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!

Sunday, July 22, 2018

Doll Museum: Ellen's Pinterest Boards

Doll Museum: Ellen's Pinterest Boards: These are my own boards; even if they don't seem to be about dolls, all the boards include photos of them.  Doll Collection and All Abou...

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Lady Liberty; Bartholdi's Big Doll

PBS recently aired a documentary on the creation of The Statue of Liberty.  In it, the narrator mentioned that Bartholdi referred to her as his American woman, or something like that. He spoke of her as a child might speak of a favorite doll, and what is a statue, after all, but a huge doll? Like Barbie, in fact, Lady Liberty inspired a lot of emotions, negative and positive.  A lot of souvenirs and memorabilia have been created in her image, including dolls, a Barbie here, a North American Bear or Betty Boop here. 


I wrote a long paper on Emma Lazarus, who wrote The New Colossus, the poem on Liberty's base.  Like Liberty herself, my paper seemed to stir up a lot of controversy.  Also let's play six degrees of separation.   Lazarus was a friend of Nathaniel Hawthorne's daughter, and Hawthorne wrote The House of Seven Gables, where dolls were featured, and have been made for several decades.



Public Domain

Simon and Halbig with Rosalie Whyel and Shelley Helzer | Private Antique...

Sunday, July 15, 2018

The Nanny, Baby Dolls used to teach Parenting, and Appleheads

Dolls and allusions to dolls are no strangers on the it 90s sitcom The Nanny, starring Fran Drescher.  Today, I was watching a show where she and Max were given animatronic babies to care for while they awaiting the birth of their twins. The dolls were dressed in pink and blue, and called Karen and Frankie.   The babies cried at very inopportune moments, and at one point, Fran nearly melted poor Frankie doll on the toaster oven. At one point during the show, Fran mentioned she hard relatives who carved dried apple dolls.


Image result for applehead dolls  public domain
Apple Head Dolls, Public Domain


Image result for the nanny  fran drescher baby dolls  public domain
The Nanny Paper Doll Public Domain



Image result for the nanny  fran drescher baby dolls  public domain
The Nanny Doll Public Domain





There have been puppets, Barbies, 18 inch type doll, stuffed animals, a doll house, and a reference to a cracked antique doll on the show.  I would love a Fran doll with her own wardrobe; I would just love her wardrobe!  Then, there are the props; ornaments, Christmas angels, figurines, small statues, jade, and Parian ware.  
Image result for the nanny  fran drescher baby dolls  public domain
Cast of the Nanny, Fran Drescher and Charles Shaughnessy, Public Domain




What can I say?  Dolls are everywhere!

Image result for baby dolls used to teach parents  public domain
Public Domain Image

Image result for baby dolls used to teach parents  public domain
Early Version, Public Domain Image





Thursday, July 12, 2018

How to Identify Steiff's Legacy Teddy Bears From The Early 1900’s-1920 - Ruby Lane Blog

How to Identify Steiff's Legacy Teddy Bears From The Early 1900’s-1920 - Ruby Lane Blog: Written by ‘Steiffgal’ Rebekah Kaufman for Ruby Lane As a vintage doll and toy lover, you know the excitement of discovering an early Steiff (button-in-ear) brand Teddy bear on Ruby Lane, at auction, at a show, or even at a garage sale! These antique cubs are universally beloved for their charming, old fashioned looks and... Read more »

10 Clues You Might Be a Doll Addict - Ruby Lane Blog

10 Clues You Might Be a Doll Addict - Ruby Lane Blog: On the Dolls Lane, we live and breathe dolls all day, every day. It’s safe to say that we are doll addicts. If you’ve heard the saying, ‘it takes one to know one,’ let us know if any of these telltale clues apply to you! 1.    You tell your fiancé that you would rather have... Read more »

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Doll Museum: Informal Museum Shots including some New Finds; Ha...

Doll Museum: Informal Museum Shots including some New Finds; Ha...: Please enjoy a survey of some of our dolls; if dolls tell the story of mankind, the my museum and I would like to illustrate humanity' b...

One Step Closer to being a Museum and Happy 4th!

Happy and safe 4th of July!!  This is a special one for us.  Today, we took another step closer to becoming a brick and mortar doll museum. We are nearly finished with our paperwork and set up a bank account as the American Doll and Toy Museum.







This weekend, I'm getting a new curio, too.  It's taken me my whole life, since age 3,but it is happening!  This will be a museum for education and research, but also for fun.  Here, the dolls of the world and every age of history will rub elbow in peace, as we in the real, human world, probably never will.








Many dolls wear red, white, and blue, and I've started a Ruby Lane doll page on Pinterest for you all to enjoy.  I also did a blog post on dolls for the 4th.   To all those in the US who read my blog, Happy 4th and be safe.  To our friends and family in the rest of the world, we wish you peace, liberty, and happiness.