Eulenspiegel Angel

My angel ❤️

Puppet Show by a Legendary Troup

From Eukenspiegel Puppet Theater performance December 16th. We do have a bouple Monica Leo dolls. made a finger puppet at workshop that followed.

Singers are from Bucktownn Christmas Revue.

Skyward Dec 2023 with Dr. David Levy

Skyward for December 2023 By David H. Levy On the fourteenth of October 2023, I witnessed my 99th eclipse. This tally includes everything from barely noticeable penumbral eclipses of the Moon, where one can occasionally distinguish a slight shading of one side ofc the Moon as it wanders past the Earth’s outer shadow, to the dramatic and life-affirming total eclipses of the Sun. The October eclipse was actually an annular eclipse or “ring” eclipse. The annular phase occurs during which the entire Moon covers the Sun, but because the Moon is near its apogee, or farthest point from the Earth in its orbit, then the Moon is surrounded by a ring of sunlight. I was all set to join the group heading to southern Texas to see the annular eclipse, but last month I was invited to be the keynote speaker at the Homecoming festival at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. This invitation meant so much to me that I was not about to pass it up. So, I took a big chance, and it paid off. The night of my lecture was clear and starry. I began the lecture with my own definition of what a university can be. The world is as it is; we can try but, in the end, it is difficult if not impossible to change it. A university, however, at its best represents the world as it can be. For me, this represents the ideal of what a university can accomplish. The case of SUNY Plattsburgh is a specific example of that possibility. The not-too-large student population, understandable relationships among students and faculty, careful and interesting course offerings, and even the Plattsburgh Cardinals sporting program, all help to promote this goal. But this University offers one thing more. About 40 miles to the south, within the ancient Adirondack mountains, lies their rural campsite called Twin Valleys. As a youngster I attended the Adirondack Science Camp there in what were three of the happiest summers of my life. And for the past 20 years there has been the Adirondack Astronomy Retreat at this magnificent place. On the eve of the eclipse my friend Ed Guenther and I led a small group of people to observe at our Adirondack Astronomy Retreat site, during which time I did a little comet hunting. The following morning the sky was cloudy but there were plenty of breaks in the clouds so we got a magnificent view of the partial eclipse. We were excited; the crowd was excited, and we thoroughly enjoyed the partial eclipse that lasted about two hours. During this excitement, the solar system continued its inexorable motions, as the Earth, the Moon, and the planets slowly wended their way through space and time.

Edison's talking dolls: child's toy or stuff of nightmares

Happy Hallween!!

Skyward 2023 October by our guest blogger, Dr. David Levy- Pons- Brooks: A Comet for the Centuries

Skyward October 2023 Pons-Brooks: A comet for the centuries.

