Evening star., 1939-02-03
of
Dolls From
Far Lands
Over a Hundred
Countries Are
Represented
By HELEN XOGT.

Washington at this moment Is
housing one of the greatest groups
of foreign representatives ever to
grace the city. However. unlike
former gatherings. the convention
will discuss no world affairs. attend
no meetings and make no speeches
either in public or private.
This delegation, representing
about lis countries, is composed
Of imported dolls, and certainly no
visiting dignitaries ever received
more attention and open admiration
than they.
On display at local store, they
are symbolic of almost every coun-
try of the world, and nearly every
land is represented by a number of
different types. Approximately one
thousand dolls are to be seen
arranged geographically, and the
effect is one of a world tour. From
the far-of provinces of China to
the depths of our own Ozark Noun
tains have come typical represent
atives of the peoples of the earth.
You can understand the character
Of each land by the dolls that they
make and dress themselves" ex-
planned Miss McKim, who is in
charge of the display. and there
is certainly great deal of interest
in doll collecting today. 1t has only
been in the past few years that this
hobby has become noteworthy, for
although people have been COL
lecting for a long time, they have
just found out recently that there
are many others doing the same
thing. On our lists there are more
than 10000 collectors and, in addi-
ton, there is National Doll Hobby
Club. We even publish a bulletin
called Doll Talk"
If this collection could speak,
what an interesting conversation
it would be! Fancy what the old
Chinese woman with her bound
feet and tiny hands could tell us;
or think of the picturesque stories
related by the mountain woman
carved out of cedar wood and
dressed in the typical attire of her
section. Imagine what the Emperor
and Empress of Japan might dis
cuss with the coronation group,
and visualize, if you can, the ma
tive tongues, customs and manners
represented by this display.
Many collectors" said Miss Nc
Kim, do not care so much for the
countries that the dolls represent as
they do for other factors. For in
stance, some collect dolls made of
odd fabrics-cork, sponge, wood or
rubber" A typical example was the
French doll made of cotton covered
with silk stockings which has been
painted. Representing grand mere,
this doll was one of the most real
istic, with her Wrinkled face and an
actual twinkle in her tiny eyes.
"Other collectors" Miss McKim
continued, specialize in size. Some
won't have dolls over 4 inches tall
and others must have them exactly
18 inches"
OF course, the largest number
collect unusual foreign and domes-
tic types. The most interesting one
at the eXhibition-if a single one
could be selected-is what they term
an link doll" 1t seems that several
hundred years ago the mobiles of
China used to order their writing
ink from the established inkmakers,
and at the end of each year the
inkmaker would present his Gus
toner with eight dolls carved out
of the solid ink and painted to
represent the eight virtues. These
elaborate dolls are very rare-there
are only a few still in existence. The
most valuable doll strange as 1t
may seem. is only about 80 years old
one of the few remaining China
headed dolls, about 3 feet tall.
Each doll has its own 'pedigree"
a page of information about the
country and customs 1t represents.
If the collection were to prove
nothing else, it means this-that
the old expression indicating child
ishness, She still collects doll
babies" u definitely outmoded.