On Souvenirs

I'm writing in praise of all kinds of souvenirs in this post, all kinds.  Not just dolls, but spoons, thimbles, snapshots, pennants, patches, shot glasses, rocks, shells, postcards, guidebooks, pillows, T-shirts and sweat shirts, hats, snow globes, stuffed animals, salt and pepper shakers, pressed flowers, posters, you name it.   

Sure, there's the crowd that puts everything on their phones, The Cloud, or digital cameras, and then prides themselves on not buying tchotchkeys.  " We only need each other and our memories" they coo.  One particularly obnoxious duo is fond of making you look at frame after frame of the most unmemorable international pictures I've ever seen.  Their house shows no hint that they've ever been outside the county line.  Empty and boring.  Not even family photos.  He's a historian; doesn't he get books are important?  Or artifacts?  Or historiography?

Memories are great; souvenirs help to build and preserve them.  The Strong National Museum of Play has a whole section devoted to them; many appear on their web museum.  Check it out.  The Federal Rules of Evidence contain a hearsay exception that allows one to show any item to a witness to help refresh that witness's recollection.  That's what souvenirs do, refresh our recollection long after our travelling clothes have fallen apart and our suitcases are dusty.

Italian Pinocchio souvenir doll, Italy

Souvenir Dolls Formosa and China, 70s, 80s.

Tootsie Toy Jeep

My mother's decals, loving collected over trips to all 48 states and Mexico that she and her family took bring back those memories and trips every time I look at them.  My Dad's old maps take me back to those drives across the Mojave, where we stopped for rocks, and to read directions.  We have the rock's too, gathered by three generations.   Our family albums and slides are priceless to us.

My Dad, collector of personal memorabilia, stamps, coins, maps, slides, model airplanes, jig saw puzzles and Civil War books, gifted me with the bill from when I was born.  It's in an album, and the gift brought tears to my eyes.  He also built dollhouses, doll shelves. and cabinets for me.

My whole family is into collecting, and into travelling when we can. 

SFBJ French bisque dressed in Breton costume

An author who knows the value of a good collectible, souvenir

Souvenir from The Prado, Madrid, Murillo, The Holy Family. 1969

Greek doll, late fifties, Rhodes

Souvenir of Tut exhibition

Souvenir of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee

I hate the thought that our lives and freedom end up depending on who can go the the bathroom alone, and who ends up in one tiny room with a twin bed. Then, for doll collectors, the terrible irony hits that baby dolls are used as therapy tools in nursing homes, when doll collections are forcibly taken away along with all their other possessions, just so they can be put in a home, convenient care not for them, but for their families.

Who we are is what we own.  It defines us.  Some artists do portraits not of human subjects, but of their libraries.   This is why the study of material culture, sociology, archaeology, art history, and anthropology exist.

Happy collecting.