The woman peered into the little white paper bag, not sure of what she’d find inside. “Is this doll furniture?” she asked. Yes, it is. She then picked up the bag and began taking out the plastic pieces:
Fireplace mantle. Bed. Upright phonograph. Dresser and mirror. Kitchen cabinet with sink. Refrigerator. Sofa. High chair. About 25 pieces of tiny doll-house furniture, some a little warped. (Click the photo below to get a full view of the furniture.)
She didn’t say much while she was examining them, but by the look on her face I could tell that she was remembering – the memory of her own doll house as a little girl. Many of us have those memories. I don’t recall having a doll house, but as an adult I can’t resist the cute little furniture.
The woman was faced with a dilemma: She loved the pieces and wanted them, but wasn’t sure how she’d used them. She wasn’t a collector (and I’m sure she no longer had her doll house), so like many of us she needed a good reason to buy them. Uncertain, she finally left, said she wanted to look around a bit more – and think about what she’d do with the furniture – and come back.
And she did return. “I brought my husband,” she said, and behind her dutifully trailed a tall man who seemed okay with the idea of helping his wife decide on doll furniture. He followed her to the bag, she showed him the pieces and they talked among themselves. Still uncertain, she left again without buying.
The woman was one of several people who peeked into the bag of furniture pieces at a flea market last weekend, but one of only two who was interested enough to take them out. It’s almost the same at auction: Most people avoid doll furniture unless they are collectors or dealers, and there are plenty of collectors. Some collect different types of dolls – Vintage Barbie is highly collectible and one of the most collected, along with her early outfits – doll houses, doll furniture, doll accessories and anything else doll-related.
Two months ago, I attended the International Black Doll Show and Sale in Philadelphia and met women – there weren’t any men as I recall – who sold antique and vintage dolls, and others who made their own dolls. The hand-made ones were some of the loveliest dolls I had ever seen. These women were artists.
I had dolls as a child. What little girl didn’t? Those were our free-from-worry times, when we could escape to a make-believe world where we and our dolls could be and do anything we wanted. The good times, as Al Green called them (but he wasn’t singing about dolls. Beware: I started listening to “For The Good Times” for this blog post, and couldn’t resist clicking “How to Mend A Broken Heart.” What memories!).
I recall as a junior or senior in high school making miniature doll-house furniture. Looking back, it’s amazing to me that I actually did it. I don’t recall much of the making of the furniture (such as where I got the wood, cut it into pieces and glued it together), but I recall why. It was for a French assignment that a classmate and I were working on. We had to come up with a novel way of learning the French terms for furniture pieces. My brainstorm was to make the pieces and attach the names to them.
I’m sure we got a good grade for our innovation. I gave the furniture to my teacher for her little girl.
As for the woman at the flea market: When she came back a third time, the furniture was gone . Someone else had seen the pieces, taken them out of the bag, fell in love with them on first sight and bought them on the spot. The first woman bought an early version of the Sorry game instead.
Sometimes, you just have to just let nostalgia take over. Doll furniture waits for no one. Tell me about your experiences with dolls and doll houses.
