The International Doll Museum blog: 100 Years of Friendship Dolls

The International Doll Museum blog: 100 Years of Friendship Dolls:  One hundred years ago, the friendship doll exchange between Japan and the US took place.  At the start of WWII, Japan ordered the American ...

The Girls' Day Festvial, or HIna Matsuri Festival

 Tomorrow is the Japanese Doll Festival, or Girls' Day Festival.  Below is a repost of one of my blogs on the topic.

We receive an ad from a Japanese Grocery Store each week, and this week's ad featured sweets for the Doll Festival celebrations; 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, and Judy Shoaf has a great website. 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 actually had the Japanese doll house built and landscape in inspire her. She also had another antique doll house, featured in other books.

There is m ore about Japanese dolls and the Festival in my book,  Thinking outside the Doll House; A Memoir.

Miss Charlotte Bronte meets Miss Barbara Pym: Found Each Other, Saved Two More; a Review of the ...

Miss Charlotte Bronte meets Miss Barbara Pym: Found Each Other, Saved Two More; a Review of the ...:   Public Domain The old saying goes about some couples, “found each other, saved two more.” It could be the subtitle of the 2026 film Wuther...

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Little Houses of Ancient Times

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Little Houses of Ancient Times:  I've been to lectures and read articles stating doll houses and miniatures in general date to the late seventeenth century with the Dut...

Memoir; Writing your Life Story: One Ordinary Life

Memoir; Writing your Life Story: One Ordinary Life:  I've had a lot of time to ponder this winter due to injuries and stupid accidents, like flying off the front steps Christmas Eve.  So m...

Miss Charlotte Bronte meets Miss Barbara Pym: The Book Woman's Daughter

Miss Charlotte Bronte meets Miss Barbara Pym: The Book Woman's Daughter:   The Book Woman’s Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson   The Plantagenet Family I recently read this wonderful book for my AAUW book grou...

Christmas 2025; the State of the Doll Museum

 Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The solstice has come and gone, and it is truly winter.  I thought I would share some facts and thoughts about the Museum.

Sine we opened in 2019, we've had over 370 visitors and thousands if in kind donations.  On social media, we've had thousands more visit our social media on our Website American Doll and Toy Museum.org, Facebook pages, Instagram account ellen_tsagaris, Pinterest pages, ISSUU, tumblr, X or twitter, and Flickr. 

On our blogs, including this one, we've had well over 600,000 views since we began them in 2010.  On our old Google+ account we had over four million views.  That's a lot of interest in our museum of dolls and toys.

We are grateful for all our donors and supporters, including Rescued, QC Missing Persons, and  QC Discovery Shop.   

We are temporarily closed for renovations, including  large extension to be added behind our main building.  Thanks to all for your patience.

Peace in 2026, and stay tuned for our further adventures.

Recent additions from Santa

Gifts from a friend

From a friend

From a California collector, including show girl by Fiona

Two lovely French girls

Vintage angel

Vintage card, Merry Christmas