonner’s Nod to Norse Myth

As a young child, I became fascinated with mythology.  On long car trips to California, I read Edith Hamilton’s book Mythology over and over again.  I later discovered Bullfinch’s Mythology, D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths, whole libraries on Celtic myth, Robert Graves, Joseph Campbell, African myth and legends, and so much more.  The Norse gods, fierce with their swords and helmets, were especially thrilling.  Who wouldn’t thrill in fear at the evil Loki’s deeds, or cry at the tragic death of the hero Balder.  Frigga, the great goddess, was the original Snow Queen for me.  Step aside, Elsa!  A little girl who was my good friend in grade school and I loved her.  She was Norwegian.  We acted out little plays involving her.

Courtesy, Tonner.com

By the time I was in fourth grade, I had seen the film “The Vikings” with Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis [who had a few dolls of his own], and Ernest Borgnine Soon after, there was a television series, also “The Vikings.”  I ended up going to a small college whose mascot was, what else, a Viking.  I discovered the novel Tara’s Song there and Sigrid Undset’s The Snake Pit. Leif Eriksson also touched ground not that far from us in what is now part of Minnesota.  Of course, we studied Hamlet, aka, Prince of Denmark, and Norsemen played a role in that play, too.  I guess I had Vikings and Norse men and women in my destiny. I know I loved collecting Viking figures and dolls, including some wooden carved examples from Sweden, and one grizzled old warrior with a dried apple face. I even had a helmet for a woman with long braids, more Brunhilde than Viking, but still popular. 

So, just imagine how pleased I was to see the latest addition to the Déjà vu collection from Tonner, which features wonderful figures straight from the Norse myths. Birla is one of these amazing figures.  Her costume is magnificent and she carries her own sword like many warrior women of old.  According to Tonner, Birla’s “leather pants, fur shawl, and fur boots were a reflection of her Pagan beliefs and the gods of nature she worshipped.” (Tonner.com)

Birla’s hair is long and brown, in reminiscent of another long haired warrior woman who was also Queen of the Iceni Tribe in Britain, Boadicea, aka, Boudicca. Birla’s lovely face has hand painted details; her head is sculpted in the Déjà vu female head sculpt.  Her painted eyes are light blue. Her brown hair is rooted and she has the 16 inch  Déjà vu body. Her outfit consists of a “Pants bodysuit featuring ivory muslin bodice with tan textured faux leather back, brown breastplate with gold highlights, tan faux leather textured pants and tan linen attached skirt.” (Tonner).  Birla has wonderful accessories including a faux leather belt with faux fur decoration and a “gold buckle.”  She wears a “gold” chain and hand with claws, brown faux fur and suede boots, and has a sword and stand.

There are also a male Viking and another female.  You can see these and all the other Tonner dolls and more at their website.

Some Teaching, Writing, Legal Research Experience including courses on Dolls

Partial Listing for Early 2000s; see also my LinkedIn Profile.  I am available for Free Lance Writing, Professional Blogging, Editing, Fiction/Nonfiction. Seeking a LiteraryAgent.  See also my work on Amazon.com Author's Page, Goodreads Author page and 918 Studio.

Work History and Teaching Experience

TEACHING

Board of Directors, Comm University, in conjunction with St. Ambrose University, Davenport, IA. Taught in Comm U, "The Doll as Other," a humanities course.

Quest College

3/2000-4/2000             General Education Program Coordinator. On-Line Legal Writing instruction. Teaching Spanish, English, Shakespeare, History of English Language,  and Literature. Supervise faculty in my department, prepare and write materials for NCA visit, work on scheduling.  General Education and Criminal Justice Advisory Boards. Created Developmental Center. Substitute teacher Small Business Management, E-Commerce Development, English, Management Courses.

