Helen and Teacher

Helen and Teacher
The Story of my Life

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Antique Doll Collector Magazine: Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah! A Peaceful 20...

Antique Doll Collector Magazine: Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah! A Peaceful 20...: We wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season, and a Safe, Happy New Year!  Love from all of us at Antique Doll Collector Magazine, and of course,...

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: We Salute and Mourn with the People of Berlin

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: We Salute and Mourn with the People of Berlin: We Salute and Mourn with the People of Berlin Original Wir begrüssen und trauern mit den Menschen in Berlin Heute sind wi...

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Miss Charlotte Bronte meets Miss Barbara Pym: Sta. Lucia Day

Miss Charlotte Bronte meets Miss Barbara Pym: Sta. Lucia Day: May you have peace on this beautiful day celebrating Sta. Lucia, an excellent woman and child from Ancient times.   I always wanted to play ...

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Doll Museum: Seasons Greetings and a Few Announcements

Doll Museum: Seasons Greetings and a Few Announcements: Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Doll!!I would like to let everyone know that I am writing fairly regularly for the R. John Wright...

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Holocaust Education

PROGRAMS OFFERED
BY
THE HOLOCAUST EDUCATION COMMITTEE
OF THE GREATER QUAD CITY AREA

SPEAKERS AND PRESENTERS
Authors, exhibits, Holocaust specialists and dramatic presentations are provided to schools, libraries, churches and other community venues through grants and collaboration with community groups.

INSTITUTES AND WORKSHOPS
Since 1993, Holocaust institutes and workshops have been offered to Quad City educators, students and community members.  Institutes are scheduled in the fall of odd-numbered years.

TRUNKS AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
The Jeff Leibovitz Special Collection, housed at the Western Illinois University Quad City Campus in Moline, provides access to over a thousand resources, including sets of traveling curriculum cases focused on Making a Difference, Rescuers and Resisters, and Diaries and Memoirs. 

ESSAY AND ART CONTESTS
The Ida Kramer Children and the Holocaust Essay Contest and the Meyer and Frances Shnurman Holocaust Visual Arts Contest are open to students in grades 7-12.  Submissions are due annually on February 1.

TEACHER SCHOLARSHIPS
Applications for the Rauch Foundation Teacher Scholarship, from $200 to $2,000, are due annually on April 1 or October 1 to support professional development.  The scholarship covers expenses for travel, housing, and/or registration for conferences, workshops or tours.
A BOOK BY ME
Youth, 18 years old or younger, interview, research, write and illustrate a 10-page book about a Holocaust survivor, liberator or rescuer.  
           
Promoting a higher awareness of the Holocaust as a unique historical event with universal implications for today


WEBSITE: www.hecqc.org

Monday, October 31, 2016

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Doll Museum: October 19th Rendezvous by Theriault's

Doll Museum: October 19th Rendezvous by Theriault's: October is Doll Month, or at least Theriault's has made it one with several terrific auctions this month.  Here is information for the l...

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Friday, September 16, 2016

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Mud Toys and Paper Dolls

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Mud Toys and Paper Dolls: From In Order to Live . . . by Y. Park: "Yong Ja and I were the same age, and we lived in the same part of town. I liked her because...

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Friday, September 9, 2016

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: National Teddy Bear Day and More!

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: National Teddy Bear Day and More!: Dolls are everywhere!   In the aftermath of an apartment house fire today on the news, a girl who survived was rejoicing that she found ...

Thursday, September 1, 2016

The Fierce, Forgotten Library Wars of the Ancient World

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-fierce-forgotten-library-wars-of-the-ancient-world?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20160831&bt_email=tsagariselle@yahoo.com&bt_ts=1472652490501

We these in grad school.  People sabotaged articles and The Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature.  Books alsomysteriously disappeared around the time papers were due.  There was one jerk who stole the stalking statute out of our law library when he heard I was looking for it.  He was opposing counsel, and an idiot's idiot.  It's quite a story, when I was stalking victim and virtual co counsel all wrapped in one.

Shades of Kostova's The Historian, anyone?  All poor Drac wanted was someone to curate his books!!


Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Dolls of Memory: Halloween and Autumn


I belong to a Facebook Group titled “For the Love of Fall and Halloween.”  That says it all.  We love, love autumn.  We countdown the days to Halloween, and share our collections of Halloween decorations and autumn leaves.  It is inevitable that the dolls and figurines of the season also frequently appear.  I love the season because of the memories it evokes.  When I started school, it always seemed to get cooler much faster than it does now.  Fall meant apples and new school books, new clothes, new friends, and new classes.  My mother would be sewing my Halloween costume, and we would be planting mums in different colors.

 

Autumn meant caramel apples and The Spoon River Scenic drive.  It meant leaf collecting, and handmade ink blocks to make our own leaf designs and stencils.  Fall fashion meant new sweaters and boots, plans for Thanksgiving, and cool, crisp nights.

 

We got out the blow mold ghosts and masks we loved to decorate with, and took out my cutouts for our window.  Some were vintage examples, scarred with ancient scotch tape but still beloved.  Others, equally loved were now faded, collage projects of construction paper, poster paint and old magazines.  My favorite decoration along these lines was a Halloween poster the local 7th graders made for Bell’s Auto.  The grim reaper, hooded and draped with real material, reached out a hand made of chicken bones! The effect was truly eerie!  I wish I’d had Instagram in those days!

 

My collection of witch dolls, some from Salem came out, along with my Crypt Keepers.  Even our doll houses had ghosts. One Tootsie Pop ghost wrapped in Kleenex was a gift in grade school from a little friend named Joanie. It still haunts the doll house.  Others are was novelty candles.  Beanie Baby ghosts and other Halloween plush share room with vintage pumpkin lanterns and hard plastic figurines.

 

On Halloween night, after we decorated with gourds and as many jack o’ lanterns as we could carve; my dad took me and my friends trick-or-treating.

 

The next day, sugar skulls and assorted skeletons and Calaveras decorated the house for The Day of the Dead, an important holiday to my mom and me; we both taught Spanish.

 

By the time “The Nightmare before Christmas” came out, I was in Halloween Heaven! I also recommend Ray Bradbury’s The Halloween Tree and the Bradbury narrated animated film of the same title.

 

At Thanksgiving, my Pilgrims and Native American dolls decorated our table along with turkey statues and chicken candles.  We hardly had room to eat!

 

In memory of those wonderful days, and of my family that made them so good, I share with you some of the fall dolls and collectibles from my collection.  Turn out the lights, plug in the blow mold décor, switch on the led candles and turn up the air conditioning so you can cuddle up under your favorite blanket as you enjoy this tour of autumn dolls, toys, and collectibles.

























Wednesday, July 20, 2016

My Speech; It's all Original!!

06/16/2000

Along with our Executive Director, and the rest of Quest College, I’d like to welcome you to our school.  Our new name stems from an ancient word that also reflects our mission in Education.
The word quest was first used in 1303, and over the years has been associated with seekers and explorers who had the courage to set goals to follow dreams, even in the face of great obstacles.  For most of us, perhaps, the word is most associated with the knights errant of old, who set out on expeditions to accomplish what was most dear to them.  In an educational setting, we at Quest like to think we prepare our students to be inquiring professional and intellectual knights and dames, Renaissance people capable of excelling in their chosen careers, and able to thrive in the professional world.

 Among other duties, the Academic Dean oversees Academics and serves as am ambassador between the students and faculty of our institution.  Therefore, our curriculum is  important to me, and I am very proud of  our classes, our students, and our faculty.  An integral part of the team that makes up academics at quest is the Distance Learning School.  Our online school  adds strength to our residential program, and removes time and place barriers that many students may otherwise encounter.  We at Quest believe in learning across the curriculum, and our colleagues in distance are part of a team that makes that possible. 

Our academic team is also part of an academic program that rivals that of our sister two and four year institutions through the bistate area.  We are an old and respected member of the Quad Cities community, and we are proud to serve the members of that community, and even more proud that many of them return that debt by staying in their community to further their careers.  We look forward to our new Bachelors programs in Applied Management and Information Technology Applied Management this fall, and to continue serving city, state, and country.





Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Some Teaching, Writing, Legal Research Experience ...

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Some Teaching, Writing, Legal Research Experience ...: Partial Listing for Early 2000s; see also my LinkedIn Profile.  I am available for Free Lance Writing, Professional Blogging, Editing, Fict...

