I was musing on my way to work this morning, navigating this and that bridge obstacle, and I started to think of famous collectors and the dolls they buy. I've read adjectives like "choice" and "rare" in doll lists and ads since the first grade. Catalogs invite us to buy, but many of the popular dolls are prohibitive.
What I want to know, along with other curious doll collecting minds, is how do people pay for these uber-expensive dolls? How did the buyer of the nearly $400,000 K*R doll pay for her? How do dealers of Middle Class Means buy up a car load of antique dolls, with many costing over $1000, and manage to take them home and pay the taxes?
It may not be any of my business, but really it is. I'm in the industry, too.
A few may trade, it's true. Some sell dolls on the side to buy others. I know some are wealthy, it goes without saying. But, read Julianne Phillips' "You won't eat Lunch in this Town Again," and you will learn that even the fabulously rich can't cough up enough cash for some things, and many won't, even if they are avid collectors.
So, how do you handle more than one trip to Europe to buy dolls at the $100,000+ level, go to UFDC, which is very expensive, though worthwhile, pay for tickets and accomodations, and sometimes, customs tariffs, and do it more than once a year, even if you are rich?
Please understand my tone is curious and admiring; I'd like to start a dialog, and I'd like to hear from my readers, well over 150,000 on this and Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog alone, and over 3 millions on Google+.
Also, you can try me on Doll Collecting at About.com, collectdolls.about.com.
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