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Only two dolls?

 

Recently, a major public figure voiced the opinion that no child need more than one or two dolls.  We won’t get into politics, but I will note that dolls have been made in this man’s image.  In fact, he had his own toy company that made plush animals for Macy’s.

Certainly, we doll collectors would take issue with the two doll limit.  I began collecting dolls at age three, with two dolls that belonged to my grandmother starting the collection.  My whole life I have collected them; today I run a nonprofit, established museum with over five thousand dolls displayed.  Many more await our museum expansion.

True, we don’t play with them, but I didn’t play with them that much as a child. Dolls were artifacts to be studied, cherished, curated and displayed.  Many great doll collections began this way; they still exist in museums and private collections. 

Dolls have also been recognized as educational tools for centuries.  G. Stanley Hall, father of American psychology, writes of the dolls’ importance A Study of Dolls, which is available free on Google books.  In The Doll Book by Laura Starr, 1908, the author notes that even during her time, many cultures had disappeared.  All that was left of many was their dolls.

Dolls, and toys, have survived since antiquity.  Some were ritual objects, some were tomb figures, many were playthings.  Dolls are in many ways portraits of those who made them, and expressions of their beliefs and opinions.

Dolls are among the oldest human artifacts, with tiny goddess figures dating to Neanderthal civilizations .  They are important, and they teach people what life was like in the past.  I could write books on the subject; actually, I have.

As for me, I don’t know anyone who only had one doll, or toy for that matter.  I suggest Mr. Public Figure read Baudelaire’s essay “A Philosophy of Toys.”  This essay’s theme is the importance of toys to children.  Dolls are used today to educate,  study fashion, practice medicine, provide comfort in therapy, and more.  Maybe next time, he should consult a few toy museums, like American Doll and Toy Museum, or even his own children and grandchildren.

In Memoriam R.J. Wright

 Several years ago, I had the honor to blog for R. John Wright.  I'm posting one of those blogs here in his memory.

RJW DOLLS WITH ANIMALS- Figures and Fauna by Ellen Tsagaris

 

Children know what adult collectors sometimes do not; that even dolls have their companions, and that a beloved toy friend for a child can be an animal.

R. John Wright has known the important link between dolls with animal friends from the first dolls he designed.  He also knows the importance of creating dolls and animals that have literary histories.  Making beloved characters spring to 3D form makes them even more real to children of all ages, from 1 to 100, who love them.

The earliest stories and books for children highlighted the affinity between children and animals.  At first, the animals were there to teach children their alphabet, kindness to others, moral lessons, even responsibility.   One of the earliest alphabet books dates form the 17^th century, and is called Comenius’s Orbis sensualium pictus.

As paper became cheaper, and people more literate, the market for children’s books opened up.  There were more of them in the 18^th century, and animals were characters; sometimes, they even acted like people.  Some stories came from ancient tales and myths with their origins in Aesop’s Fables and Grimm’s Fairy Tales.  Others were written specifically for children.

Many writers included toy animals or real animals as companions to their characters, especially Johnny Gruelle, a political cartoonist who created Raggedy Ann and Andy and their stories a little over 100 years ago.  R. John Wright has created his own version of Raggedy Ann, but he has also given us his interpretation of Raggedy Ann & Andy with his Camel With the Wrinkled Knees and Raggedy Ann & Andy and the Little Brown Bear.

Bears are popular characters in children’s stories, and the classic tale of Goldilocks is one of the most famous.  The original tale of Goldilocks was written by Robert Southey, poet laureate of England whom Lord Byron satirized and called a “dry Bob” in Don Juan. There have been many versions of the story since then, and many illustrated by famous artists including Arthur Rackham and William Wallace Denslow, who drew the illustrations for The Wizard of Oz.  A modern mystery heroine, Goldy Bear, is the main character in the cooking mysteries by Diane Mott Davidson, e.g., Dark Tort and The Whole Enchilada.

In the charming Wright version of “Goldilocks and The Three Bears”, a curly locked Goldilocks looks sideways at the three bears, who are realistic bears, but who wear charming embellished clothing.  Goldilocks knows she is being naughty, and the Bears are truly speechless at her trespass.  The set was originally commissioned by the Puffin Publishing Group, UK, as the models for a photo story book by Lauren Child.

