Halloween 2021

 

It is finally Halloween; I literally wait all year. All of October intoxicates me; I love the turning leaves, the pumpkins and gourds, the aisles of candy, the colors, the decorations which now include Dia de Muerto figures that I couldn’t find until recently.

 

I love the chill in the air, the way the changing leaves glow on a cloudy day.  I love the feel of being cold and quelling the chill with hot chocolate or good, strong coffee.

 

We would go to Terror at Skellington Manor and I would see the dolls displayed, and the animatronics and mannikins that made up the vignettes like a giant doll house.  We would visit the statue of Krampus, or Ruprecht, saved from rejection by the Festival of Trees because he had horns. 

 

Most of all I loved the memories of my Dad rounding us kids up and taking us trick or treating.  I missed the packages from San Jose, when my grandma and grandpa, then aunts and uncles, would send Halloween care packages full of candy and plush for the holiday.  I miss my mother, who made costumes for me and for dolls that would accompany me on Halloween night, the cutouts she and I made to decorate our windows, and the lights Dad put up.  We did the annual Spoon River Drive to buy pumpkins and caramel apples, and my mom and I hit the after Halloween sales for more treasures.

 

Later, we took our son trick or treating, going one year as the Darth Vader family, and another dressed in Halloween sweaters.

 

Now, it’s me and my neighbor, and old and best friend who keep the faith.  I lost my Dad, Uncle, and mentor in three successive years in a row in November.  My Dad, grandma, and one good friend all died on the same day, and I lost three friends on that horrible November day last year.   Two years ago, it snowed on Halloween.  No trick or treat.  Last year, Aunt Connie, who also loved the holiday and candy, was also gone.

 

This year, Lori and I are getting ready to set up tonight, we missed Skellington Manor because we did trunk or treat at our Doll and Toy Museum,  American Doll and Toy Museum to be specific.  I dread November, but as my mom would say, I have to go forward, not backwards.

 

Happy Halloween, Happy Day of the Dead, thanks to all who came yesterday and helped with Trunk or Treat!  May the Great Pumpkin be good to us all this year.

Here are images of Halloween dolls and decor!

eBay is Destroying the doll collectors market! Say it ain't so! Thanks, Rachel Hoffman for Speaking Out!

 Here is the link to Rachel Hoffman's YouTube channel where she speaks out about eBay's latest move which is hurting doll collecting.  They got rid of the categories like Barbie, American Girl, Vintage, German Bisque, etc, and lumped all dolls together.  It's hard enough to search for rare dolls as it is, but they've made the search for particular dolls more time consuming.  

Rachel Hoffman of Turn of the Century Antiques

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZbdFcsstQw

  Rachel is a good friend, and a great doll person.  I've bought from her, but also cataloged items for her 

on eBay.  I have been a buyer on eBay of many things for over 20 years.  Many blamed eBay for 

hurting the vintage doll market, e.g., too many listings, but that could just be the fact that more and 

more dolls became available, and according to Adam Smith's predictions and laissez-faire economics, 

more dolls led to lower prices.

There are as many categories of dolls as there are people, more probably. Dolls are portraits and artistic statements of the people who made them and designed them. It goes against principles of multiculturalism and diversity to lump all dolls together, and it is an insult to their creators, as well as to collector, museum owners like me who are trying to preserve them, to antique shops, doll shops, dealers, and more. eBay, please talk to us who know dolls; you are creating a huge disorganized mess!!

eBay, please leave well enough alone!  Something similar happened to me on about.com; their owner, 
the NYT decided to change without asking.  They publish a column each Sunday on collectors, but 
decimated the doll collecting site, and minimized other collectibles sites.  It was awful.  They now take 
my photos and put them on other's articles.  My articles are impossible to find, and only a few by 
others float around under their new name.  My boss and editor disappeared with no warning.

eBay, listen to "the collector's voice", also a series of excellent books on collecting by Susan Pearce.  
Collectors curate the past, and preserve things for posterity.  We are organized and knowledgeable; 
please don't screw us up with a huge mish mash.  
Put it back the way it was!!

American Doll and Toy Museum: Museum Update; Three weeks into the Fray!

American Doll and Toy Museum: Museum Update; Three weeks into the Fray!:   Happy Fall, finally, though it has been unseasonably warm.   Rain today is more de rigueur, and the temps will begin to fall midweek.   It...