American Doll & Toy Museum

05/23/2026

Welcome new followers

03/09/2026

Happy Birthday Barbie!

02/14/2026

02/14/2026

From our items displayed at GAHC.

02/14/2026

Happy Valentine's Day 💘 Valentines from our collection displayed at German American Heritage Center.

Other posts below not ours. Museum still closed pending construction. However see us on Instagram under ellen_tsagaris, on Facebook, and on our website. We're still thriving behind the scenes.

01/09/2026

The Book Woman’s Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson

I recently read this wonderful book for my AAUW book group. There are references to Barbara Pym’s Excellent Women, Rachel Field’s Hitty, and Rumer Godden’s The Dolls’ House, descriptions of dolls, and discussions of legal proceedings, including in the notes, allusions to Loving v. Virginia.
If ever a book were written for me, this is it. I wrote my dissertation on Pym, and Godden wrote to me when I was writing it. I also wrote a book on Pym’s work, The Subversion of Romance in the Novels of Barbara Pym. I also wrote about The Dolls’ House, and Hitty. We have Hitty dolls in the museum collection, a Pym doll, and our favorite doll house is called Plantagenet house after Godden’s doll house family.
Here are some references in this lyrical, beautifully written novel:
P. 51: “I added Robert Hichens’s novel Strange Lady and a novel by Barbara Pym, Excellent Women, that sounded humorous.”
P. 79: The narrator brings her friend Peal who works in the fire tower a copy of Excellent Women.
P.77: Describes to “old stuffed toys” strewn across Pearl’s bed. A cloth baby doll wore a “faded flowery seersucker dress stitched up a few times.” The doll had a hand painted face. Along side the doll was a “worn, dark-brown horse with a soft golden mane, tail and matching button eyes . . . “ When she sees them, Honey, the narrator, remembers her own stuffed doll and teddy bear.
P. 141: Honey gives Bonnie, her coal miner friend Bonnie, a copy of Field’s Hitty.
P. 285: Reference to The Dolls’ House.

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12/13/2025

Update! Happy Holidays! Due to bad weather and a delay in getting a quote for our building extension; we plan on reopening in spring. We have many photos and displays shared on social media, including our website, and on Instagram, ellen_tsagaris.

We had many great activities including participation in a Museum Convention and a visit from 4H. Stay tuned. See my author's page on Facebook, and on Amazon.com. Proceeds from the books I write go to the Museum.

11/04/2025

Museum is closed indefinitely for renovations . We will have a new addition very soon, and will be open then by appointment. This is a change in our usual hours. Look for our online displays under ellen_tsagaris on Instagram, on our pages, on our blogs, and on our website. Happy Holidays! Please IM me for more information. We look forward to an exciting future, where we will showcase our collections and donations from our beloved patrons.