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

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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

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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!

Monday, April 13, 2020

Guest Blogger; Dr. David Levy on Comets

We an still look to the heavens for hope and inspiration:


Skyward for April 2020.

The Great Comet of 1844, and the Great Comet of 2020?




Just a week before Christmas 1844 (December 19, 1844) a sea captain named  Wilmot discovered a bright comet without using a telescope.  The comet was easily bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye, and remained so throughout January, and then, with a telescope, it could be followed through the end of March.  The comet was as bright as Halley’s comet was, earlier, at its appearance in 1835.  At the time there was some speculation as to whether this comet might have been on a similar orbit to that of the Great Comet of 1556, but George Bond, after having investigated that possibility, ruled it out by concluding the orbits were not similar enough.
          What cannot be ruled out is that the comet of 1844 might have been a large fragment of a much larger, and earlier, comet.  On December 28, 2019, last year, the ATLAS project discovered a very faint comet (ATLAS is an acronym for Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System.) The comet was magnitude 19.6 at the time of its discovery, too faint even for large amateur telescopes. ATLAS used a 0.5-meter (20-inch) diameter telescope near the top of Mauna Loa in Hawaii.
Early in 2020 the ATLAS comet rapidly brightened.  On March 15 I looked at the irregular cigar-shaped galaxy Messier 82.  Just beneath it in the field of view was Messier 81, a large galaxy that is gravitationally interacting with M82.  By themselves, these two galaxies are lovely.  But when I moved the telescope just a little lower,  the comet appeared.  It was easy to see but I was not aware at the time that this was the comet that was brightening so quickly.
          If all goes well, the comet will pass by the Earth on May 23, and then pass perihelion—its closest point to the Sun, about a week later.  If it rivals its earlier cousin, the Comet of 1844, it could be as bright as Jupiter, or maybe even as bright as Venus, being easily visible without any telescope or binoculars. Or it could fizzle.  There have been several comets that were supposed to become bright, like Kohoutek in 1973, Austin in 1990, and ISON in 2012, but either they failed to live up to expectations, or they simply broke apart and vanished. 
          Comets do their own thing, as if they have minds of their own.  I am fond of saying that comets are like cats; they both have tails, and they both do precisely what they want.  Soon we shall see what mood Comet ATLAS is in as it prepares to round the Sun next month.  With some luck, it will remind us of the Great Comets of the nineteenth century that scrawled their filmy signatures across the sky.

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