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Monday, June 27, 2016

Making a Murderer


Making a Murderer

 

This Netflix series/documentary tells the story of Steven Avery of Wisconsin, falsely accused, in imprisoned for 18 years for a rape he did not commit.  After 18 years, the real perpetrator was caught and convicted.  Avery sued the county for millions upon millions of dollars for false, and I would argue malicious prosecution.  Before the suit could be settled, Avery was charged with the murder of a photographer he knew as a business associate.  This is the most gruesome case of “here we go again” I have ever watched. More comments forthcoming when I see the rest of the series and do some homework on the case, but the bungles and incompetent malice so the county involved is, unfortunately, very familiar to me.

 

As both a legal professional and crime victim, I can tell you that the system is far from perfect.  Most officers have way too much discretion in my jurisdiction, and the Das office wants to make everything either domestic, which they don’t want to deal with, or civil, which they can’t deal with.

 

Victims are just a piece of evidence.  We have not rights, and if we do not hire our own attorneys, we can’t rely on the victims’ rights advocates; they work for the DA.

 

No one seems to understand probably cause, and if you are a victim, there must be something “suspect” about your own behavior.

 

The beat cops and traffic cops have never heard of Miranda v. Arizona, but they love to intimidate anyone they feel they need to hassle. Yet, when we have evidence of crimes committed against us, it disappears into their evidence locker.

 

Protective orders become mere” suggestions.” If the defendant can explain why she was at the prohibited location, it’s “Okey Dokey” with Officer Friendly.

 

We have a local states attorney who left in disgrace, and a county sheriff that followed suit.  One judge now stocks toys at a local big box store because of repeated traffic and DUI offenses, and another judge in federal prison.

 

We had several ADAs trying very hard to get a job with me in private sector; one was budding novelist who Xeroxed her stories about raven haired lasses with crotchless panties on the county’s copy machine. In one case, she told me she could not represent the victim because she worked for the DA and didn’t want to upset him.  We can’t blame the DA for not caring, though; he was too busy pursuing his non-legal grad school studies and covering up for his baby girl’s DUIs.

 

Catherine Crier has a point.  Read her publications on corruption in the legal profession.

 

This is the tip of the iceberg.  I was a stalking victim for over ten years, with property damage and a lot of stress.  My family, church, and employer were all targeted.  No one wanted to do anything.  I plan on publishing the blog I kept over those years. Maybe someone will benefit.

 

As a legal professional myself, I am ashamed for my own people.  This is not the way we were taught to uphold the law or deal with the public.  What happened to our courses in ethics and victims’ rights?

 

When did our motto become “everything is legal!”

 

Next time, my rants on home health care and care giving.  This is the biggest, most disappointing racket, yet, and there is no help.  My dad’s experience during a brief stay at Fiendish Manor rehab, and their attempts at retaliation, will fill a book. Perhaps these “Memoirs” will prevent someone else from suffering.

 

 

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Monday, May 16, 2016

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Antique Doll Collector Magazine: An Interview with Rebekah Kaufman; Calling all Teddy Bears!

 Have you hugged your teddy bear lately?



Antique Doll Collector Magazine: An Interview with Rebekah Kaufman: Rebekah Kaufman giving appraisals on cloth stuffed toys When did you start collecting? My passion for collecting dolls and b...

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Shakespeare

Yesterday was a literary milestone, albeit one overshadowed by the death of Prince, truly another artist and musical genius of his.  We must at this point, say, with no pun meant, "Good Night, Sweet Prince; Flights of Angels sing thee to they Rest."

Shakespeare was allegedly born, and did die, on April 23d.  He shares dates of birth and death with Miguel de Cervantes, author of "Don Quixote de la Mancha" and "La Gitanilla."  Some critics feel the greatest works of literature in the world are The Bible,  Cervantes' works, and Shakespeare's works, not necessarily in that order. James Joyce also died on April 23d, but in 1941.  He shares birth dates and death dates with V. Woolf, 1882-1941. 

I have had the privilege of teaching Shakespeare, and of co-authoring a published article about him, for several years.  I've amassed quite a library of my own materials on the immortal bard.  I have a lot of memorabilia, and I have twice been to the Stratford, Ontario Royal Shakespeare Festival. 

