Happy Sunday! Sundays are the perfect day for me to take some time and sit at the computer and type. Early bedtimes for the babies give me just enough quiet time to concentrate on typing before I pass out myself, hehe. Well I figured in this blog I could donate some time to my collection of one inch scale Bisque Porcelain dolls! And YAY! I can now say very happily and proudly this collection is finally complete since I will be getting the last person I was missing on Wednesday! I am also going to talk a little about me since I received a few questions about how I got into miniatures and dollhouses. I do have a few tutorials I will be putting into next weeks blog so stay tuned for that!
USHS One Inch Scale Half Dolls
Ok, so I think this may be the first part of a few entries regarding the dolls because as I sit and think about it there is both sooo much to talk about and so little I know about them. So I will probably just have a separate blog space or a section when I write about them so it doesn't take up a whole blog in the future :)
Alrighty, so these beautiful porcelain figures are firstly known as half dolls. Not half scale but actually that they are porcelain on top and they are supported by their dresses. If you google half dolls you may see that some half dolls in the past would actually be a blush brush or something like that; it was a way of beautifying your counter! How neat is that? Well a few of the figures have legs but mostly they are half dolls. They were released as part of a magazine offering in 1987 from the United States Historical Society. However, when I first saw them I had no idea about that! I initially found them being sold a very long time ago on the app Letgo. They were in storage for a bit until I was looking for some accessories for my dollhouse and realized I could use the dolls in the dollhouse! They were made in one inch scale so they were perfect! And so once they came out of storage my journey with these dolls began. Quite a few of the dolls I had were damaged from the person I bought them from, so I set out to try to replace them. I had 11 in total and I figured that's all there were but as I continued to look, I slowly realized there were ALOT more than that! However, I didn't know exactly how many more....soooo after going through google for a few months I came to the conclusion that there were three sets of 12 dolls released. The first two sets released in 1987 and the last set of 12 released in 1998/9 .
But knowing about them didn't help with getting them! If you eBay it or Google it now, you would be able to find the same 5 or 6 dolls people are selling either incomplete without accessories, or complete with original boxes anywhere from $5-$25. But where to get more or any other info? Not a thing. And as for the other 30 out there? A complete mystery. Over time and by searching and searching constantly I can say (as of literally this past weekend) I have all 36 figures, all in like-new condition, as well as three extra figures that were never approved for distribution! But....That's another mystery! Since there is literally no information online, no master list, no company I can call, (nothing that has come back with any viable information anyway); I don't know if maybe, just maybe, there is another set of 12 and perhaps I have some from that. I don't think so, but I don't know. So for now to my knowledge they are extras and in terms of extras I have had quite a few! Doubles, triples, even 5 of a kind. This is because they are usually auctioned off as groups, so in order for me to get one I want I have to get the others they are selling with. Needless to say, I currently have about 50 extra figures I plan on putting on eBay sometime in the future.
Now I don't know of anyone else anywhere that collects these dolls that I can ask; I have tried other sources; I've contacted quite a few dollhouse museums and have not found any information to help my search. But there are plenty of museums to call and doll experts out there, so I'm sure the info is out there, its just not online. So this passion continues in that way! I'm on the hunt for Information though this time.
There is definitely more to these dolls and who they are and how they are made, and by whom etc...and I can't wait to go through each one and really describe each ones journey to me, but it is definitely a saga for another blog haha; maybe one per blog? hmmmmm... well I know I am going to update my blog on Wednesday with a large group picture of all the dolls together but for now here are just a few of my very hard to find favorites:
Mother Teresa Sojourner Truth UNKNOWN Margaret Mitchell
Q/A
1. How did you get into miniatures?
Well since I was a young girl I always loved small items. I loved Polly Pockets and even used pennies as miniature pancakes and quarters as plates! Growing up in Brooklyn there wasn't any space or money for a real dollhouse and so time passed and as I grew up I was told by others that those things were childish. So I again, never thought it was something I could have. Silly right? Well after being able to escape a domestic violence relationship I decided I was never going to let anyone tell me what was stupid or not ever again. I began to really find myself and when I did that I found strength, fun, singing, and also miniatures again. I looked on craigslist on a whim and found a dollhouse! It was $100 which I didn't have so I asked if they would take lower...they said $60...Which I also did not have!haha. So I went to my jewelry box, got some old piece of jewelry from that terrible relationship and pawned it. I took that money and bought that dollhouse! From someone I wish I never met to something I always wanted! Looking back now I can not believe I found it for that price! The house I got was The Norcross Mansion from Real Good Toys. It needed work but I was beyond the moon happy. I was also newly married and being in such a loving and supportive environment now really helped me flourish in this hobby. Its my passion and I'm so glad to be able to enjoy it finally!
