ART OF COLLECTING The art of collecting dolls is named in French as "plangonophilie" . I don’t know if there is a same word in English. Beyond the hobby, the aware collector is watchful to the material, the artistic outfit and the period of each doll
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Why collecting dolls ? Folk dolls, costume dolls, national or souvenir dolls, however you may call them, had the wind in their sails when the first European trips occured in the 18 th century. The trend spread all over especially in the countries visited by the Westerners. Wearing the national or specific costume with the traditional headdress, dolls were often handmade but nowadays they mainly come from an mass-produced industry. Travel substantially triggered off their development among local populations, who created souvenir dolls for travelers. In the 19th century, regional costume dolls were exhibited at world fairs. Ever since, folk dolls had emphasized the authentic and local research, as rural life was to fade. As a consequence, heritage preservation became a popular movement on developing lots of regional dolls in the 50’s to the 70’s, the peak production. Nowadays, costume dolls are disappearing. Some high-value dolls may be found on secondhand markets, garage sales, auction sales,.... but doll production has become scarce.One must know that "folklore" appeared in the dictionary only in the mid 19th century and folk costume showed up after the French Revolution (18th century).
As a political or an identity claim, the regional costume was to disappear with urban life and rural depopulation. Nevertheless, we have to make it survive through miniature collectible dolls.
Art of collecting The spirit of the collector can embrace a wide field: the toy doll, doll show, folk doll, figurine, Provencal figurines, miniature, etc. ... It is therefore necessary to choose the appropriate theme and set its limits. In my case, cs are folk dolls all over the world. It is defined by the costume (historical, traditional, old job ..), size (small, medium), nature (remember dolls, antique dolls).
How to get them: Shopping in touristic areas on travelling, in antique vintage or flea markets, on Ebay and collector dealings...
My collection is keeping on growing. I always look for dolls from missing regions. If ever should you own any doll you would like to get rid off, I would be pleased to get it. Thank you for mailing me with photo attached.
Costume identification Several criteria can be considered: the place of purchase getting information from the seller, old postcards, documents (drawings, books, models, museums, etc. ..) which can be found .... If people can help me identify any doll I have a doubt, please write me.
Storage, conservation and enhancement: Storage requires a huge organization. A good inventory is a useful tool to find a specific item. I advise you to record any information found from a document for each doll.
Conservation is important because materials deteriorate over time, moisture and light. A showcase is obviously the essential furniture to enjoy your collection and keep it in good condition free from dust, paying attention to sun exposure. If no enough space available to display your dolls, closed opaque boxes, cabinets and drawers are convenient as well. Whatever the location, it is important to protect cloth by anti-moth products.
Trademarks or labels In France and also in other neighboring countries, there are many makers but some are more popular and have reached real value. The aware collector is able to recognize the characteristics of each maker even if the label has been lost or misplaced. For my part, I have many labelled dolls (see "My dolls File" tab).
Dolls overstock or different category... Some dolls are in overstock or do not correspond exactly to the standard of my collection (duplicates, similar costumes, larger size, outsized category, etc ....)
In this section I will show dolls on sale for potential collectors. (non-professionals only)
The Web showcase Setting up a website is the best way to share one’s passion. According to personal organization or style, the display must be attractive to visitors.
The shots have been taken with a digital camera illuminated by natural light. The picture is face taken with a mirror at the back to show the back of the costume and give a more complete description.
Every shot must be edited to obtain a web compression and quickly downloading the different pages of the site.
My small collection is divided into two main sections:
About the site... To facilitate updates while allowing visitors browse among my doll collection, a new site configuration has been set up. Any new purchase will be added directly into the database, through the drop-down menus.
The headlines (title / subtitle) is like a navigation bar which allows the visitor to locate perfectly into the site (Go to the sitemap page "General Information" ).
In the past, folk dolls manufacturers were numerous but only a few have overpassed the decline of doll lovers. In fact, some doll brands have developed their fame and been sought after by collectors. The label attached to the doll is a characteristic of its maker.
Please select the brand you would like to find.
I hope you appreciate your visit.
which puts the link by inserting the code below directly into your site: