Matryoshka Dolls

Sender: Christina

Matryoshka dolls

Play "Guess which doll fit inside the other" game!

Kachina Dolls

Sender: Hootnoodle

Kachina Dolls, Zuni. 

Left: Wood, pigments, horsehair on hide, cotton, feathers, hide, tin, 20 x 6 1/2" 

Right: Wood, pigments, hair, hide, fur, cotton, wool, yucca, 19 x 6".

From the Brooklyn Museum: Kachinas are representative of three types of entities within the religion of the Hopi and Zuni people. First, a Kachina is a spiritual ancestor who is a messenger to and from the gods. Second, a Kachina is a male dancer personifying these spirits. And third, a Kachina doll is carved as a secular representation of the spirits.

The Muppets

Sender: Tinki81

'M' is for the 'Muppets'! I remember watching Sesame Street a lot a long time ago.. everytime I see Muppets!

'Tis The Season To Be....Barbie

Sender: Nowaglas

'Tis the season to be... Barbie....Fa la la ....

Barbie seems to have everything...in miniature! :-)

Dutch Dolls

Sender: Carolien25

A postcard in the shape of a tulip, showing Dolls in traditional Dutch costumes.

A Fashionista Doll

Sender: Libsem

Libsem sends this fashionista doll card with a pouty mouth for my doll collection, TQ Libsem! Libsem writes that on the back of the card it states, "I'm a woman to the tips of my nails: Cherry nail polish and bright lipstick, hairdo like Marlen's. What else do you need to be happy?" What else indeed?  :)

Matryoshka Dolls

Sender: Lero

Matryoshka dolls. Lero writes that the outer layer is a woman dressed in a traditional Russian sarafan, a long and shapeless traditional peasant jumper dress.

I think the middle stamp is of Pavel Petrovich Chistiakov, a Russian painter

Matryoshka Dolls "Mezen Fantasy"

Sender: Siguanea

10 piece set of Matryoshka dolls "Mezen Fantasy" from the Matryoshka Museum. I like these dolls, I first saw and bought them in Moscow when I went there as a wide eyed teen with my aunt & uncle. I had never seen nesting dolls before the trip & I thought they were so cool!

Zoot Suit!

Sender: BelleSouth

'Z' is for 'Zoot'!

El Catrin in Zoot suit. From Day of the Dead / Dia des los Muertos. 

A Zoot suit is with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders popular with certain sectors during the late 1930s and the 1940s.

Cute Knitted Dog

Sender: Mashanya

A cute knitted doggy picture! And cute stamps/stickers! :)

Austrian Dolls

Sender: Claudia

Österreich/Austria

Collectible dolls wearing the traditional costumes/styles of different regions of Austria. Dirndl Dress is a kind of traditional dress commonly used in Austria, Bavaria and other parts of the Eastern Alps.

I read that the way that the bow of the pinafore is made signals the marital status of the woman: If the bow is on the right side, she is engaged or married; if it is on the left side, she is available. If a woman wears the bow on the back, she is a widow..

Claudia writes that she wears her traditional dresses on special occasions.

A Jumeau Doll

Sender: Yoshio Yonehara

Jumeau (France) 1885, 65cm, Itahashi Antique Doll Museum

Jumeau bebes (child dolls) or Jumeau poupees (lady dolls) were made in the second half of the 19th century by two generations of the Jumeau family. In the early years Jumeau dolls were made of papier mache and then porcelain (commonly called china) and later bisque doll heads (unglazed bisque). They have beautiful faces and "exquisite" clothing which replicated the popular fashions of the time. The dolls were internationally sought after as luxury items and status symbols. Many of the earliest Jumeau dolls are considered works of art and can fetch a high price today.

Itahashi Antique Doll Museum is in Mori village, Tsuwano town, Shimane, Japan. The museum has antique dolls including Jumeau dolls bought directly from France, postcards, accessories, and paintings.

Look at the realistic clothing, shoes, hats and accessories (is that a turquoise bead necklace?) of the doll. Barbie's own current snazzy wardrobe can't even compare!!

'F' is for 'Faces'

Sender: StarrySky

'F' is for 'Faces' says StarrySky, for the Alphabet RR! They must be mannequins. But they kind of spook me out, they look like they have their own thoughts. Probably displeasure at being defaced!

American Dolls by Martha Chase

Sender: emotis

These all-cloth dolls were made by hand in a small factory run by Martha Jenks Chase in Rhode Island from 1890 to 1925, the year Ms Chase died.

emotis wrote that she loved Cabbage Patch Kids & Barbie dolls and used to play with them in her childhood. I used to play with dolls too and I had various types from small dainty ones to one really ugly doll almost my (then) height. And I used to teach them how to read and write (ha! ha!) and scold them if they were "lazy". My favourite was called "Mimi" who originally said "Mama" everytime she was held upright from a supine position. This "Mama" calling used to spook me silly, so I "operated" Mimi's back and took out her speaker and she "spoke" no more!

I kept my dolls in a trunk for many, many years despite having outgrown them until they were discovered by my four young (budding make-up artists) cousins, who repainted their faces and clothes in rainbow colours, using permanent  colour ink pens...