Newsletter

Each time the planning process begins for a Changing Gallery exhibit, it seems that no matter the focus, there are always more than enough dolls in the collection to mount a wonderful and comprehensive exhibit. The subject of our next display is proving no exception, as countless charming little dolls of the male persuasion have been patiently waiting in storage, for their own moment in the spotlight.

This exhibit of more than three hundred male dolls will include some very special “rarities”, including the mysterious, so-called French “court dolls”, along with dolls of early papier mache, wax and cloth. The bisque head dolls will be well represented by, among others, a possible prototype Hertwig character boy from the Hertwig Family collection and a beautiful Bru Jne boy in ethnic costuming, from the famous Dina Vierney collection.
Many modern collectible and artist dolls will also be represented in the exhibit. What would a male doll exhibit be without Barbie’s longtime love, Ken? Joining G.I. Joe and other “action figures”, will be “Free Moving Ken”, dashingly dressed in exercise attire, complete with his own golf and tennis gear. And speaking of G.I. Joe, a very special little wooden and cloth doll representing an American GI, made in France in the mid-1940s, will be featured along with sundry other military-inspired dolls.

Each new exhibit installation also brings dolls related to the focus of the exhibit “out of the woodwork”, as new acquisitions arrive at the Museum just in time to take part in the show. At press time, the opening is twelve weeks away, so you can be sure that many more dashing men and adorable boys will surface in time to join the other fellows. We hope that you and your own favorite fella will join us as well!

Welcome to the New Year of 2004! May it be prosperous, may there be peace in our world and your home, may you find joy in many ways and one of them, dolls.
If ever we hosted a joyful exhibit in our 11 plus years, it would have to be “A Path through Black History.” The experience of mounting this exhibit became more and more thrilling as the dolls and paintings took their places one by one. Not long into it Jill, Shelley and I realized we were surrounded with pure glee - each smiling face, each gleaming eye told a story of its own. The vivid colors, the graceful lines, the patterns and textures drew us into a dance with the dolls that swirled to the top of the cases where many more dolls look cheerfully down at the visitors. The dolls from the paintings by Denae looked as though they had just stepped from the canvases into real time.

Come dance with the dolls and follow them through their historical path. Smile with them and contemplate, as we did, why they have so much to smile about. We again wish to thank the talented women who lent so much to our exhibit and our exhibit opening. Denae, two dimensional artist extraordinaire; Kindness Woods, doll artist and keeper of her family’s history and memories; and vocal artist, Awilda Verdejo who blessed us with beautiful black spiritual music.Remember we are holding this exceptional exhibit over through February 29, 2004-Black History Month. Do not miss it.
Then get ready for the men in our lives as we stage the first ever exhibit of all male dolls. There will be some real charmers, some real oddballs, and some so adorable we know why we can’t live without them. Certainly there will be one for each of us, no matter what type we are attracted to. Actually, we couldn’t believe the vast variety of men and boys who have come to live at the Museum, many of whom have never been on exhibit, and we felt it was high time! Plan to attend early as they will only be on display for 2 months.

In preparation for our all male exhibit did you rent and watch “On Golden Pond” as I suggested in the last Newsletter? We hope so, and hope that you spotted “Elmer” as he and his creator, Michael Langton, will be gracing us with their presence. Is there anything better than a doll with history? And what a history - to think on Elmer’s very first movie he shared the stage with the great Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda! Michael has graciously agreed to come speak about his creation that has been immortalized on the big screen; what this little doll meant to Hepburn and how he shaped Langton’s career. Be sure to read further in this Newsletter for program details.

And after all the boys and men have had their fun we will be completing the Traphagen School of Fashion dolls with Part III. This is the final part of the 83 doll collection and certainly not the least of them. Twenty-six dolls in pairs of ethnic couples from around the world will grace the Changing Gallery. Their dress is as beautiful, if not more so than those in Part I and II, and each individually sculpted to portray the most handsome of people from 13 different cultures. Of course, we won’t stop there. Many more wonderful examples of ethnic dolls from the collection will be shown, ones that have never been exhibited here before.
So, as you can tell, we have a lot of exciting dolls and exhibits in store for you in the coming year. Do plan to attend each of these wonderful exhibits. The dolls and toys will probably never be seen together again, at least not in our lifetime. If you love dolls, you know this is where you should be at least three times a year. And if you collect them, well, our stores offer new and wonderful dolls for your buying pleasure nearly every day of the year.

We would like to thank the following people for their generous
donations during the last quarter:

Doris Cozine 1937 Dy Dee Baby Instruction Booklel	Kris Shanafelt Hard plastic doll; Two German bisque head dolls; Doll dresses
Laverne Flonteny Framed portrait by Fred Fredden Goldberg	Thalia Shorett Composition “Alice” doll
Jane and Sarah Gregory Collection of ethnic dolls	Skagit County Historical Museum Collection of modern doll advertisments
Marjorie James American Character “Sweet Sue” doll	Joan Torrey Effanbee doll; Unmarked composition doll
Vicki Johnson “Jolly Swagman” doll; ethnic statue; doll wig	Julia Turney Dressed kid leather body
Atha Kahler Daisy’s Album; Two doll scrapbooks	Judy Willman 15 books; bear; doll; frozen charlotte
Catherine Keller Chatty Baby, with trunk and clothing; Betsy McCall, with trunk and clothing	Yeen-mei Wu Brass doll cradle; Baby t-shirt, hand-knit vest and doll blanket; Stuffed animals
Doris Nelson Composition “Betty” doll; Kestner baby; Kestner #154 child

Call or stop by for more details or call the Museum Store:
(425) 455-1116 or toll free at 1-800-440-DOLL.