           

Illinois State Board of Education Approval Received to Teach the Following Courses at Kaplan:

·         MT 310 Ethics and the Legal Environment (Helped Develop Class and Syllabus)

·         MA 208 Medical Law and Ethics

·         MT 211 Business Law (Developed Syllabus and helped Make Course a Prerequisite for other Courses)

·         HU 245 Ethics

·         CM 240 Technical Writing

·         CR 136 Legal Terminology

·         HM 117 Hospitality Law

·         All communication classes including Business Communications

·         Served routinely as a substitute teacher and wrote lesson plans, etc., for E-Commerce Course and Small Business Management.

·         All writing , literature, and humanities courses

·         All courses in criminal justice and paralegal programs

Marycrest International

University

9/99-5/00                     Instructor Ways of Knowing Symposium, Team Teaching Written Communications and Political Science. Compiled course materials and textbook.

Black Hawk College

Spring 1986

1998-2000                    Associate Professor Law, English, ESL Legal Writing and Research I and Administrative Law, Freshman Rhetoric, Introduction to Literature, Communications, Introduction to Short Fiction, Spanish: Intermediate Listening and Conversation, Faculty Institute on Japan (Grant from Columbia University), Teachers' Technology Tool Box (WebCT, PowerPoint, FrontPage, WebBoard), Journalism (1986, 1998-present), committee work, participated annual BHC English Conference, participant mini conferences service learning and distance learning,  conducted and completed survey of Paralegal Programs in the Area for Legal Assistants Program at BHC, developed courses for distance learning as well as study guides for Legal Writing and Research I and Administrative Law.

March 1999                Saturday Serendipity Program - Moline, IL Council for the Gifted

Commonwealth

Business College                 Adjunct Instructor Business Law and Legal Writing and Research II

AIC Junior College

(Now Kaplan College)          Instructor Business Law (spring 1998)

Southern Illinois

University                   Graduate Assistant English Composition 101, 102, Introduction to Literature, Honors Composition, Writing Center Tutor (1991-95)

Augustana College

(1980-82, 1986-88)     Adjunct Instructor Freshman Rhetoric and Writing Center Tutor

           

University of Iowa     Research Assistant College of Law (1983-85)

Eugene Field School  Secondary Hours in Education/with Augustana College (Spring 1980)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

1986-Present       Legal Writing, Research, Advocacy for various law firms in Iowa, California, and Illinois, primarily on a free lance basis.  Among my duties, advocate for Social Security clients, advocate for Employment Discrimination clients, drafting contracts, drafting briefs, motions, memoranda, and appeals.  Compiled a probate manual for office use.  Also, Legal Research, Civil and Criminal Departments, paid internship, 1989-90, Santa Clara County Superior Court, San Jose.  Wrote bench memos, appeals, coordinated Discovery Calendar. Experience with empirical legal studies and in Death Penalty Litigation, Administrative Duties in both departments, other criminal law, Iowa and California, moot court and client counseling. Researched Civil, Criminal, International, and Federal Law.

GRANT EXPERIENCE

Humanities Evaluator for October 2001 Poem/Art Odyssey Project, a Humanities Iowa Grant Project, Faye Clow, Director.  September 2001, presented program, filmed by local Cinema Club with PBS/Cable affiliations, German Dolls and Immigration, German American Heritage Center, Davenport, IA, Dr. Michael Hustedde Coordinator.

What Shirley Temple Means to Doll Collectors | Ruby Lane Blog

What Shirley Temple Means to Doll Collectors | Ruby Lane Blog

20th and 21st Centuries; Gallery of Dolls from Spain

I was in Spain many years ago; it was my second trip.  I was there to go to school for the summer at Nuestra Senora de Africa, Universidad Complutense.  Enjoy the pics of dolls from Spanish Speaking Countries, or that are influenced by Spanish Heritage.