When David Rossetter and I began our observing session at the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association’s Chiricuaha Astronomy Complex on the evening of August 5, 2023, we did not expect that we would be treated to an evening of cosmic history. That was the night we glimpsed Comet Pons-Brooks, a comet with an orbit that, like Halley’s comet, takes almost a human lifetime to orbit the Sun .I might have spotted it the night before, but on this night David and I saw the same thing, a spot of haze in the darkness. It was a faint misty cloud that bears the names of two of the most famous comet discoverers in all history, a spot of haze with quite a story to tell. Comet Pons-Brooks was first identified by Jean-Louis Pons, the great French comet hunter, during the summer of 1812. In the late summer of 1883, on its subsequent pass around the Sun, it was rediscovered by another famous comet hunter, William Robert Brooks. I first encountered Brooks in a Sky & Telescope article I read in the second issue I received, at age 14, in April 1963. As I digested the story, I learned how Brooks might have politely entertained a visitor to his observatory, and how that visitor eventually learned that Brooks was one of the world’s most famous comet discoverers. As I relished these words, I foresaw myself, some day, also as a hunter of comets. Not a discoverer, because that would be hard. But as a hunter, that’s easy. Those ideas stayed with me until December 17, 1965, when I began my program of searching for comets. Since then, my own life has been punctuated by several sparks of cometary light, as each new comet added brightness to the field of my telescope. I joined a group of people linked not by nation, nor either by continent, but by being citizens of the world united by a love of comets. Emboldened by the offer by Hulbert Harrington Warner of an award of $200 for each comet discovered, Brooks managed to find three comets within five weeks of each other, on April 17, April 30, and May 22 , 1886. He must have known how his colleague Edward Emerson Barnard built his “comet house” partly out of funds also earned from Warner’s award. (The Warner prize has survived through history. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific offered its “Donohoe Comet Medal” for a time, and later Roger Tuthill gave a plaque, and now there exists the Edgar Wilson Award, which is sponsored by the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams [CBAT] of the International Astronomical Union.) Like all serious comet hunters, Brooks was far more interested in discovering comets than in the money he could earn from these finds. In later years his success as a a comet hunter earned him a professorship in astronomy at Hobart College in Geneva, New York. With Brian Marsden’s 1979 Catalogue of Comet Orbits as a guide, we can surmise that Brooks discovered a minimum of 22 comets in his lifetime. Despite this remarkable accomplishment, Brooks is only the second most prolific comet finder in world history, The winning ticket goes to Jean-Louis Pons himself, who was “the first “discoverer” of Comet Pons-Brooks. Truly, Pons was also not the first. This comet might have been observed by Chinese astronomers in the late summer of 245 CE, then definitely by the Chinese in 1385, and in 1457 by Paolo del Pozzo Toscanelli. Pons today is considered to have discovered about thirty comets. Over the decades I observed a second Pons periodic comet, Pons-Gambart, in January 2013. By the way, Pons had a most humble and trusting nature, and in his younger years he was ridiculed by astronomers who should have known better. These days, it is almost impossible for an individual to discover more than half a dozen comets. My total is 23, but as CBAT director Dan Green (possibly correctly) stated, “he discovered 9 comets and lucked out on 11 more,” before graciously adding Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 to my total. Pons and Brooks shared a passion for telescopes and the fleeting comets they could detect parading about the sky. I like to imagine that finding new comets was secondary to their pure enjoyment of the night sky, its treasures, and the secrets that it infrequently shared with those people who truly lived, and live, for its precious hours of darkness.

The Metal Doll Movie; Dedicated to Theriault's GAHC, and Antique Doll Co...

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Review, The Christmas Reindeer by John Donald O'Shea

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Review, The Christmas Reindeer by John Donald O'Shea: The Christmas Reindeer by John Donald O’Shea tells the story of two children who set out to save Christmas by finding Santa’s lost team of r...

A History Of German Toy Making

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: More Collections of Things I Don't Collect

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: More Collections of Things I Don't Collect: One of my favorite shows is Cash and Cari. On a recent episode, one estate sale customer said she went to Cari's sales to find things sh...

Museum Updates

Our July and August have been very exciting at the museum. We had an exhibit on marbles, with a free marble quiz for visitors. Next,in honor of The Barbie Movie, we set up a Barbie's Yacht Party exhibit with Barbies, mermaids, shells, sea creatures, and of course, a yacht. July 21, the Wee Travellers Doll Club of Wisconsin visited. There were goodie bags, refereshments, museum tours, and a special gift shop. Everyone had a wonderful time, and I hope they return soon. Some of our residents and artifacts are visiting our sister museum, the German American Heritage Center. I will be givng a program on German Toy making on August 20th. We had some wonderful donations, including a lovely curio, 36 inch German Bisque doll, pattern, and doll dress from Judy N. Amy S. has donated her precious collection of art dolls. As the spooky fall season approaches, I hope to complete more Halloween doll paintings, and to set up at the Maquoketa doll show. All proceeds we make will go to the museum. Meanwhile, I'm writing, packing and unpacking dolls and toys, going through storage, repairing, dressing dolls, and finishing another book proposal that will include a chapteron relevant dolls. Our museum flowers are thriving in this near tropical heat we are experiencing. It's a good time to work inside. The last issue of Doll Castle News included my tribute to my friend, R. Lane Herron, doll author, historian and artist, who died in November. We hope to add an addition within the next three years. We are thankful for our financial and object donations, and we welcome groups, including the Scouta. Happy Collecting, and thanks for your support!

