Doll Collection

The Shelburne Museum's doll collection is housed in the only original building on the museum grounds. This structure also contains a collection of decorative arts, including glass, ceramics, clocks, miniature frames, pewter and more.

The extensive collection of more than 1000 dolls includes simple dolls, peddler dolls carrying miniatures, porcelain dolls, and several with human hair. Some are fashion dolls that seamstresses used to show women what was stylish at the time, while others were meant as children's toys. The collection contains American-made dolls as well as European dolls, which were imported prior to World War I.

The most common materials used in making the American dolls were cloth, wood, dried apples, and scrap materials readily available around the house, including bottles, which were first made into dolls and then often used as door stops. Some of the dolls also represent famous individuals like Abe Lincoln. The most unique items in this collection are the shell dolls, which were found most often in seaside towns and were made by gluing shells to a wooden doll form. The Shelburne Museum is home to only a few of these rare and fragile dolls.

Resources
Shelburne Museum
Shelburne Museum
U.S. Route 7
PO Box 10
Shelburne, VT 05482
USA
Phone: 802-985-3346
Fax: 802-985-2331
E-mail: info@shelburnemuseum.org
Website: www.shelburnemuseum.org
Also in this Episode

Carol Duvall Show : Episode CDS-325
•	Topsy-Turvy Doll
•	Doll Collection
•	Frames Galore