Yet, I am the first to say, no one can know all there is to know about him.  Still, I will say that 10,000 years from now, all of our other literature may be forgotten, but people will still be teaching Shakespeare.  He is enduring, he is adaptable.  His truths are universal.   He wrote of other cultures, of other worlds, of people of color, long before multicultural studies were born. His women are astounding individuals, brave and strong, and assertive.  He addresses major issues of the day, even to criticizing monarchs, as in Richard II,  The Henry Plays, and the most dangerous of all, Macbeth.
Most of what I learned about teaching I learned from him, and from my Shakespeare professor.

If I could only take one book with me on  a desert island, it would be The Complete Works of Shakespeare.

Happy Birthday, indeed.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Sunday Night and 60 Mins

Lately, I've been thinking a lot of "Our Town" and Emily's wish to go back to earth for just one more day, one more ordinary day with her family.  I often want that, just one more ordinary day with my mother, and my dad, the way things used to be.  We'd watch "Dragnet", or "Hec Ramsey," or "Dirty Sally," and I liked baking chocolate chip cookies.

Mom made orzo soup, or we ordered Harris pizza as a treat, with mushroom being my favorite. Usually, my homework was finished.  Before I had my dogs, Killer and Smokey, I might ride my bike in summer, or catch "The Wonderful World of Walt Disney."

If we had been to church, we ate out at Bishops Buffet.  Without fail, I had creamed chicken.  The first or last Sunday, we went to flea markets after lunch.  Then, I did my math homework.

When I was very little, I might get to watch "Bonanza" or "To Rome, with Love", then I took a bath.  For years, I associated the them from "Bonanza" with bubble bath scent.  I feel asleep to Tom Jones singing; my folks use to listen to him  sing on his TV show after "Bonanza".

Later, after I came home from school, we went out to Sunday brunch, and drove to flea markets or antique malls for short day strips.  The three of us could be very impulsive, and if weather permitted, Smokey dog would come with us, a puppy born to the open road.

Those were innocent times, and they seemed to go on forever.   Sundays have become stressful days, now, full of work and constant movement.  It seems to be always cold, and the sun doesn't shine much.  Dad isn't well, and the future is very uncertain.

At this point in my life, when I seem to be equidistant from 30 as from 80, I don't want much.  I just wish I could have one more Sunday with my family,  just one more batch of chocolate chip cookies for the road.



Thursday, April 7, 2016

The Physical Art of Handwriting; Some Thoughts

It's a shame so many schools no longer teach cursive writing.  Think about it; we are depriving our kids of the pleasures of writing the capital S's, G,s and L's in cursive, again to line drawing or contour drawing, similar to the ampersand and Treble Clef in drawing pleasure.  Each writer writes as uniquely as his fingerprint leaves images on objects.  Calligraphers and sign painters who do lettering know the beauty of physical writing, as well as the near mathematical precision.  Think the illuminated letters on The Book of Kells and other manuscripts.  Handwriting analysis proves the uniqueness of our own penmanship, and beautiful penmanship gracing old letters is itself a visual treat.  I have terrible handwriting, but I appreciate it. It's mine.  My penmanship tells my life story, and I never got carpal tunnel from it as I did from typing.  I love following the curves of small a's, and the tiny curves on b's and capital Ps.  I love handwriting notes in Spanish, too.  I studied a little Mandarin in college, and was intrigued by how the characters were brushstroked.  Creating a certain signature is also a pleasure, on that is lost for many kids today.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Cat and Mouse



Alex Cross, Cat and Mouse, 1997. Hachette Book Group USA – Vision, 1998.

James Patterson is so prolific, that we might forget what a good storyteller he really is.  It is easy to dismiss him as a literary guppy that reproduces book after book after book, in every conceivable genre or media, which books then find their way onto drugstore, airport, and supermarket book racks.

Yet, Patterson is a powerfully successful author, and a riveting story teller, one who generously shares his craft by teaching classes, and by selecting co-authors to travel with him on his amazing literary journeys. (PS; if you read this Mr. Patterson, just Google me to contact me!).

Like Shakespeare, Patterson understands revenge tragedy, history, and passion.  He creates panoply of Everyman characters that appeal to everyone on the globe, which may be why he can boast that he can look out of his taxi window in Morocco and see a woman in the next cab reading one of his novels. The Women’s Murder Club series features law enforcement professionals of every ethnicity and social strata, who happen to be women as well as brilliant practitioners at what they do.  Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas is a brave, sad story of a doomed family, their love for each other, how they live with the devastation of loss, how they move on.  Rather than descend into the kind of saccharine melodrama that I’m ashamed to say makes me laugh, not cry, the book is consolation to anyone whose life has been interrupted by inexplicable and sudden loss.

