We are in the midst of moving everything in our house around to create a larger doll room. At the moment, the doll room is in complete chaos, although the dolls are unpacked and waiting for their new homes to be organised. This photo was taken last night so it’s a bit dark.
This photo demonstrates that the doll house does NOT fit where I thought it would. Sigh.
On a happier note, I’ve moved my treasure case – glass fronted – downstairs, giving me a chance to photograph some of my childhood dolls. I’ve posted a photo of my grandmother’s doll previously but here she is again, the oldest doll in my collection. I believe that the doll originally belonged to my great-grandmother and is from the 19th century.
This is a doll’s tea set, belonging to my grandmother, so from the early 20th century.
The next three dolls are from my own childhood doll collection, which mostly came from my aunt. She worked for NATO and lived first in Paris and then in Brussels. Whenever she came home to the USA, she brought dolls for me and my sister, which were kept in a white box in the closet. We had to ask permission to play with them. There were many more than this but these are all I have left.
The doll next to the black and white cat is a Seminole doll from Florida, purchased by my grandmother for me. Her straw body is falling apart and I wrapped her in a mesh towel to hold her together. The seated doll is one from my aunt. She is in a fragile state and is missing a leg, but there she sits after all these years. (The cat represents my beloved pet Keek, who died a year ago at the age of 15. He sits on his ashes, which I hope will be mixed with mine when I am gone.)
Happy new doll room. Your old dolls are fantastic!
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Thank you! They are very precious to me as a reminder of how my interest in dolls started. I have some cloth dolls that I might photograph soon as I find places for them. The new doll room will be wonderful once I get it sorted. In the meantime, we are completely topsy turvy here, having moved 3 rooms around, none of which are finished yet.
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You have some wonderful old treasures there. What is your grandmother’s doll made of? You are lucky to have her, the old ones are so fragile, Our mother was unable to keep any of hers although she tried to save them for us.
The new doll room should be great once you get it sorted. Isn’t it so exasperating when things don’t fit? As I have to move the furniture by myself when I rearrange I’m always measuring up the piece and space before attempting it. Then, of course, it is whether it will go through the door. Your room is upstairs so I am sure you are having some fun and games with that.
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My grandmother’s doll has a sawdust body with porcelain arms, legs, and head. I’ve looked these dolls up and they were made for a long time in the 19th century, so it’s difficult to assign an actual date. My step-daughter and her fiancé came by last night and helped us move things up the stairs but the dust was so thick, I just couldn’t get up there to supervise. Tomorrow I’ll try to push things into place and get a better sense of what the room will be like. I hope to have two long tables down the centre that will hold various permanent dioramas, creating a little city that the dolls can stroll along from place to place. I also hope to have a small table with a diorama box that can change as needed. We shall see! I’m looking forward to sorting it all out – slowly.
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That sounds very like what Naomi and I would like to have except we need a house to put it in first :-). I was not quite sure if your doll had a porcelain head from the photo. It was so pale I wondered if she were wax. Does she have any doll marks on her head or shoulder plate that can help you identify her. Of course you love her anyway so it really doesn’t matter if you never do.
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I hadn’t thought to look at her shoulder plate. I’ll do that next time I take her out.
Good luck in finding your house! I know you’ve been planning this for a while.
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