Monday, October 10, 2016

Final Eye of the Collector Visit

Yours truly standing in front of the cloth banner which was positioned in front of the entrance to my display of dolls.

My husband and I visited the Perot Museum of Nature and Science on Saturday, September 3, 2016, which was the weekend before the Eye of the Collector exhibition closed.  Labor Day, September 5, 2016, was the final day.  My plan was to take additional photos of my dolls on display before the dolls' scheduled return to me on September 12, 2016.

We arrived at the museum around 10:30 a.m. and the parking lot was almost filled to capacity! Having been gifted a museum membership, parking for us was half price and the normal $25-per person museum entrance fee was free as well as the $5 per adult fee to enter the exhibition.

Mission accomplished, we took the following photos, which are not of the best quality because flash photos were not allowed.




A placard on the left and right walls of the display case indicated the rows on which dolls were placed.









 




The final phase of my participation in this nine-collector exhibition that ran from April 16 through September 5, 2016, would be to reincorporate the 91 loaned dolls into my collection following their return.  I had my work cut out for me.

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16 comments:

  1. That was quite the big exhibit of your dolls! It must have been an incredible honor. Good Luck getting all of the dolls incorporated back into your collection.

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    1. Thank you, Phyllis. Yes, it was a great honor to have been asked to participate.

      Thanks for the good luck wishes.

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  2. Just fabulous! I love seeing the collection again! Wow the 2 Patti Playpen's are just gorgeous (I think I mentioned them last time). I love seeing the profile you got not just with the placard but screen as well (I think you should keep that for home decoration!). Good to know the exhibition was such a success. :)

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    1. I love my Patti's Julius, these and the other several Playpal "types" that I own remain some of my favorite vintage dolls. (Not all of the dolls on the Pinterest board that I linked to are mine, but most are.) The Ashton Drake reproduction of the original 1959 Patti Playpal doll is super heavy. I can no longer manipulate her without dragging the poor doll from place to place. Poor child. They didn't give her the best quality of hair either, so there's really not much that I can do with her except enjoy her presence among the others.


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  3. Congratulations! The exhibit is beautiful!!!!! WHAT an HONOR!!!! :)

    You are living my dream!!!! I would love to see my collection on display like that...ONE DAY :)
    #Accomplishment!

    Thanks for the photos and I love your BLOG!

    Keep up the great work!
    Kia

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    1. Thank you so much, Kia! Follow your dream. If you'd like to see your collection displayed, contact local museums or libraries in your area. Often honorariums are paid for exhibits (you'll get paid to display) or you can establish your own fee based on your time to set up, travel, etc. One-day exhibits at schools are usually also welcome and are often fee-based. "There's nothing to it but to do it"... and "nothing beats a failure but a try."

      Thank you for loving my blog!


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  4. It's wonderful that you and your collection were recognized and appreciated like this.
    Creating a collection that shows social history and craftsmanship the way yours does takes a lot of work and the more people get to see it the better. I learn a lot just by visiting your blog but seeing those dolls in person must have been so much fun.
    I hope you get all your dolls safely back to where they were.

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    1. Thank you, Maricha. I was told that my exhibit was one highly enjoyed by visitors.

      The dolls have been re-incorporated into the collection, not all are back where they were, but in very close proximity.

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  5. Wow! This is such an honor!!! I can imagine that your family is SO proud of you!!! Your collection is totally awesome and what a joy it was to share with all who visited the museum. I am so happy for you!! Truly inspiring!!!

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    1. Thank you, GG! It was an honor and my family, particularly my mother, is very proud of me and as she always says, "I'm proud of all my children and their accomplishments."

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  6. This is just wonderful! What an honor to be able to exhibit such vast collection. You dolls are amazing! Have fun putting them all back where they belong:)

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    1. A thank you, JMD! It is always a pleasure to share portions of my collection with the community and the world via this blog with readers like you. Sharing at a place as prestigious as the Perot is exta special.

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  7. Awesome! The display is beautiful. Who is the doll in the yellow/gold dress next to Michelle Obama? Congrats. I would think picking the dolls and getting them to the museum would be a more daunting task than reincorporating them back into your collection.

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    1. Hi Vanessa,

      Yes, it was a beautiful display, which the museum is responsible for including the paper-doll themed aqua paper in the display case. I was quite impressed.

      The doll next to the Michelle Obama doll is Lady of Essence Sigma, one of now several AA Sorority-themed 16-inch dolls by Trinity Dolls, Inc.

      I did not have to transport the dolls to or from the museum. The only things I did were: 1) agree to loan the dolls to them, after weeks of mulling this over;
      2) select which dolls I was comfortable loaning out and provide brief info and pictures about and for each to expedite their set up and labeling process;
      3) pack the dolls before transport -- which I actually didn't have to do, they would have done that for me, but I chose to do it myself. All boxes and packing materials were at the expense of the museum; and
      4) return the dolls to their places of display after the dolls were delivered back to me.

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  8. Wow, such an impressive exhibit - and such an honour! Congratulations!

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