 |
| An antique baby doll with her stuffed puppy relax on the floor. |
The following doll family, photo album collection photographed by Edna Knowles King has been restored by Kathy Grimm in 2023 on her family blog. This slide show is an excellent doll reference for serious research by collectors and also for those who simply love antique dolls. There are over 100 photos of dolls including babies, ladies and child dolls too!
ABOUT MRS. KING AND HER DOLLS
 |
| A composition cowboy doll called Dan Whistling, a whistler doll with a cloth body, and composition arms and head. He holds a tiny harmonica in this photo. (1920s) |
'Have you ever wondered what becomes of the old dolls that little girls have loved and then outgrown? Many of them are broken or lost or burned up or thrown away. This is a sad fate for a doll which has been kissed and cherished, put to bed and taken to tea parties by a once-loving mother.
A lucky few of these old dolls have been treasured by the grown-up girls who owned them, and passed on to a second generation of little daughters. Perhaps that is the nicest fate which an old doll could have, but many are not so fortunate. If they have been saved at all, they are hidden away with torn frocks and dirty faces in dusty attics or old trunks.
Forgotten dolls have one good friend. Her name is Edna Knowles King, and she has turned her lovely house into a sort of doll heaven. If you should go to call on Mrs. King, you would be greeted by a dignified lady doll, almost as large as a child, who sits in her own chair by the fireside. She is a lady of 1860, and the shy smile, which she gives you from the shadow of her plumed bonnet, tells you how happy she is to have been rescued from her attic. As you look about Mrs. King's living room you will see that there are lots more beautiful old dolls smiling at you from shelves and chairs. But you will soon discover that these are only a few of the many, many dolls which live upstairs and downstairs, in cabinets and drawers and closets in Mrs. King's house. There are old dolls and new dolls, big dolls and little dolls, boy dolls and girl dolls, and dolls of all nations - nearly two thousand in all - and like a true mother, Mrs. King loves every one of them.
You can readily see that, while this is a paradise for dolls, it is also a paradise for little girls. Wouldn't you love to live next door to Mrs. King? The next best thing is to see the beautiful photographs which Dr. Joseph T. King makes of the dolls. My little girl and I have enjoyed them for a long time, and we are both very happy to know that they have been made into a book for the enjoyment of children all over the country. It is a pleasure to have a small share in introducing Edna Knowles King and her numerous family to doll lovers everywhere, and to wish her success with her family album and the many other doll picture books which should come after it.' Carol Ryrie Brink
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your thoughts. All comments are moderated. Spam is not published. Have a good day!