Other Wright bears include 1988 - Patrick with Teddy Bear includes the first R. John Wright bear.  Patrick and Teddy are made of molded felt.  Patrick, with his winsome face and mop of curly hair, is fully jointed. He was created in a limited edition of 200.  Two other favorites are Teddy & Me, and Teddy Roosevelt with Cub. Anyone who collects bears knows the story of how Teddy Roosevelt refused to take the life of an orphan bear cub brought to him as a trophy.  The origins of the Teddy go back to Marguerite Steiff and Morris Michtom of the Ideal Toy Corporation, with some evidence showing that toy bears may have actually sprung up in Russia as well. Whatever his exact origin, the Teddy bear has become iconic, and appears in every aspect of vintage and modern culture. The girl and boy scouts love bears and have many badges associated with them, animals and toys.  R.John Wright’s Theo with Scout Bear honors this tradition with a winsome little boy scout and his dutiful bear. The two simply spell loyalty, friendship, and companionship.  You can’t help but want to become part of this troop.

Of course, there is the most beloved literary bear of all, Winnie the Pooh, which R.J Wright commemorated with a series of dols from  1986-89 - Christopher Robin with Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga & Roo; A.A. Milne created a true community of friends with the Pooh books.  The first Pooh book appeared in 1926, and the little boy protagonist was names for Milne’s own son, Christopher Robin Milne. Young Christopher had toy animals, including a bear named Winnie. Winnie was named after a female bear that lived at the London Zoo.  Pooh was a swan the Milnes had seen a family vacation. When A. A. Milne wrote the Pooh books, included his son’s other toys, Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga and Roo. The same characters were produced in miniature in the 1990s as the "Pocket Series" with the addition of Rabbit and Owl.

Certainly, though, bears are not the only companions of children and dolls. Heidi with Snowflake the Baby Goat is the R. John Wright version of a beloved childhood heroine. Heidi was written in 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri.  The story of the little girl who lived in the Alps with her grandfather won the hearts of people everywhere from the very first.  Another character from Spyri’s book was created to match Heidi, Peter the Goatherd with Turk the Goat: These two are the companions to Heidi and Snowflake.  From Peter’s traditional garb to Turk’s beautifully curled horns, these two are real masterpieces.  You expect 18.5 inch Peter to wriggle his little felt toes.  Peter is fully jointed with hand painted features, and Turk’s neck is jointed.           

Alice with The White Rabbit represent another children’s classic.  Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, was published in 1865 by Lewis Carroll, aka, The Reverend Charles Dodgson, Oxford don and mathematics professor.  Carroll was the only son, born in the middle of seven sisters.  He befriended Alice Liddell, daughter of The Dean of Christ Church at Oxford, and first wrote Alice’s Adventures Underground (1864) to entertain her and some of her sisters.  The White Rabbit is only one of the many animals that play a role in the story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, along with the Caterpillar, The Cheshire Cat, The March Hare, and The Mouse that recites his Long Tail.  A more fantastic beast of Carroll’s creation is The Jabberwock, from the poem, “Jabberwocky”. R. John Wright’s Alice with The White Rabbit comes to life to tell the tale of Alice and her friends to another generation.

Children love their rabbit stories, but dogs are not only man’s best friend, they are also the best friends of children and their dolls. Childhood stories are full of them, including the brave Toto and the dogs in film that made everyone fall in love with them, like Charlie Chaplin’s Scraps.  Toto actually speaks in later Oz books, as do other animals.  The original Toto was a cairn terrier named Terry, who lived to be 11 years old.  She now has a permanent memorial to her in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles.  In the films and books, Toto is a boy, but a female was used in the original film; she earned more than the Munchkins, at a salary of bout $125 a week! The American band “Toto” was name after Toto, and Toto’s character has made appearances in many other books and films.

R. John Wright’s dolls from the Oz books by L. Frank Baum look as though they will come alive and speak their lines.  They also appear as fairy tale mice characters, and are just as adorable. Dorothy and Toto comprise one of the most famous dog-child couples in literature and film.  Toto was a small terrier drawn by W.W. Denslow.  He was a constant sidekick of the heroine of the Oz books, Dorothy Gale.  Dorothy is an orphan living with an elderly couple she calls her aunt and uncle.  They live on a bleak farm in Kansas, till Dorothy and her dog, Toto, are swept off to Oz in a tornado.  Like Alice, Dorothy finds herself in a magical world where creatures and all kinds of objects speak. Dorothy loves the magic, but she is a practical little girl, loyal to her family.  She returns to Kansas, and in a later book, she and her Auntie Em and Uncle Henry return to live in Oz.

