collections...

I am a Hoarder. I do not collect garbage, my house is not knee deep in stuff (well there is That Room...) I've been sorting and tossing and tossing..... until I can't toss any more, then I see what else I can get rid of.... but there are The Collections.

Of course I can't toss my dollhouse dolls, although my mom decided I didn't need my old metal dollhouse any more. It was a Marx Tin doll house, I found a picture of one for sale on ebay, which I don't want to buy, since I don't want to spend $146 on an old metal dollhouse... but nostalgic of course. I still have some of the old furniture, including a dresser and a couple of beds... I remember I had a stove and refrigerator, and that the refrigerator door was broken... taped together like some of my other toys...

My dollhouse family was a bit odd. I had some porcelain dolls, but not your usual mother-father and children. Nooo.... there was The Cowboy, The Uncle, and three little girls and a little boy. I think the Cowboy and The Uncle were running some sort of orphanage; but nobody ever got adopted. For awhile I had some of those bent-legged babies, don't have any idea where they went. I don't think Uncle and The Cowboy were Up to anything, I was just Making Do with what I had... I have no idea where these little dolls came from, or why my doll house never had a Proper Family. But we did all right. They certainly kept me company. They were small enough to fit into a pocket.

For some reason, I never let the kids play with them, although they must have been sturdy enough, they survived MY playing. Then my father made a wonderful doll house for us, along with help from my daughter and my sons. It now sits in The Middle Bedroom with my dollhouse toys and my daughter's. She didn't have a Proper family either, she wanted bears. I did make a clothespin doll to be Goldilocks when she visited. We made furniture as well as acquiring a few things, like a tiny cast iron stove. I had a wooden cabinet that I let her play with, and we found a lovely table to use.

And so I'll reminisce...and hope someday some grandchild will enjoy playing with The Uncle, The Cowboy and the children, or Goldilocks and the Three (or more) bears....

turns out this guy is a groom. I never had the bride, I guess he got left at the altar. He never seemed bitter about it. :)

the children look a bit grimy. I think a good scrubbing and some paint should fix them right up.
Or maybe I will leave the dirt from my childhood fingers. 

June 3: I talked to my mom, who had absolutely no memory of these dolls. I showed my daughter the pictures, and she says I let her play with them every once in awhile. I know she used the furniture in her doll house and her bears.

June 18: Finally hit upon the Proper Search Words. These are Penny dolls-- originally sold in the 1930's for a penny. Some were called Bisque Cutie Dolls. I even saw The Cowboy, although he was just in a picture and no information. Didn't find The Uncle, although there were some similar ones that were tiny. Fun to find out what my childhood toys are worth these days.