A Tale of Dolls By Stephanie Moore
I guess my doll story begins with my first dolls, Jam and Bamilla who were given to me when I was four and five. They where life sized dolls, Bamilla, being a toddler walker sort and Jam, a big girl walker sort of doll.
They were my friends and companions. They went with me where I went and even got Christmas and Easter clothing once a year along with me. They joined me and my imaginary friend on many adventures starting in my “car” (the underside of the dining room table) and ending in all the places my quite vivid imagination could carry us. Because I could not quite escape enough in my fantasy world to actually believe in my imaginary friends’ existence, Jam and Bamilla soon replaced them all together as my best of all friends.
I can’t tell you how many adults would pass by them as they sat on a living room chair or couch and say, "Hi" thinking they were real children. It was true then, and it is sadly true now, that very few adults concern themselves with the details of a child’s world enough to be able to distinguish the differences that should have told them they were talking to a doll and not a child.
I have had Jam and Bamilla now for 49/50 years! They both have seen better days particularly Jam whose head is separate from her body and whose legs are somewhat disintegrating. But I love them anyway and they love me and because of them I learned to love dolls.
Since I started collecting dolls my family of dolls now number in the very large hundreds. (shush.. don't tell anyone) When I say "large hundreds" I mean large soon to be out of hundreds. I am not an elitist collector, though my first big girl purchase was a Franklin Mint Gibson Girl Wedding Doll. I made payments on her and was so proud (and relieved) when she was paid for. She marked the first of my collectors, and of my wedding dolls. The truth is I like the dolls I rescue from yard sales as much as I like the rather expensive antique, or modern, collectors that I buy. I like the McDonald’s Madam Alexander’s as much as I like the International Collection I have. I like the paper dolls I make and collect as much as the miniature dolls I buy and make for my dollhouses. Each doll I have has a life and a spirit and a story to tell and I enjoy figuring all that out. I am learning more each day about the type of dolls that there are, how to take care and preserve them and how to learn “their story”. I am even learning to make them though I am not quite “there” yet.
All my dolls are “lived with” dolls. That means I do not keep them boxed, and they are not hidden behind glass or in a dust free environment because basically I can’t afford that. They live with me and share my kind of life which is far from orderly and well kept. Many of them are a little tattered and some in out and out stage of disintegration. If they could talk they would no doubt have a thing or two to say to me but I love having them and that has to be enough for them for now. I hope to expand our little family and one day have a beautiful place to show them but until then we are just happy the way we are and always ready for more.
The next phase of my collecting will be to purchase some of the modern collectors that I like, like Robert Tonner’s Ellowyne Wilde or Evangeline Ghastly or even the Silktone Barbies. I also wish to weed my collection and organize them better. I also interested in one day collecting Black Mignonettes and Jumeaus when I hit the lottery and can afford the fashionable little ladies that I want.
My ultimate dream is to build a space for my dolls much like the basement space Barbara Streisand has built for her special objects. From my mouth to God’s ear!
They were my friends and companions. They went with me where I went and even got Christmas and Easter clothing once a year along with me. They joined me and my imaginary friend on many adventures starting in my “car” (the underside of the dining room table) and ending in all the places my quite vivid imagination could carry us. Because I could not quite escape enough in my fantasy world to actually believe in my imaginary friends’ existence, Jam and Bamilla soon replaced them all together as my best of all friends.
I can’t tell you how many adults would pass by them as they sat on a living room chair or couch and say, "Hi" thinking they were real children. It was true then, and it is sadly true now, that very few adults concern themselves with the details of a child’s world enough to be able to distinguish the differences that should have told them they were talking to a doll and not a child.
I have had Jam and Bamilla now for 49/50 years! They both have seen better days particularly Jam whose head is separate from her body and whose legs are somewhat disintegrating. But I love them anyway and they love me and because of them I learned to love dolls.
Since I started collecting dolls my family of dolls now number in the very large hundreds. (shush.. don't tell anyone) When I say "large hundreds" I mean large soon to be out of hundreds. I am not an elitist collector, though my first big girl purchase was a Franklin Mint Gibson Girl Wedding Doll. I made payments on her and was so proud (and relieved) when she was paid for. She marked the first of my collectors, and of my wedding dolls. The truth is I like the dolls I rescue from yard sales as much as I like the rather expensive antique, or modern, collectors that I buy. I like the McDonald’s Madam Alexander’s as much as I like the International Collection I have. I like the paper dolls I make and collect as much as the miniature dolls I buy and make for my dollhouses. Each doll I have has a life and a spirit and a story to tell and I enjoy figuring all that out. I am learning more each day about the type of dolls that there are, how to take care and preserve them and how to learn “their story”. I am even learning to make them though I am not quite “there” yet.
All my dolls are “lived with” dolls. That means I do not keep them boxed, and they are not hidden behind glass or in a dust free environment because basically I can’t afford that. They live with me and share my kind of life which is far from orderly and well kept. Many of them are a little tattered and some in out and out stage of disintegration. If they could talk they would no doubt have a thing or two to say to me but I love having them and that has to be enough for them for now. I hope to expand our little family and one day have a beautiful place to show them but until then we are just happy the way we are and always ready for more.
The next phase of my collecting will be to purchase some of the modern collectors that I like, like Robert Tonner’s Ellowyne Wilde or Evangeline Ghastly or even the Silktone Barbies. I also wish to weed my collection and organize them better. I also interested in one day collecting Black Mignonettes and Jumeaus when I hit the lottery and can afford the fashionable little ladies that I want.
My ultimate dream is to build a space for my dolls much like the basement space Barbara Streisand has built for her special objects. From my mouth to God’s ear!
