Alfred Hitchcock and Dolls, Puppets

Episode tonight was about a ventriloquist dummy, Mme. Riczincska, inhabited by the spirit of a real woman. Claud Raines created her, and fell in love with her to replace his lost assistant. Later, Hitchcock said that he was once part of a vadueville puppet troupe, hence is theme, Gounoud's "Funeral March of the Marionette!?"

Over 15,000!

Thank you to the 15, 109 wonderful people who have viewed this blog. I hope to keep it up for a very long time, and I love working on this and my other blogs!

A Search for Dolls of Color

For this and our Doll Museum blog, I am interested in information about African dolls and Dolls of Color. Perkins books are excellent sources, as are a site once called "Me Dolls." Also, if the author of the website "Lee's Cheap Doll Collection" is launching her website again, please contact us!

Best of Luck to Roalie Whyel, who has been so kind to us. Also, if The Little Dead Gyrl of the Shelter for Misfit dolls is out there, please give us a sign! Love to our friends at The Haunted Doll Museum and Skellington Manor. More later!

Our Undying Admiration to Rivertown Creative and Taking Inventory

Sara, you are wonderful! To Sara and Doecker of Rivertown Creative for doing such a wonderful job with our metal doll book, and also for being the custodian of our files and finidng/returning all our quirkly research. This leads me to the post for the day; taking and keeping inventory.

I keep my inventory materials, doll counts, certain photos, certificates, receipts, particular articles, rare postcards, and osme paper dolls in a large 3-ring binder, now about to become two since it is so unweildy. I will put back the photos used for the metal doll/automaton book. I also keep rare articles in it, including one on Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller written in 1902 by John Macy, Annie's husband. I have a wonderful artists rendition of Helen and Annie at the pump, as well as several books/paper dolls, etc. Keller also liked dolls, and they figured into her education.

I am taking photos of the dolls that have been moved, even in their boxes. These will be labelled with locations and summary of contents. Even Dad isn't laughing at me. It is harder and harder for us to find collectibles insurance, but keeping a record like this in a safe place, albeit informal, helps. It is time it were updated.

There are other binders and notebooks, for the museum, of paper dolls, of subjects like Tasha Tudor, Margaret Woodbury Strong, etc. I keep them separate for now, but will soon move them to be with the "grand inventory." My husband is working on a computer database, too, but I don't pu all my eggs in one basket. One ever knows. I think moving dolls is what is really deadly; I used to know where ALL of them were. Now, I haveto hink hard and hunt.

Also, I learned to keep museum exhibits together once they were packed away and taken home. I can reproduce the exhibit this way till storage is not a problem, and the artifacts stay organized. Cabinets of Curiosities and In Flagrante Collecto got me thinking this way. It is much easier to keep track of the dolls and what goes with them. I also try to keep miniatures and doll house materials together.

My husband is the photographer; I use polaroids and film cameras. These prints can be put on disk and enlarged. I also group all my doll books and reference books on related subjects together as much as I can.

I would love a whole wall of an electronic flow chart like Maharet's when possible; till now, well, I certainly manage. A good memory doesn't hurt, either.

Doll Museum

Here is our chronological history of dolls, illustrated. I just posted photos of Celtic sculputures and graphics in honor of St. Pat's. http://dollmusem.blogspot.com/

Please look; we have over 2000 viewers and two followers.

Automatons, Hugo and Cabinets of Curiosities

Here is a great link for automatons: http://www.worldsstrangest.com/drb/amazing-automatons-ancient-robots-victorian-androids/

Welcome to my new follower! We hope you find our museum entertaining. We have other blogs that mention dolls, too, including one called Doll Museum, a chronological history of dolls dating from the Stone Age.

I am back. Combination of bad hand and a bad flu that no flu shot apparently can quell. I almost think it was the plague.

I am reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and just saw Hugo. I also bought the movie companion, also by Brian Selznick. Since I wrote my book on metal doll and automatons, and my doll bibliography, I have found many good sources for androids and mechanical figures. I will have to think about second editions, soon. Here are some photos of automatons that write, including the original Maillardet writing figure that Hugo is based on, in part. There are also figures by Jaquet-Droz. I am glad they have a home at The Franklin Institute. I saw them first in Clara Hallard Fawcett's 1964 classic, Dolls, a New Guide for Collectors.

There is also the automaton made for Marie Antoinette, 1722. You can watch a vido on the site I've linked to. Thanks to Simon Rose for the article. There are also good photos and drawings of medieval efforts and mention of Leonardo Da Vinci's robot, 1495.

I especially like the picture of the 16th c. Lute player. She is an old friend, mentioned first in my dear Mary Hillier's Dolls and Doll Makers.

Cabinets of Curiosites is a wonderful book by Patric Maruies that chronicles the history of collecting, and curios or cabinets of curiosties, nearly from the dawn of time. He includes more modern collectors like Andre Breton and Joseph Cornell, as well as photos of objects form famous 15th and 16th century collection. He discusses how the first collections of this type were religious in nature with a desire to harvest the powers of the sacred objects gathered. He goes to write about collecting as ways of perserving histories, of bringing order out of chaos, of great collections representing a microcosm of the world so we can observe and understand.

Most of these collections are not museums. They are the work of private collectors, many royal, some not, all fairly wealthy. Some were open to public viewing, but all reflect a passion. There are descriptions of collections organzied to reflect the natural world with shells, fauna, fossils, and taxidermy, and the artistic world with intricate silver automata, miniature objects, books, paintings, and sculptures.

Anyone who loves to collect needs to see this book. It is a positive view at collecting and preserving the past. Fans of Hoarders, don't bother!

Happy 53d Barbie!

According to Mental Floss, Barbie is 53 today. Happy Birthday and Many More to the Postmodern girl who redefined the term "to reinvent yourself!"

My first Barbie came to me when I was five, in a gift set. She was a blonde bubble top, with the pink, sparkly, Evening Splendor gift set. I still Have her. With her buxom figure and curly hair, and the tailored suits, she reminded me of my mom. I loved her for that. Several hundred vintage, ndew, pink box, black box, gold box, thrift shop, memorabilia items, later, I still love Barbie. We have a special place for her in our hearts at the museum. I treasure the memories I have from visiting Mrs. Burkhalter at her Barbie museum in Palo Alto. She was a lovely lady and very inspiring. I was able to buy a poster there to take home. Now, the collection resides with Mattel. She had dolls they didn't! Long live Barbie Millicent Roberts, and long may her blonde hair wave!!