Scenes from American Doll and Toy Museum's Progress

 We are still at it; making plans to move the rest of our cases and rearrange what we have. Beginning to cut lumber for the cases to be enclosed in glass.  Also, began landscaping with lovely black mulch and blooming flowers.

After six weeks of being ill and out of commission, I am bouncing back, and have attended and set up at our first doll show of the year.  Still need donations; we have many expenses and can't open to the public yet.  Building maintenance is expensive, and coming out of my pocket.

Thinking outside the Doll House, a Memoir is selling well.  It is available on Booktopia, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Austin Macaulay.  There are three formats; eBook is around 4.50.

Enjoy the pictures, and Happy Collecting!

Doll Show Set UP

Book at the Show

Custom Decorated Hats

German Bisque, before 1890, gift of K. Stineman

Vintage Dolls from India, Gigi's Dolls and Sherry's Teddy Bears

Art doll from 70s

Crissy and Friends, gifts of L. Christopher

Scene from my shadow box, The Vampyre Doll Collector

Molded Cloth Art Doll

Puppet Shows, soon, courtesy Dr. J. Milani and Rock Island Public Library

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Large Custom Hat for large dolls, bears . . . or people

RBG with part of our law books

Part of our Ancient Doll Display

Fayzah Spanos from my doll club colleague, Mary Sullivan

Landscaping

Our Building

Panorama View; these will be behind glass

30 inch Heubach; my mother knitted her jacket.  From Dick Taber, Summer Kitchen Antiques

Spanning Generations; Flat Top China, gift of K. Stineman. Mini Tonka trucks in background

Old Clock case diorama with small antique German and Japanese dolls.

Courtesy, Nancy Macray.

Dome with antique Japanese dolls, courtesy Nancy Macray.

April 2021 Skyward by Dr. David Levy

 From our guest blogger, Dr. David Levy; sorry for the delay in posts on all my blogs.  I have been very ill, but am recovering.

Skyward for April 2021

 

by

 

David H. Levy

 

US Capitol, May 1975, by Dr. David Levy

 January 6, 2021

           Just one day after the Earth passed its closest point to the Sun in its orbit, its perihelion, the American Astronomical Society was having its annual meeting online, the United States Congress was validating the results of the 2020 national election, and Wendee and I were settling in for a civics lesson about the way the United States Government works.  The day did not turn out that way.

          Shortly before noon, on our television set a news ticker appeared.  It announced that two buildings in Library of Congress (LC), the James Madison, and quickly afterwards the Adams and Jefferson buildings, were being evacuated. That news sent a chill through me.   The LC is one of the finest libraries in the entire world. It contains more than 170 million books, of which more than thirty are books I wrote entirely or at least a foreword.  It also includes all of the more than two hundred  “Star Trails” columns I wrote for Sky and Telescope magazine between 1988 and 2008, and dozens more I wrote for other magazines and journals.  Only the British library, with over 200 million books, is larger than the Library of Congress. 

          This event was personal for me.  A few minutes later, when the entire Capitol complex was stormed, it was personal for all of us.  All of us had reactions to this, but in addition to the feelings I shared with most of you, I had an additional feeling– specifically about the library.

          How many books does it take to make a library? When I was a child in 1963, a teacher gave the best answer I’ve ever heard: “two books.” For me, a library– any library– is every bit as priceless as a dark sky.  The wisdom of the ages is contained in each library- from the LC to a child’s collection. I have never gone into a library without feeling better when I exited.  The idea that this magnificent collection was threatened that day was terrifying.

          I have read many books over my lifetime, from The Cat in the Hat to my boxed set of Lord of the the Rings.  One small treasure,  Jene Lyon’s Golden book Our Sun and the Worlds Around It, began a lifetime of stargazing.    That gem, by the way, also lives in the LC.  What is more, I have never encountered a really bad book.  When an author places her or his thoughts on paper in a book, that book immortalizes those thoughts.

          I hope that Capitol Hill and the Library of Congress are never threatened again.  They belong to we the people, and stand beautifully in Washington, D.C. to govern us, teach us, and encourage us to follow our dreams and reach for the stars.