Pokémon Go

Pokémon Go

Public Domain Image

 

Among my many doll and toy artifacts that make up Dr. E’s Doll Museum are several Pokémon items, stuffed animals, dolls, and sets of cards.  As early as 1998, my students were writing research papers on Pokémon cards and characters.  It is a complicated culture, and the characters have a complicated history.  I won’t pretend to be an expert, and I refer my readers just this once to a great Wikipedia article on the latest trend, the game Pokémon Go for more.  This article explains a lot of the detail and is current, and cites over 60 sources with links.  There are also official sties and web pages for Pokémon Go.

 

I’m sure the Strong National Museum of Play has already added to its library and archives all kinds of resources for this wildly popular game.  A lot of concerns have surfaced, too, as they always do. These include people trespassing, looking at their phones and walking into traffic or walls, players skipping work and school to play, kids breaking curfew, etc.  Positives include positive effects for those with depression and or mental health issues, encouraging exercise, teaches map reading and directional skills [I could use those!] getting young people up and out into the fresh air.

 

Games and their origins go hand in hand with a study of dolls and toys, so I’m interested.  I also have a 17 year old at home who is just crazy about the game.  It involves creativity, since players must develop their own Avatar.  Years ago, my son Mitch created an Avatar for me for WII games.  To his credit, he made my Avatar skinny, with long brown hair and glasses.  She looks more as I did when I was 14, but hey, who’s counting years?  In my heart, I’ll probably always be between 12-14 anyway. J

 

In countries like China and Korea where the original App to download the game is prohibited or not available, players have devised ingenious ways to play so that they aren’t left out.  I suppose their efforts testify to the fact that collectors/gamers/IT geeks/toy enthusiasts, etc., are resourceful and persistent.  More of us should run companies, if not the world.  I’m just saying. J

 

 

 

 

 

Museo de la muñeca del Dr. E: Cómo y por qué Theriault conserva colecciones de l...

Museo de la muñeca del Dr. E: Cómo y por qué Theriault conserva colecciones de l...: Cómo y por qué Theriault conserva colecciones de la muñeca; Tal vez deberíamos llamar ellos la muñeca de los historiadores, demasiado  ...

How and Why Theriault’s Preserves Doll Collections; Maybe we should call them The Doll Historians, Too. In Memory of David Frolich

How and Why Theriault’s Preserves Doll Collections; Maybe we should call them The Doll Historians, Too

 

In Memory of David Frolich of Dollspart

 

We at Doll Museum and Dr. E’s Doll Museum would like to extend our sympathy to Barbara and her family on the loss of her husband, David Frolich.  In his honor, we offer this blog as a kudos to Theriault’s, the Doll Masters for helping to disseminate and preserve doll history.

Jimmy, Shirley

 

 

How does Theriault’s preserve doll history? After all, they sell doll collections to new owners.  They do it through their beautiful catalogs.  This thought occurred to me when I was gathering some Shirley Temple and Hollywood items for a local exhibit.  Their “Love, Shirley Temple” catalog preserves for posterity the stories, photos, and other memorabilia of Shirley Temple’s legendary collection.  While the actual dolls and artifacts have found new homes throughout the world, the collection in its entirely exists among the pages of the beautiful catalog.  So, too, the famous vignette videos teach about the beautiful dolls, but also preserve them and their histories.  They form a visual and virtual library on YouTube and elsewhere for doll enthusiasts of the future.

 

The same is true of the other fantastic catalogs from “The Great Man’s Doll” which featured a doll Victor Hugo bought and Anne Rice’s amazing doll collection, to the many catalogs of museum collections that were auctioned, but which still exist in book form for those who want to study them.

 

Page from a Theriault’s Catalog.  Courtesy, Theriault’s.

 

I suppose I think of myself as a doll author/curator first, and collector a very close second, but I am very grateful that these catalogs exist, and that I can locate a historical doll and her history when I want to research her.

 

If they weren’t in the business of auctioning dolls, I’d want Theriault’s to publish exclusively their wonderful catalogs and books on every type of doll that ever existed!  For their good work in doll history, I personally thank them.

 

Papier Mache Peddler, Courtesy Theriault’s.