There's a doll in downtown Phoenix that's older than the United States.
Her wax skin is clear and smooth, her features soft and vibrant. Her shiny blond hair is human (each follicle was applied by hand) and her white cloth dress has no tatters or stains.
The 300-year-old doll is the oldest among the extensive collection at the Arizona Doll & Toy Museum, a hidden gem housed between the Arizona Science Center and the historic Rosson House. The mostly volunteer-run museum is filled with figurines, dolls, dollhouses, and miniatures dating from the 1700s to the 1980s, and with each comes an army of stories.
In the front room of the museum, there's a display of five identical
dolls, based on the Dionne Quintuplets. They were born in
Ontario, Canada in 1934, long before fertility drugs, and so they were
a source of wonder and advertising revenue. The dolls, made by Madame
Alexander around 1938, are surrounded by merchandise and ads
bearing their baby faces.
Right next to the quintuplet dolls is the Class E. Dresser Ladies Shop
and Hattie's Millinery & Dry Goods Store, an incredibly detailed
miniature shop formerly housed at Knott's Berry Farm in California. The
two-story building is filled with figures, furniture, counters,
shelves, and dozens of different hats with ornate pins and feathers. Each part was handmade around 1950 by the Mott family (founders
of the Mott's Miniatures Museums).
Other highlights of the museum include several salesman samples
(miniature versions of goods salesmen could carry door-to-door), like a
knee-high wood stove that will really cook; the 1912 school room, where
several antique dolls sit dutifully at desks; and our favorite, the
"modern room."
The modern room boasts an almost entirely complete collection of Star
Wars action figures from 1978, including some of the top five most
valuable, like a Vinyl Cape Jawa (market value: $2,000). There
are also several original G.I. Joe dolls from all over the world, and a
porcelain doll of Judy Garland in a top hat.
Check them out at 602 E. Adams Street, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday
through Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $3. For more information, call 602-253-9337.