Finally, we come to the magnificent and brilliant Renaissance man, African American detective, psychologist, sometime profiler, pianist, cop, family man, good friend, and devoted husband, Dr. Alex Cross.

What I find appealing about the Alex Cross series is how the titles borrow and incorporate themes of nursery rhymes, children’s games, and children’s literature. Mary, Mary, Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, Four Blind Mice, London Bridges, The Big Bad Wolf, Along came a Spider, Jack and Jill, and Cat and Mouse skillfully incorporate themes of childhood into chilling stories of serial killers and depraved hearts that remind that Grimm’s Fairy Tales and many current children’s classics, did not begin as children’s stories at all.

Cat and Mouse, in particular, takes the reader on a true cat and mouse journey with Dr. Cross.  The already wild ride gets even stranger and wilder when Cross tracks two serial killers, one a cruel psychopath whose violence was triggered by a vintage set of Lionel Trains, and another dual personality killer who on the one hand, is a doctor detective tracking a vicious killer on two continents for the FBI, but on the other hand, is a murderous monster who performs autopsies on his still living victims. The second killer is also a curious allusion to Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which was being performed as a play during the Jack the Ripper murders of 1888.  At one time, the actor in the starring role was a suspect.

Something particularly interesting in Cat and Mouse is that Patterson gives us a portrait, albeit a brief one, of at least one of the murderers’’ victims.  Many suspense/slasher mysteries  like this only tell us enough about the victim to reinvent him or her as piece of evidence crucial to solving the case.  What struck me as I read this novel was that Dr. Abel Sante, one of the victims brutally killed, is allowed to introduce himself to us.  We learn of his regrets, of his remorse for not marrying his long time girl friend, of his likes and dislikes, of his fear, of how he tries to give himself hope as he awaits slaughter at the hands of his killer.

So, once Dr. Sante [a pun on “health” and “saint”] reveals himself to us and becomes a real character, why is he killed off anyway?  His death seems abrupt to me, as if it were literally a loose end in the aftermath of sewing up after an autopsy. I’d like to read the novel of Dr. Sante’s life, and what in his life journey set him on the path of a collision with the derailed mind of a serial killer, one who is also a doctor.

Of course I understand that mystery writers cannot always develop their victims’ personalities as we might like.  They are there, as I said, to be evidence, and to give us enough information to rouse our emotions and outrage.  If people we like, who are like us, can die this horribly, why not us?   That fear, along with the gore and violence, help to move the story along.

Yet, it is a sad comment on the judicial system that in the real world, victims are nothing more than a piece of evidence, or a witness to the crime against the people.  In fact, it is the People of the State, or of the United States, who are the plaintiff’s in a criminal action.  The offense is against them as a society, not against the individual.  I have been on both sides of the bench in these matters, as someone working on criminal trial gathering evidence, and as a victim, barred from her attacker’s trial in the name of justice.
                                                                                                                
This is why victims’ rights advocates exist, if the victim can find one.  They aren’t much help to homicide victims, who are perhaps the ultimate collection of evidence there is.

So, without digressing further and giving the story completely away, read Patterson for the master storytelling, for his amazing portrayal of Dr. Alex Cross, for his literary allusions, and if you can admit it to yourself, for the thrill of the violence and the gore.  If nothing else, Patterson will make you want to reread you collections of children’s literature, young adult novels, Shakespeare, and even as I did, reread your copy of Baudelaire’s The Flowers of Evil.  Yes, that book, too, makes its appearance in Cat and Mouse.  It jumped out at me from my own bookshelf shortly after I began Patterson’s book.

One more thing, read Cat and Mouse in a well-lit room, preferably with other people present or a very big dog standing sentinel, and schedule your doctor’s appointments several months after you finish the book. 

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Ellen's Take from R. John Wright Blog

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Ellen's Take from R. John Wright Blog: Her is a link to my post, and a huge thanks to R. John Wright, Rachel Hoffman, and the folks at R. John Wright Dolls!! http://rjohnwrightb...

Monday, April 4, 2016

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Collecting Preserves Memories; Domes, Insurance, Dolls, and Strawberries! Free!

