I don’t know that the words curator and curious come from a common root word, but I’ve noticed that most curators—like inquisitive three-year-olds—persistently ask questions. Even curators who’ve done thorough research keep on asking questions about their subject matter. And that’s the way things should be because researchers, historians, and collectors uncover new information all the time.
The need for questions makes me think about the museum’s collection of so-called china dolls. To be more precise, these dolls have porcelain heads […]
A Big Collection of Little Things
One of our most exciting recent acquisitions came from the family of Ruth Rosenfeld. Ruth was an avid miniaturist and world traveler, both factors that obviously influenced her fascinating collection of dollhouses, miniature rooms, and small (and some large) souvenirs from all over the world.
Ruth Rosenfeld began collecting small things and assembling dollhouses and miniature rooms in the mid-1970s. For her first project, she created a general store furnished with floor-to-ceiling shelves stocked with merchandise. In Ruth’s 30 years of […]
The Toy That Starts the Holiday Season
Even though many homes already display bright lights or pine wreaths and most stores are stocked to the gills with Christmas merchandise, some folks can’t quite begin the holiday season until they see the latest Hess toy truck.
Every year since 1964, Hess Corporation, a gasoline and automotive products retailer, has offered a new and different toy truck or vehicle for the holiday season. People of every age admire the trucks for their (mostly) familiar green and white Hess colors, their […]
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You Say It’s Your Birthday
My mother just celebrated her eighty-fifth birthday. Her kids came home to Clinton, NY, from California and Colorado, from Ohio and Rochester, of course. Her grandchildren showed up, and so did three of her great-grandchildren. Friends and family, nieces and nephews, cousins and colleagues all gathered at Mom’s favorite restaurant for a dinner and birthday party. Mom got cards and good wishes, a few presents, a cake with candles, and, of course, a crown to announce her status as the […]
Play’s the Thing—Really
Some years ago, I watched Maggie Jane, my four-year-old niece, play with a few of her toys. She was seated on the living room floor, surrounded by talking adults who occasionally directed questions to Maggie about things like her preschool and her swimming lessons. Maggie respectfully answered their questions, but she was clearly engrossed in playing with her Barbie dolls and the plastic giraffes from a zoo play set. She had paired them—one doll with one giraffe—and made up stories […]
Out of the Wild Blue Yonder
For curators at the museum, some days feel just like Christmas.One day—out of the blue, appropriately—I received a phone call about a local collector with an extensive collection of toy airplanes and related playthings. Just the kind of thing that makes a curator’s day!
When I met Seymour Merrall, I had no doubt about his passion for toy airplanes. With a great job that took him around the world, Merrall used his travels to collect antique and contemporary toy aircraft from all […]
The Odd Ogg Blog
What’s that scuttling across the floor? A horseshoe crab? A Roomba vacuum cleaner? No, it’s Odd Ogg, a nifty interactive toy from 1962. If you’re feeling formal, you might want to call him Mr. Ogg, since that’s how the folks at Ideal referred to him when the company introduced the rolling green plastic toy with his beady pink eyes and gaping mouth. While Odd Ogg wouldn’t win any beauty pageants, his interactive responses (powered by two D batteries) were pretty impressive for his time.
So how does […]