The How-To Book of International Dolls [antikvár]

Introduction: Why Dolls?A doll is basically a representation of the human form. Because it is the image of a person, a doll has a special magic, a personality of its own to an amazing degree.There is something very potent and compelling about the images people make of themselves and their fellow human beings. Not only dolls but portraits, puppets, idols, and statues retain and project something of the personality of their makerand yet they have a separate and distinct personality of their own. In the case of an old doll the aura of personality surrounding it can be not only that of the personality given to the doll by its maker, but that acquired from the owner who cherished it.Somehow even if we are alone with dolls, we don't feel quite alone. Perhaps that is why some people collect them and keep them on display. Dolls can bring back memories of childhood. They have a strange power to fulfill the need for companionship even though they are inanimate objects. We can talk to them without feeling foolish, confident that what we whisper to them won't be repeated.DOLLS OF MANY PURPOSESDolls have been used for many purposes. Today people think of them mainly as playthings for children. Traditionally they have been girls' toys, but with the advances in women's equality they have become accepted as toys for boys too. Though many dolls are made as playthings, others are created solely as display itemsto be looked at and touched only cautiously. Since the 1920s dolls have been popular as collectors' items, especially antique dolls and contemporary dolls handmade by doll artists.We think of dolls mainly as toys, display or collectors' Items, but in the past they have had far more serious purposes. Dolls were made before man began recording his history, so nobody really knows when they were first created. They have been found in the tombs of ancient Egypt, and no one knows how long ago they were first made in the Orient.Dolls had religious significance In ancient times. In the Stone Age small images were can/ed as charms and fetishes or as ritual images or idols and used in religious worship. Archeologists can only guess at the meaning of some of the ancient figures, but many are thought to have been cult objects. Most of the dolls created by primitive man were miniatures, but later larger human representations were made.Among primitive people, children did not have dolls because dolls were religious or magical objects to be used by the medicine man or sorcerer. They were sacred idols and not to be touched by children.Later, dolls were created as ancestor figures and might be set up In a shrine that was the sacred center of the family life. They were treated with great respect and on feast days special offerings of food and drink might be set before them. This custom was obsen/ed by some European peasants and is still practiced in the more remote parts of Africa. Today religious figures are still made in many countries, not to be worshipped but to inspire religious feelings or thoughts.Dolls have been involved in a variety of strange customs and dark rites. They have been found beneath old buildings. Originally a living child might have been interred to propitiate the earth gods, but later the doll was used as a substitute for the human sacrifice.Dolls have been an Integral part of primitive man'sDolls have their own personalities. This doll, named Cora, is a study in black and white. Made by Ellen Campbell, she has a trapunto face, a life-size cloth body, and an authentic Victorian costume. (Photo courtesy of the dollmaker, photo by David L Kramer)