Skyward for July from Dr. David Levy, our Guest Blogger

Skyward July 2023 A little religion, but not too much. David H. Levy As an undergraduate student at Acadia University, in the Canadian maritime province of Nova Scotia, my geology professor was trying to teach us about the water cycle. Despite reams of published evidence, the best document he could come up with was this beautiful line from Ecclesiastes: “All the rivers run into the sea, ,Yet the sea is not full, Unto the place whither the rivers go, Thither they go again.” --Ecclesisastes 1.7. Dr. George Stevens’s comment had a profound impact on me. First, as a budding young scientist, it opened my mind to the relationship between the night sky and Scripture, and second, later as my passion for the arts grew, it reminded me of how ancient peoples viewed the night sky. From the “11 stars” symbolizing Jacob’s brothers, to the line in Amos about “the seven stars” of the Pleiades, to his aggressive tone with Job (9:5-8): “Who removeth the mountains, and they know it not, (possibly referring to the evolution of the Earth); Who maketh the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades? Who shaketh the Earth out of her place (a big earthquake or a major comet impact), Who commandeth the Sun, and it riseth not (if it rises during an eclipse like the event I saw in 1999 when only a thin crescent of sunlight rose). This is not to mention Joseph’s dream “the Sun and the Moon and eleven stars bowed down” (Genesis 37:9-10.) It must have been a very cloudy or hazy night if all he saw was 11 stars instead of the 2500 to four thousand stars he should have seen from his obviously dark location.) After a lecture I gave in 1994 at my childhood synagogue,, The Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal, the associate Rabbi pointed out how the ancient Israelites followed astrology, right from the line “And let there be lights in the heaven, to divide the day the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and for years.” (Genesis 1.14) He went on to emphasize that these people never worshipped the stars, but they followed astrology out of interest and fun. (Full disclosure: like most people who observe the night sky, I do not follow astrology, but perhaps unlike most of them, I do appreciate that were it not for the thousands of years of meticulous records kept by ancient astrologers, we would probably have no real astronomy, nor a Webb telescope, this evening in 2023. I did promise not too much, so I shall end here with a quotation from Psalm 19: with a new line added for fun, courtesy Peter Collins:) The Heavens declare the glory of God, And the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, And night unto night revealeth knowledge (So long as the sky is clear.”)

Photo by Wendee Levy

Miss Charlotte Bronte meets Miss Barbara Pym: Our Guest Blogger; Dr. David Levy of Jarnac Observ...

Miss Charlotte Bronte meets Miss Barbara Pym: Our Guest Blogger; Dr. David Levy of Jarnac Observ...: Skyward June 2023 Wendee among the stars David H. Levy Never in my life did I appreciate the peace and beauty of the night sk...

In Memoriam R. Lane Herron, doll artist, author, noted authority, and my friend

A Tribute to the Memory of my Friend, R. Lane Herron Recently, I learned through eBay of all places that my friend and pen pal of nearly 37 years, R. Lane Herron, had died. I suspected it, because since Christmas, cards had been coming back to me. I searched diligently, but could find no obituary or grave, het in a back handed way, the rehab facility where he was confined indicated he had passed away. While doing yet another search to see if I could find an obituary or death notice, I found some of his things on eBay, labeled, “from the Estate of R. Lane Herron.” A kind seller filled me in as best he could.

