A Doll Collectors Biography

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...How, Where and Why in the Wonderful World of Dolls

My collectors biography is based upon a love of dolls.

For me it started when I was a child. Moving often, starting many new schools, dolls were sometimes my only companions. Reaching adulthood...they were temporarily lost and forgotten.

A visit to a desolate ghost town in the barren desert of Nevada in 1969 rekindled my affection for dolls. Only by now, of course, they were "old dolls".

In an old house built with bottles...a little old lady, very weathered from the elements...placed in my hand a small bisque doll which I readily purchased and carried tenderly throughout the return trip home by car. HA!...you thought I was going to say covered wagon, didn't you!

A day later I purchased my very first book about old dolls...actually it was the only one available on the market at that time...and it is still one of the very best reference books you can acquire. Collector's Encyclopedia of Dolls...by Dorothy, Elizabeth and Evelyn Coleman. A five pound book worth its weight in gold. I read...and reread the multitude of information and pined for the images pictured in the book. Now that I had the "wish book"...where was I to find more?

We did have a local swap meet. That is where I started the addictive treasure hunt. The search at antique shops did not yield any little bodies for adoption... but they did offer information leading me to the "Antique Trader"...at that time the only way to purchase dolls by mail. Discovery through the local garage sale ads led me the the local doll president who sold "old dolls". This catapulted me into the first stages of doll collecting.

The first year was a disaster. Advice given by my new doll friend had soon created a very unhappy, confused collector. Wanting to "adopt" with a passion... hindered by warnings and criticism. Every precious "find" that I took to the expert collector was dismissed as undesirable and valueless as it may have had some slight flaw.

Three hundred miles from home I located the doll of all beginning collectors dreams... a 30" Jumeau. In a secluded doll shop...she stood on the top shelf...begging to be taken home. She had a small chip on the lobe of her ear. The constant warnings from the expert had created doubt...so I left her on the counter and drove home to seek support for the purchase I felt I had to make anyway. I was told "never purchase a damaged doll, the doll is worthless". Not what I had wanted to hear...all I could hear was the call of the homeless doll. Three days later, I drove the 300 miles again... cash in hand...to bring the precious doll home...only to find she had been purchased two days before...by my confidante and advisor.

Disillusioned, this could have been the end of collecting ...even before the start...as doll collecting was indeed not pleasurable.

This sequence of events has only been related as a prelude to the brief encounter which permanently altered and redirected my collecting of dolls. A chance purchase by mail from a gracious lady erased the disappointment of my first dreadful year. An invitation to pick up my newly purchased doll at her home was extended...and accepting was the pivotal point which launched my over 30 gratifying and beautiful years of collecting.

The title of one of her books sums up what all doll collectors see in their own collections and selections.

"Dolls, Images of Love". The author, Madalaine Selfridge, is the person who firmly planted my feet on the road to doll collecting for the sole purpose of enjoyment and fulfillment...determined by each individual as they discover where these sources lie.

To Madalaine...I owe the many years of enjoyment collecting and putting up for adoption other dolls for many to enjoy. Thank you!

All old dolls are appealing to me...my interests have always been varied and thinning a collection has always been difficult. The "treasure hunt" is exciting and the satisfaction of obtaining another orphan is very pleasurable. One day a bisque or wax is the ultimate...the next day I have fallen in love with an Arranbee composition from the 40's. Homely dolls always find a home here...as they cultivate a quick smile with just a glance.

Many doll books have found their way through my hands over the years. But, I do have favorites...and find myself perusing them over and over...while others stay on the shelf after the initial interest has worn away. Mentioned earlier is "The Collector's Encyclopedia of Dolls" by the Coleman's. There are two very large volumes of this book. Both are out of print. But, if you search eBay on a regular basis, these books do become available often. Though written many years ago, they have information that the more current doll books have excluded.

The next "series" of books that I have used extensively is the "Blue Book of Dolls and Values", by Jan Foulke. An ever changing guide of pictures and information covering antique to modern. This book is now into the 15th edition. Previous out of print editions of this marvelous reference are also available time and again on eBay.

The last favorite reference book is also a series. Initially "Modern Collectors Dolls" "Identification Value Guide" by Patricia Smith. It has been carried on in the same tradition by Patsy Moyer. Beautiful photographs and related information. Large hardbound books that I treasure. "Modern Collectors Dolls--4th edition by Patsy Moyer" is available currently. Again, out of print earlier editions can be found listed on eBay from time to time.

There are other books that I find irresistable and they will be listed as this web site moves forward.

Click here so we can continue this collectors biography by taking a look at some of my favorite dolls

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