My Doll Cottage

03/09/2026

🎉 **Fun Fact Friday!** 🎉

Did you know a toy doesn’t have to be rare or valuable to be historically important?

Museums don’t just preserve expensive or unusual toys. Everyday dolls and toys can tell us just as much about the past — what children played with, what families bought, and the toys that became part of childhood memories.

These three Kader dolls from Hong Kong, dating from the earyl 60s, are a lovely example. Each belonged to one of three little girls, including my mother, who would later become the collector and owner of My Doll Cottage Museum.

Their story was actually one of the first blogs we shared, and it’s a good reminder of why we preserve everyday toys as well as the rare ones. Sometimes their greatest value is the memories and stories that come with them.

💬 What toy instantly takes you back to your childhood?

02/09/2026

NEW ON THE BLOG | Meet Mother Goose

Before bedtime stories came from tablets, apps and streaming services, there was Mother Goose. 🪿💤

This charming animatronic storyteller brought nursery rhymes and bedtime stories to life, moving as she spoke while children listened along.

But Mother Goose is also part of a much bigger story.

For generations, nursery rhymes were passed from adults to children through books, storytelling and song. By the late 20th century, toy manufacturers were finding new ways to combine these familiar traditions with changing technology — creating interactive toys that could talk, move and entertain.

Our Mother Goose represents that fascinating point where traditional storytelling met electronic toys.

Today, toys that speak and move are commonplace. But for children growing up when animatronic toys were still relatively new, having a character actually tell you a story could feel rather magical.

Our latest blog explores Mother Goose, the history behind the familiar character and how this animatronic storyteller became part of bedtime for a new generation of children.

Because sometimes technology doesn't replace an old tradition — it simply finds a new way to tell the story. 🩷

Read “Mother Goose – The Animatronic Storyteller Who Helped Children Drift Into Dreams”

💬 Did you have a talking or storytelling toy when you were growing up?

# # # **Blog Summary** **Mother Goose** is one of the most enduring figures in children's literature, yet her origins remain surrounded by legend. While France, Germany and the United States all have traditions connected to her story, the earliest documented evidence points to France, where Charles Pe...

31/08/2026

31/08/2026

🎀 DOLL OF THE WEEK… with a difference!

This week's Doll of the Week is another little object from the collection that helps tell the story of the world around our dolls.

Dating from around 1930–1940, this delicate ladies' purse comb is made from celluloid, one of the earliest plastics to become widely used for everyday objects.

Small combs like this were designed to slip neatly into a handbag or purse, allowing women to tidy their hair while away from home. During an era when hairstyles were carefully waved, curled and pinned into place, a little comb could be an everyday essential.

But why does it belong in a doll and toy museum?

Celluloid has an important place in doll history too. From the late 19th century and into the first half of the 20th century, it was used for everything from combs and jewellery to rattles, toys and dolls. Lightweight and capable of being moulded into detailed shapes, it offered manufacturers exciting possibilities that earlier materials could not.

Unfortunately, celluloid also has a downside — it is highly flammable and can deteriorate as it ages, making surviving pieces particularly important to care for and preserve.

Sometimes the smallest objects in our collection help explain the materials, fashions and everyday lives of the people who once owned the dolls we preserve. 💗

See the c.1930–1940 Ladies' Celluloid Purse Comb in our online collection

28/08/2026

🧸 FUN FACT FRIDAY | A Doll Can Be a Timeline of Technology

Did you know the materials used to make dolls can help tell the history of manufacturing?

Wood, wax, papier-mâché, china, bisque, composition, celluloid, rubber, hard plastic and vinyl each became popular at different points in history.

As new materials and manufacturing methods developed, doll makers adopted them — making dolls cheaper, stronger, lighter, more realistic or easier to mass-produce.

That's why identifying what a doll is made from can be one of the first clues to discovering when, where and how she was made.

Over the coming weeks, we'll be taking a closer look at some of these materials and the surprising stories behind them.

The images attached show a Paper machier dolls head and a tin head germany doll that had a replacement wooden body.

26/08/2026

🧵 NEW ON THE BLOG | Textiles Through History

We often look at an old doll and notice her face first — but what she's wearing can tell us just as much about the past.

Textiles have been part of human life for thousands of years. From hand-spun wool, linen, cotton and silk to the arrival of mechanised weaving, synthetic fibres and modern mass production, the way we make fabric tells a fascinating story of changing technology, trade and everyday life.

And that history can be found throughout the world of dolls and toys. 🧸

A doll's clothing, a cloth body, a tiny lace trim or even a well-worn piece of fabric can help us understand when something was made, how it was made and the world its original owner lived in.

Our latest blog takes a journey through the history of textiles — looking at changing materials and methods and why understanding fabric is so important when researching and preserving dolls, toys and the everyday objects of childhood.

Sometimes, a tiny scrap of fabric has a very big story to tell. 🪡

Read “Textiles Through History: Materials, Meaning and Making”

Textiles have shaped human history for thousands of years, evolving from hand-spun natural fibres to the advanced fabrics used today. Their development reflects changing technology, culture and industry, while also preserving a record of everyday life. In dolls and toys, textiles provided soft bodie...

24/08/2026

🧸 DOLL OF THE WEEK… with a difference!

This week's feature is part doll, part fashion accessory — and wonderfully 1950s!

Dating to around 1955–1965, this unusual child's m**f combines soft white faux fur with a sweet rubber/vinyl doll face, complete with painted blue eyes, rosy cheeks and a little faux-fur hood.

M**fs were designed to keep hands warm, but this one turned an everyday winter accessory into something much more appealing to a child. With its doll face and cord handle, it could be worn or carried while becoming part of imaginative play.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Japan was a major producer of affordable toys and novelty goods for export around the world. Pieces like this sit somewhere between toy, doll and children's fashion — which is exactly what makes them so interesting to preserve.

Today, it gives us a lovely little glimpse into what a fashionable young child might once have carried on a cold winter's day. ❄️🩷

See the c.1955–1965 Child's Faux Fur M**f with Doll Face in our online collection

21/08/2026

Fun Fact Friday

WWII changed more than what factories made — it helped change how things were made.

Factories were redirected to wartime essentials, materials were restricted and manufacturers had to adapt.

See the c.1945–1955 Minx Safety Razor Blades in our collection. Just another example of how industries evolved.

19/08/2026

🧸 NEW ON THE BLOG | How Plastic Changed the Toy World Forever

There was a time when dolls and toys were made from wood, cloth, metal, wax, porcelain and composition.

Then along came injection-moulded plastic — and toy making changed forever.

Injection moulding allowed manufacturers to produce detailed toy parts quickly, consistently and in enormous numbers. Toys could be lighter, more colourful, easier to clean and, importantly, more affordable for everyday families.

It also opened the door to entirely new designs. Doll bodies became more durable, complicated shapes could be reproduced again and again, and manufacturers could create huge ranges of toys that would once have been too expensive or time-consuming to produce.

By the post-war years, plastics were helping transform the toy industry from traditional manufacturing into the world of mass-produced toys we recognise today.

But the change didn't happen overnight — and those early plastics brought challenges of their own.

Our latest blog explores the development of injection-moulded plastic, how it changed doll and toy manufacturing, and why it became one of the most important turning points in the history of play.

Sometimes the material a toy is made from tells just as much history as the toy itself. 🩷

Read the full story on the My Doll Cottage blog: How Injection-Moulded Plastic Changed the Toy World Forever.

Discover how injection-moulded plastic transformed the toy industry. This blog explores the invention, early challenges, major companies behind the shift, and the iconic toys that defineda new era in play.