To say the least, I am devastated, but comforted that his books and art dolls will go on. His price guides, fiction and Much Ado About Dolls, a guide for collectors, are full of knowledge and scholarship for collectors that simply isn’t done anymore. He wrote to collectors and doll makers around the globe, including Bernard Ravca, Lewis Sorensen, Joseph Kallus, Madame Alexander, Ann Parker, Lita Wilson, and many more. Lane also struck up correspondence with celebrity collectors like Greta Garbo, Jane Withers, Hattie McDaniel, Joan Crawford, and many more. His father was an actor and lawyer in the entertainment industry. Lane hobnobbed with many famous actors and singers, and he once wrote to me that he sang along with Frank Sinatra. He was a man of strong opinions, but also generous with helping others who were interested in art, antiques and dolls. Lane was an astute businessman who owned antique shops and traveled the world to study dolls for his writing. He reviewed and commented on my books, on several subjects, including literary criticism and doll history. I can only hope that his scrapbooks, photos, letters, and ephemera were saved for posterity. He and I both love books, and I used to send him volumes on history, and politics and other subjects. He sent me stickers, clippings on famous contemporary women, vintage earrings, and antique postcards. I was touched that he told me he put a photo of me and my family visiting Albuquerque in one of his scrapbooks. He also put my wedding invitation in one. Lane loved pets, and his most recent, Lamby Pie and Messy, the dove he rescued, were always prominent in his letters. He wrote of other pets, too, and wrote me a beautiful letter when my dog Smokey died. His compassion for animals was deep, and not to be forgotten. He also loved his family, and mentioned them to me often. I feel as if I know them all. Into his nineties, Lane remained independent and interest in everything. The last two dolls I know he was making were a small and large (nearly 30 inches) Joan Crawford. He admired Crawford, and was creating her as she appeared in the film “Rain.” I searched and found him doll sized bobby pins to style the wig he was creating for her. I also looked around for a home perm so he could do her hair. Often, he would ask me to do some internet research for him, since he hated online work himself. Lane was a frequent contributor many magazines on antiques and dolls, most recently Doll Castle News. His columns on “The Elite World of Dolls” were inspiring, and full of interesting facts about early doll authors and collectors. Sometimes, I received two to three letters per week from him; he loved to write, anything, and was born to be an author. We also exchanged recipes, even for our pets. His recipe for enchiladas is a family favorite. The beautiful dolls he created of historic women and actresses are like nothing else ever made. He prided himself on using vintage lace, fabric, and jewelry, as well on styling their wigs. He had a secret mixture resembling composition/plaster that he used on them, and every detail was perfect. After 37 years, it is hard to accept this kind, vibrant person, so full of talent, is gone. Yet, I am lucky to have had him as a friend, advisor, and correspondent. I will miss receiving his letters, full of little bits of ephemera and news. I used to make coffee, sit down in a favorite chair, and read his wonderful letters, my down time as it were. May his memory be eternal, and may flights of angels sing him to his rest.

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Review of The Stuffed Animal by John Donald O'Shea

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Review of The Stuffed Animal by John Donald O'Shea: This is a touching, beautiful story about a woman who rescues dolls and stuffed toys from yard sales and rubbish heaps so that she can repai...

Medieval Inspiration

This post idea literally came to me in a dream. I dreamed of writing about dolls in the Middle Ages, and my little sleeping beauty castle was featured. I took some dramatic license, but the photos are of the castle as it is progressing, hopefully showing the Medeival influence on the Disney story. Some of the figures are by B. Shackman, now vintage, showing Victorian figures created by Pre-raphaelite artists. There is a post on this blog on Dolls of the Middle Ages with more photos. See also Arthurian Barbie outfits, Midwest doll ornaments, Peggy Niset, Madame Alexander, Air Fix, and other companies creating Medieval outfits for their dolls.

Today is National Barbie Day!

 Per Antique Week, today is our favorite doll's holiday!  I'm  posting some photos, and remind everyone that there is a brief chapter on our girl in Thinking Outside the Doll House; A Memoir. Book is available at a discount from Austin Macaulay at a discount.

Hinamatsuri The Japanese Doll Festival

 Here's an oldie but goody.  Tomorrow is the Japanese Doll Festival, aka The Girls' Festival.  Enjoy.

If you have read Rumer Godden’s Miss Happiness and Miss Flower, you know that The Girls’ Festival in Japan, also known as The Doll Festival, takes place on March 3d.  Today, the Hina Matsuri celebration is also celebrated in the United States. We receive an ad from a Japanese Grocery Store each week, and the week's ad for the first of March featured sweets and special foods for the Doll Festival celebrations. These foods include shirozake, fermented rice sake, tiny crackers flavored with sugar or soy sauce, a salty soup with clams, and rice cake.  Culturally, this is a holiday apparently alive and well among Japanese Families. For information on the Hina Matsuri and other dolls, I recommend The Yokohama Doll Museum site, and works by Scot Alan Pate and Lea Baten. Pat Smith also wrote a book on Asian Dolls.  If you have not read Rumer Godden's Miss Happiness and Miss Flower and Little Plum about the Festival and the lives of three Japanese dolls, you must. Godden liked dolls and actually had the Japanese doll house built and landscaped to inspire her.  Huguette Clark, the famous reclusive heiress and collector, had a master craftsman create special Japanese doll houses for her as well.