2. What do you prefer to do more? finding miniatures or making your own?
I really enjoy both so much! But to be honest I'm not the best at crafting; painting is terribly hard for me and I have no real tools to help with making stuff yet. Also, I really really love the older vintage items! So I have to say I love treasure hunting more. The history each item has is remarkable! Some items I have are over 50 years old! I love my collection and am so glad I am able to hunt and find treasures :)
Thank you to everyone who is tuning in to this! I wish I had more time to type but I have to tell you it takes me foreeevvveeerrr to write since I've been way from computers for so long haha. I will be doing another blog or updating this one on Wednesday night so look out for that but I'll be back next Sunday again as usual! Feel free to reach out with questions or comments and again Thank you for being a part of My Dollhouse Passion!
USHS One Inch Scale Half Dolls
Ok, so I think this may be the first part of a few entries regarding the dolls because as I sit and think about it there is both sooo much to talk about and so little I know about them. So I will probably just have a separate blog space or a section when I write about them so it doesn't take up a whole blog in the future :)
Original Magazine Ad from 1987
But knowing about them didn't help with getting them! If you eBay it or Google it now, you would be able to find the same 5 or 6 dolls people are selling either incomplete without accessories, or complete with original boxes anywhere from $5-$25. But where to get more or any other info? Not a thing. And as for the other 30 out there? A complete mystery. Over time and by searching and searching constantly I can say (as of literally this past weekend) I have all 36 figures, all in like-new condition, as well as three extra figures that were never approved for distribution! But....That's another mystery! Since there is literally no information online, no master list, no company I can call, (nothing that has come back with any viable information anyway); I don't know if maybe, just maybe, there is another set of 12 and perhaps I have some from that. I don't think so, but I don't know. So for now to my knowledge they are extras and in terms of extras I have had quite a few! Doubles, triples, even 5 of a kind. This is because they are usually auctioned off as groups, so in order for me to get one I want I have to get the others they are selling with. Needless to say, I currently have about 50 extra figures I plan on putting on eBay sometime in the future.
Now I don't know of anyone else anywhere that collects these dolls that I can ask; I have tried other sources; I've contacted quite a few dollhouse museums and have not found any information to help my search. But there are plenty of museums to call and doll experts out there, so I'm sure the info is out there, its just not online. So this passion continues in that way! I'm on the hunt for Information though this time.
There is definitely more to these dolls and who they are and how they are made, and by whom etc...and I can't wait to go through each one and really describe each ones journey to me, but it is definitely a saga for another blog haha; maybe one per blog? hmmmmm... well I know I am going to update my blog on Wednesday with a large group picture of all the dolls together but for now here are just a few of my very hard to find favorites:
Mother Teresa Sojourner Truth UNKNOWN Margaret Mitchell
Q/A
1. How did you get into miniatures?
Well since I was a young girl I always loved small items. I loved Polly Pockets and even used pennies as miniature pancakes and quarters as plates! Growing up in Brooklyn there wasn't any space or money for a real dollhouse and so time passed and as I grew up I was told by others that those things were childish. So I again, never thought it was something I could have. Silly right? Well after being able to escape a domestic violence relationship I decided I was never going to let anyone tell me what was stupid or not ever again. I began to really find myself and when I did that I found strength, fun, singing, and also miniatures again. I looked on craigslist on a whim and found a dollhouse! It was $100 which I didn't have so I asked if they would take lower...they said $60...Which I also did not have!haha. So I went to my jewelry box, got some old piece of jewelry from that terrible relationship and pawned it. I took that money and bought that dollhouse! From someone I wish I never met to something I always wanted! Looking back now I can not believe I found it for that price! The house I got was The Norcross Mansion from Real Good Toys. It needed work but I was beyond the moon happy. I was also newly married and being in such a loving and supportive environment now really helped me flourish in this hobby. Its my passion and I'm so glad to be able to enjoy it finally!
Me with the Norcross Mansion about 6 months after getting it.
2. What do you prefer to do more? finding miniatures or making your own?
I really enjoy both so much! But to be honest I'm not the best at crafting; painting is terribly hard for me and I have no real tools to help with making stuff yet. Also, I really really love the older vintage items! So I have to say I love treasure hunting more. The history each item has is remarkable! Some items I have are over 50 years old! I love my collection and am so glad I am able to hunt and find treasures :)
Thank you to everyone who is tuning in to this! I wish I had more time to type but I have to tell you it takes me foreeevvveeerrr to write since I've been way from computers for so long haha. I will be doing another blog or updating this one on Wednesday night so look out for that but I'll be back next Sunday again as usual! Feel free to reach out with questions or comments and again Thank you for being a part of My Dollhouse Passion!
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