Sweet Strawberry Shortcake and Her friends Rethought!
I thank M, one of our readers, who suggested our first piece on Strawberry Shortcake.  What a lovely idea with spring just around the corner!  This week was a bustle of pre-spring activities, including our March Antique show and the first ads for our spring flower show.  Don't we all want to go to the sun!!  Our next post deals with tips on how to insure and protect dolls.  While I'm no expert in insurance, this is food for thought for us collectors.  Another wonderful reader inspired our post on types of dolls to collect; she had some very interesting preferences that were inspiring.  Doll collecting seems to be enjoying a Renaissance this spring; many new dolls were introduced at The New York Toy Fair, and many great doll shows are springing up everywhere.  I plan to write more about our antique show, but there were many dolls and similar items available, more than I have seen in years. I did very well there, and also well at a retirement sale of a shop that featured Boyd's Bears, Wee Forest Folk, Steiff, and more. One lovely object at the antique show from Summer Kitchen Antiques was a very large dome, about 2 feet in height or more, that contained a scene made of tiny French fashion type dolls that had bisque heads and limbs, but tiny bodies of steel springs.  They danced along a grassy flowered, slope to music.  Just fantastic!  I also note that current issues  of Doll Castle News and Antique Doll Collector Magazine feature very unusual mechanical dolls, primarily made with metal and composition and papier mache.  With spring comes a lot of doll variety, so have fun choosing and collecting!  Remember to write at etsag1998@aol.com.
Ellen Tsagaris
Doll Collecting Expert
strawberry shortcake
Sweet Strawberry Shortcake and Her friends Rethought!  
Strawberry Shortcake, now 35 and counting, and her doll friends, continue to be popular with collectors. And, they smell as good as ever!
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Caring for Dolls and More; How to insure Our Treasures  
Here are some ideas for protecting and insuring your dolls for posterity. Dolls should be safe from damp, heat, and destruction!
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Leo Moss
Focus on some Dolls to Collect, suggest by one of our Readers  
A Reader's Request leads to Tips on Buying Dolls, including Dolls with Teeth! Here are some ideas for collecting some unusual dolls.
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wax
Miniature Doll Worlds encased in Glass  
Glass domes were all the rage in the Victorian Era; they housed everything from tiny dolls to wax fruit. I saw one this weekend that was priced at $12,000!
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Monday, February 29, 2016

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Memories of Dolls

The Mandalay Marionettes Swing Again! Happy Valentine's Week
It's Valentine's Day and President's Day tomorrow! The New York Toy Fair took place this weekend, along with one of our oldest Antique Shows!  Look for reports on both soon!  This week we take a look at the famous Mandalay Marionettes and their important role in the culture of Myanmar.  Also, in light of last week's Rendezvous Auction, an update on our girl Ginny is printed here for your approval.  Here is also a review of some lovely Chinese opera dolls and dolls for Washington's Birthday in honor of President's day.  Do you have photos of patriotic dolls you would like to share?  Email me at etsag1998@aol.com.  Note that our old "collect dolls" email address is no longer in service, and thanks to the persistent reader who found me last week when she discovered the old email no longer worked.  I'd also like to take time to remember my friend, Mary Hillier, who loved Valentine's Day, and whose last gift to me was a magazine in which she had published about antique Valentines.  Mary left this world on February 14, 1999, but she is with me every day in spirit, and her wonderful doll research lives on.  Happy Collecting, and Happy Valentine's Day, and thank you for your notes and emails.
Ellen Tsagaris
Doll Collecting Expert
burmese puppets
The Mandalay Marionettes Swing Again!  
The Burmese Marionette Theater has dates to ancient times as a means of education, entertainment, communication and religious instruction.
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ginny debutange
An About Requested Update of a Popular Little Doll  
Here is an update on Ginny, in time for an auction of Ginny items by Theriault's.
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cat-1117_378.jpgchinese.jpg
Chinese Opera Dolls; part of an Important Theater Tradition  
In honor of Chinese New Year, and centuries of Chinese doll making, here is a post about these amazing dolls.
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Dolls for Washington's Birthday-Emma Clear, Effanbee, More  
.The Father of our Country and the First President inspired many fine dolls and figurines, and as a doting parent, he also bought dolls and toys.
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