 

The festival dates to the Heian period (794-1192).  Ornamental dolls are taken out once a year and arranged on steps covered in red cloth.  Dolls representing the lord and lady of the palace are arranged on the top shelf.  Other dolls representing their attendants and musicians are arranged on the steps along with miniature accessories. According to Japanese-city.com, the origins of The Girls’ Festival date from an ancient custom of floating Hina dolls of straw to the ocean.  The belief was that the dolls contained evil spirits and that as they floated away, the carried the spirits with them out to sea. This custom was called Hina nagashi or doll floating.

 

Lea Baten is one of my favorite doll historians, and her specialty is Japanese dolls.  Carl Fox in The doll also addresses many interesting examples.  See our Pinterest Boards on Japanese Dolls, Doll Collection, and Nepalese Dolls for more examples. According to Alan Scott Pate in his article Hina Matsuri; Dolls from the Japanese Girls’ Day Festival, dolls have been important to Japanese culture for over 13,000 years. Pate has pointed out that the doll on the top tier of the Hina display are the lord and lady, and are not referred to as emperor and empress dolls in Japan.   Other dolls and related items important to Japanese culture are Bunraku puppets, Kokeshi dolls of wood, Hakata dolls made of clay from the city or Hakata, Kabuki actors and actresses, netsuke meant to be tied at the end of sashes, and tiny dolls made of painted rice kernels.  Paper dolls are another Japanese tradition as are mechanical figures called Karakuri that are small, realistic robots that serve tea.  Samurai and other mythic figures celebrate The Boy’s Festival, held May 5^th. Friendship dolls were went to the United States during the 1920s, and American dolls were sent to Japan in exchange.

 

Artist R. John Wright has created beautiful Japanese children as featured in The Toy Shoppe, and French automatons were inspired by Japanese Geisha. German makers also created their versions of Asian and Japanese dolls.  Some Vintage Italian dolls represent Madame Butterfly and wear the traditional Kimono.  Effanbee made a vinyl version of Madame Butterfly in the late 80s.

 

As a recent Theriault’s auction of rare antique Japanese dolls has shown, there is still a brisk interest in these dolls.  The Takara Barbie and Japanese robots and Manga dolls are popular, inspired by their vintage cousins.  Morimura Brothers made bisque dolls in the style of German bisque babies and children, and stone bisque penny dolls made in Japan were very popular during the 30s and 40s.  Celluloid dolls nad toys rr4om Japan are very popular with collectors, as are bisque dolls and figurines marked “Occupied Japan,” made while the Untied States occupied the country just after World War II.  Ball jointed dolls are currently made in Japan, and there is an active community of doll collectors there, including temples devoted to cremating worn out dolls.  Shirley Temple’s life sized Japanese doll retuned home after the 2014 auction of her collection.  Temple had a large number of Japanese dolls in her collection, which were among her favorites. 

Dolls marked Nippon, Occupied Japan, or Morimura Brothers delight many collectors. Tiny rice Kokeshi dolls are great fun, as are tiny Geisha dolls made from Rice Crackers.  At Mitsuwa Shopping Center, Arlington Heights, there is a Japanese doll on display at the grocery store.

Japanese Friendship dolls tell their own story; we even had one at Audubon school, till the school closed and a teacher took it with her.

Friendship dolls at Putnam.  Photo by Ellen Tsagaris

Memoirs of a Geisha; Putnam Museum Literary Heroines. Photo by E. Tsagaris

This March 3d, take out your Japanese dolls, and if you don’t have an actual set of Hina dolls, arrange them around a good picture, serve miniature foods, and honor a tradition that dates to the 9^th century.