In 2014, Sandi Black, archivist at Whanganui Regional Museum, wrote a piece for the Chronicle titled Miss Polly had a Dolly. At that time, there were more than 300 dolls in the Museum Collection. Six years later, there are even more. Are dolls still so very important?
The earliest dolls in the museum date from the 1870s and 1890s and it is immediately obvious why they would have been presented or donated.
For example, Girl with Flaxen Hair is beautiful. Her dress and petticoats are very delicately hand-sewn. She is not worn or shabby and shows no sign of having been roughly treated.
Because of their age and rarity, these dolls must now be valuable.
Some dolls are obviously foreign, from France or Germany. They are so fashionably dressed.
One can imagine how carefully they were kept and treasured. They provide us with the smallest of glimpses into the lives of the early settler children.
Museum Notebook
Therein lies a problem. With the increasing necessity nowadays for people to downsize their belongings, how can their own loved little people be disposed of?
My family of six dolls and a teddy bear can neither walk nor talk. They are well worn. They are no longer beautiful but I cannot let them go just yet. Is this why more dolls are being presented to the museum?
As we move toward Christmas in 2020, what sorts of dolls are still needed in our time? Are there any that may be acceptable to the museum in the future?
There have been favourites, which seem to have come and gone. Cabbage Patch Kids were once "officially" adoptable with appropriate certificates. Now when no longer wanted, they can be reassigned to new owners, and renamed.
A private collection of large-eyed toys. Photo / Sandi Black
Barbie is still slim and elegant, all grown up with her cars, friends and trendy wardrobe. Baby dolls seemingly need to have bottles, snacks, and packets of nappies to deal with any accidents. Bears are still there, as appealing as ever.
But the trend now seems to be for Cuddly Stuffies. These are small creatures made of soft plush and designed to be held close.
They are figures, rather than conventional dolls, and may include dragons, elephants, and surprisingly, sloths.
For someone like me who was brought up to never stare, they have disconcertingly large glassy eyes that dominate their little faces.
Sometimes they can have cruelly horrible expressions and mouths full of vicious sharp teeth.
The doll with the flaxen hair. Photo / Whanganui Regional Museum Collection Ref: 1962.148.3
How do they provide the comfort that Miss Polly's Dolly must have done in the past? And what would Miss Polly make of Bonnie, the Booty-shaking Llama. Pastel coloured and fluffy, she can sing and dance - and she twerks!
Sometime in the future perhaps we shall see Bonnie or her like in the Whanganui Museum Collection. Just a thought.
• Mary Laurenson is a volunteer at Whanganui Regional Museum.
