DOLL DISPLAYS
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Only available with permission from this web site
Only available with permission from this web site
DOLL DISPLAYS
Our dolls are like our children. We are proud of them and like them to be seen at their very best. Lucky, we have a lot more control over our dolls than we do over our ever-changing children!
We derive so much pleasure from our collections, and are eager to share our joy with others. We definitely do not want them to appear as a static display of lifeless mannequins – the kind that give many people the creeps. Dolls should be fun – not scary. One of the best parts of the collection at the Strong Museum of Play is the way dolls are displayed….not lined up stiffly with no real context, but displayed as if they were ready to play at any moment and accompanied by other toys and accessories that evoke that period in history.
Vintage accessories and materials to make our own displays are readily available on the internet today – so we are limited only by our imaginations. A recent article in Doll News (Burley) contains many wonderful display ideas. I particularly liked the dioramas made for Hitty. It consists of three room displays inside boxes piled in a stack, reminiscent of an urban brownstone home. The boxes can easily be separated and reconfigured. Countless display ideas can be found by exploring Pinterest.
Burley also talks about static and dynamic displays in her article. Static displays can be interesting as long as they contain accessories that bring life to the display. But she also talks about creating dynamic displays. These might be the same dolls in different seasonal surroundings. Displays in cabinets can also be rotated out onto table top displays periodically. Change is a good thing for dolls and their mothers. As Burley says, “Not least of all, dolls offer a way to play in the midst of a busy and stressful world, no matter how old we are.”
Our dolls are like our children. We are proud of them and like them to be seen at their very best. Lucky, we have a lot more control over our dolls than we do over our ever-changing children!
We derive so much pleasure from our collections, and are eager to share our joy with others. We definitely do not want them to appear as a static display of lifeless mannequins – the kind that give many people the creeps. Dolls should be fun – not scary. One of the best parts of the collection at the Strong Museum of Play is the way dolls are displayed….not lined up stiffly with no real context, but displayed as if they were ready to play at any moment and accompanied by other toys and accessories that evoke that period in history.
Vintage accessories and materials to make our own displays are readily available on the internet today – so we are limited only by our imaginations. A recent article in Doll News (Burley) contains many wonderful display ideas. I particularly liked the dioramas made for Hitty. It consists of three room displays inside boxes piled in a stack, reminiscent of an urban brownstone home. The boxes can easily be separated and reconfigured. Countless display ideas can be found by exploring Pinterest.
Burley also talks about static and dynamic displays in her article. Static displays can be interesting as long as they contain accessories that bring life to the display. But she also talks about creating dynamic displays. These might be the same dolls in different seasonal surroundings. Displays in cabinets can also be rotated out onto table top displays periodically. Change is a good thing for dolls and their mothers. As Burley says, “Not least of all, dolls offer a way to play in the midst of a busy and stressful world, no matter how old we are.”