Events & Current Exhibitions
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TEMPORARY EXHIBIT
Dear Santa, Please Bring Me a Doll...
Open Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - Friday, January 27, 2012
The Taber Museum will feature a selection of dolls, miniature
furniture, dollhouses and toys during the holiday season.
Opening November 8, the doll exhibit will continue on display until
January 27, 2012. Many of the dolls belonged to doll collector
Margaret Myers (Mrs. Dietrick Wilson) Lamade and were given to the
museum by Barbara Gates Vance Devlin in 1993. Mrs. Devlin was
married to James Rhen Vance, son of Elsie Lamade Vance, Margaret’s
daughter. Dolls from the permanent collection, which have not
been exhibited in some time, will also be on display. Director
Gary Parks and doll collector Beatriz Parker of Lewisburg have
selected dolls to be placed on display. Mrs. Parker has
conducted research on the doll collection and re-discovered some
really interesting dolls.
Perhaps the greatest rediscovery is a Jules Steiner mechanical
doll, circa 1875. When wound with the key-and-lever mechanism,
this French baby is said to kick and cry, turn its head and cry
‘Mama’. The doll’s head is wax-over-papier mache as well as
its limbs. The doll’s clothing seems to be original- a long
christening gown with blue ribbons.
Another doll of note depicts a young lady with brown
eyes and blonde hair. Her ears are accented with drop
earrings. She wears a silk dress accented with lace collar and
cuffs. The doll was produced in Germany but looks like the
more expensive Jumeau and Bru dolls created in France. The
imitation was deliberate, in efforts to capture a part of the
‘market’. The doll clearly shows Mrs. Lamade’s great taste in
collecting.
The Museum is also fortunate to have a ‘Sheppard
Baby’, produced in Philadelphia, circa 1910. Although it is
known where the doll was sold (Sheppard’s Department Store), it is
not known who actually produced the doll. The head is of
cloth- stiffened, stitched and enhanced with oil paint. Male
dolls are comparatively rare and the Historical Society has two
exceptional dolls. One depicts Napoleon Bonaparte and was
produced by Jumeau, one of the most desirable doll-producing
companies in France and in the world. Another depicts a
Scottish Highlander in a brown kilt and argyle socks, presumably the
family plaid. The doll is a German bisque portrait doll.
He sports a shirt-front bodice with gilt-trimmed collar and bow tie
as well as a pleated shirt front.
Other delights include a Minerva doll with a tin head, a wooden
shoulder doll which dates from the second half of the 19th
century, a doll with ‘flirty eyes’ or ‘Schelmenaugen’, a myriad of
china heads, Frozen Charlottes, young ladies sporting their Highland
Mary bangs, and a handsome couple of the eighteenth century dancing
the minuet.
As an exciting addition to the doll exhibit, the
Historical Society will have the very special loan of two dollhouses
from the early twentieth century. One was the childhood
dollhouse of Jane Watkins Ingersoll. Jane Ingersoll was a
guiding spirit at the LCHS, serving on the Board of Governors and
for many years, worked as a valued volunteer Textiles Curator.
The dollhouse is graciously being loaned to the museum by her
daughter Nora Nicholas.
As well, the Tudor-style dollhouse of Ruth Gross will
also be on loan. It was built in New Zealand, displayed in London,
and ultimately came to rest in the home of Dr. and Mrs. Michael
Gross. The dollhouse was a favored possession of Dr. Gross’ mother
Ruth, who purchased it at auction in the early 1960s. As he recalls,
“She installed it in a spare room in her attic and spent many
hours restoring various pieces and completing the collection of
furnishings.” The dollhouse is equipped with miniature
portraits, dolls reading the newspaper or books, parquet floors,
electricity, outdoor landscaping, and running water!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HISTORY COFFEE HOUR
Civilian Conservation Corps Camps
Speaker: John Eastlake
Thursday, December 8, 2011; 10:00 a.m.
John Eastlake will discuss CCC camps, which flourished throughout the country during the Great Depression.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------