 Charlie Chaplin with Scraps is one of the newest Wright creations. They are superb portraits in felted material and take doll making and cloth doll artistry to a new level.  Chaplin had a rich and varied career in Hollywood that earned him fans all over the world.  As a person, he was an activist, son-in-law of Eugene O’Neill, father of Geraldine Chaplin, actress, and frequent visitor to Hearst Castle, the treasure trove estate of William Randolph Hearst who inspired the film Citizen Kane. Another actor who was later immortalized in doll form was Jackie Coogan, who played The Kid to Chaplin’s little tramp. He grew up to play many other roles, including The Addams Family’s Uncle Fester.

Scraps is Chaplin’s co-star in the silent film A Dog’s Life, 1918, where Scraps plays a hero.  He helps Chaplin and the heroine of the film, Edna, to escape all kinds of misadventures and to find a better life.  Charlie and Edna care for scraps and hide him when necessary to protect him.  Scraps is no particular breed, and has been titled, “a thorough bred mongrel.”

 

These are only some of the wonderful doll groups R. John Wright has created from beloved character in literature, popular culture, and film.  They teach a whole new generation about these wonderful characters and their stories through another dimension, the 3D world of doll making.  They belong in the finest libraries and collections in the world, side- by- side with well loved editions of their books and films that they honor.

 

 

 

 

 

Selected Bibliography

 

Aesop’s Fables. http://read.gov/aesop/

 

Animal Tales. https://www.bl.uk/animal-tales/articles/childrens-animal-tales

 

Baum, L. Frank. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. (1900) .Millennium Books, 2017.

 

Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. (1865), Illus. John Tenniel. The Planet, 2013.

 

Charlie Chaplin: A Dog’s Life. http://www.charliechaplin.com/en/films/12-A-Dog-s-Life/videos/1592-Charlie-Chaplin-saves-Scraps-from-a-wild-pack-of-dogs-from-A-Dog-s-Life-

 

Encyclopedia of the Great Plains; Dorothy Gale. http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.ii.027.xml

 

Gordon, George, Lord Byron.  Don Juan.  https://www.gutenberg.org/files/21700/21700-h/21700-h.htm

 

Gruelle, Johnny. Raggedy Ann Stories. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/18190/18190-h/18190-h.htm

 

The History of Goldilocks. https://owlcation.com/humanities/goldilocks-and-three-bears

 

Orbis Senusalium Pictus. https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/orbis-sensualium-pictus-animal-tales-space

 

R. John Wright-Collectible Dolls and Animals. http://www.rjohnwright.com/

David Levy guest blogger Skyward March 2025

 Skyward for March 2025.

Shakespeare and the night sky.

If we begin this month by trying to find the best line Shakespeare ever wrote, that may not not an easy task, or it could be quite easy.  I could open my Shakespeare and pretty much point at random to almost any line in the canon.  But today I do have something specific in mind.  It is a simple prose passage from Hamlet, and it could be one of the finest passages he ever committed to paper:

  I will tell you why; so shall my anticipation prevent your discovery, and your

secrecy to the King and Queen molt no feather. I have of late, but wherefore I

know not, lost all my mirth, forgone allcustom of exercises, and, indeed, it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame, the  Earth, seems to me a sterile promontory; this most

 excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave o’erhanging  firmament, this ma-jestical roof, fretted  with golden fire—why, it appeareth nothing to me

 but a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors. What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in  form and moving how express and admirable; in action how like

 an angel, in apprehension how like a god: the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals—and yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?

-Hamlet.2.2.292-306.

The magic of this passage begins with the “goodly frame”.  Hamlet is speaking of the planet on which he lives as almost a consecrated thing. It is surrounded by a most excellent and protective canopy, the air; without it we would never be here or could have evolved here as a species.  But the lines reach their zenith with the “brave o’erhanging firmament a reference to the night sky in a way virtually none of us could even imagine.  It gets better: “this majestical roof, dfretted with golden fire.”  I can think of no more appropriate way to characterize the night sky. Shakespeare is ready to call the magnificence of the night sky, on any night, a holy thing and experience.  I have heard the night sky described in many ways during my lifetime, but never so exquisitely.

Many readers of this column take advantage the night sky as a target of their cameras; I am one of those who does not.  I am primarily a visual observer, and from night to night, season past season, and year after year, I am still spellbound by the simple joy of the night sky.  It is not that I have never photographed. I used to be quite the celestial shutterbug. And between 1989 and 1996 I took literally thousands of pictures of the sky, mostly using the 18-inch Schmidt camera at Palomar Mountain Observatory.  Just two of those images, recorded on March 23, 1993, began an adventure with a comet that eventually collided with Jupiter. Perhaps that was enough.  In a sense, it is time for me to give my camera a rest, open my eyes, ands simply enjoy the night sky’s golden fire.