NOVEMBER 6 2004 - FEBRUARY 27, 2005 “Fashions, Fashions, Glorious Fashions” Changing Gallery Exhibit	DECEMBER 25 2004 Christmas Day Museum CLOSED
	DECEMBER 31 2004 New Year’s Eve Museum OPEN Special Hours: 11am to 3pm
NOVEMBER 6 2004 “You Think YOUR Child Is Spoiled?” Lecture on French Fashion Dolls 2 pm Museum Atirum	JANUARY 1 2005 New Year’s Day Museum CLOSED
NOVEMBER 18 - 20 2004 Doll Appraisal Clinic at Rosie’s Too During Regular Hours	JANUARY 20 - 22 2005 Doll Appraisal Clinic at Rosie’s Too During Regular Hours
NOVEMBER 25 2004 Thanksgiving Day Museum CLOSED
DECEMBER 24 2004 Christmas Eve Museum OPEN Special Hours: 11am to 3pm

With life as hectic and busy as it can be, why not reconnect with friends and family? Experience a day of renewal with an adult tea and stroll through the Museum Galleries. For under $30 a piece, a group of 10 or more can enjoy two hours in our elegant Rose Room and Gardens with a full English Tea and tour through the Museum at your leisure, any day of the week. We arrange for everything, including linens and china. Take this chance to dress up, bring your childhood or favorite doll (or teddy bear) and experience the people in your life. Begin a tradition today! Contact Lacee at the Museum, 425-455-1116.

Sydney DecoDance
by Robert Tonner

She’s music to our ears and we know YOU’LL be kicking up your heels when you see the fashion ROBERT TONNER has created exclusively for us. She’s Sydney DecoDance and she’s fabulous!

Right out of our favorite time period, art deco, and flirting with Erte. We think she has everything you look for in a Tonner doll and more – it’s what we asked for, and Robert gave it to us. But we’ve limited her to a precious few – only 350 lucky collectors will walk away with this extravagant jewel.

Available to our members November 5 at the opening of our winter exhibit “Fashions, Fashions, Glorious Fashions”, and to the general public on November 25. Don’t miss out on this extraordinary creation by Robert. It well may be his best to date!

Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art Exclusive
Limited to 350 Pieces
$225

You Think Your Child Is Spoiled?

Saturday, November 6, 2004
2 pm Museum Atrium

CThe very latest styles designed by Paris dressmakers and every undergarment that Madame or little Miss wore beneath were also worn by the fashion doll. Please join Rosalie Whyel to discover all the fabulous clothes and accessories that the French Fashion doll was lavished with and the lives of the lucky children that called them “toys”.

Seating is Limited. Reserved seats required.
Museum Members Free, Non-Members $3
Call the Museum at (425)455-1116.

Children’s Tea Parties

Come celebrate your child’s next birthday or accomplishment at the Museum with one of our Party Packages. Choose from three different plans; we have everything from do-it-yourself to a full English Tea. The beauty of the Rose Room and gardens makes it a perfect spot for your event, while the Galleries and scavenger hunt are built in entertainment. Please see our website for full details and prices.

Once again we have been blessed with an unusually wonderful donation and from a familiar source. Jane and Sarah Gregory, Mother and Daughter collectors of ethnic dolls, whom you will remember established the base of our broad ethnic collection, have once again made a sizeable donation of the remainder of their collection of ethnic dolls. What has made their dolls so welcome and unique is that Sarah and Jane were fastidious in the research and documentation of the dolls’ origins, which made Jill’s and my job a breeze when it came to cataloging and eventually exhibiting the dolls. Many of the countries represented by these dolls do not even exist today. So the dolls, once again, provide a wonderful teaching tool for future generations about the dress, hair styles and more of those peoples. We thank these two wonderful ladies for their generosity and pledge to make the most of their donation that it may serve the collectors and students of the cultures of our world’s communities. God bless and keep you both.

Education and Fun! Did you know that you and your Girl Scout Troop, Campfire Girls, School Class or Children’s Club can tour the Museum (do the
scavenger hunt) and buy a patch in the store for under $5.00? The scavenger hunt also serves as a guide for further studies on the wonderful history of dolls and toys.

Collector’s Encyclopedia of American Composition Dolls 1900-1950 Volume II by Ursula R Mertz $29.95		Early Closed Mouth Kestner 23" marked “14”. Early straight wrist, ball-jointed body with repaint. Deep, brown sleep eyes, replaced human hair wig, & closed mouth. Beautifully redressed. $2200
	Fabulous, “Portrait Glamour” Tyler Wentworth. Limited to Premier Dealers only, she is wearing a beautiful soft pink dress with perfectly to scale sequins. $149.99		Only Hearts Club Dolls Wonderful dolls that have extra outfits available & each comes with their own animal. Cloth dolls with wire armature. 8.5” tall and under $15.

	Fashions, Fashions, Glorious Fashions!
	Nov 6, 2004 - Feb 27, 2005

ANTIQUE DOLL & TOY MART* Bellevue Inn Red Lion Bellevue WA Sunday February 8, 2003 11am - 4pm	CROSSROADS DOLL & TEDDY BEAR SHOW* Puyallup Fairgrounds Puyallup WA Saturday March 13, 2004 10am - 4:30pm Sunday March 14, 2004 10am - 4pm
CROSSROADS DOLL & TEDDY BEAR SHOW* Washington County Fairgrounds Hillsboro OR Saturday February 21, 2004 10am - 4:30pm