Doll Collecting
Getting Started
This may surprise you - Doll Collecting is the second biggest
collecting hobby in the United States - right behind stamp collecting - so you
are not alone in your love for dolls! There is probably no rational
explanation for the feelings that collectors have for their dolls. It
might be something from their childhood - a special event in their life -
awakening of memories or dreams - nostalgia - or just the admiration of
something of beauty.
There are so many types of dolls to collect - antique dolls, baby dolls,
fashion dolls, play dolls, cloth dolls, porcelain dolls, artist dolls, vintage
dolls, modern dolls, etc. - just looking at the vast array of dolls available
might seem overwhelming.
Once you decide on what type of doll to collect - then you have to find them!
When you do find them, then which ones to buy?? What do you look
for? Are you getting a good price? Are you paying too much?
Here we are going to just concentrate on collecting Madame Alexander Dolls -
some of the information will pertain to dolls in general, but some will be
specific to Alexander Dolls.
What to Collect?
This is a question that you will have to answer - Which dolls a collector collects is a very personal
issue.
Some people collect only a certain size of Alexander doll - they come in
several sizes - 8", 10", 12", 14", 16" and 21" -
and of course the baby dolls which are also in various sizes -
Some people decide on a certain theme or category such as Fairy Tales,
Internationals, Little Women, Gone with the Wind, etc. When I started my
GWTW collection, I thought I had to have every 8" GWTW doll ADC made with
various other sizes mixed in - well after pursuing this for many years and
running out of room - not to mention money, I have tried to just keep the dolls
that I truly love and not just because they are an 8" GWTW doll.
My best advise to you is - "Collect what you love" - for if you do
that - you will enjoy your collection for years. Buy the best you can afford.
Price appreciation is always nice for any collectible, but there is never any
guarantee that any collectible whether dolls or something else will continue to
climb in price. So don't just buy a doll with the expectation that it will
increase in value - there is no way to know this. If you collect what you
love, you will still enjoy your doll collection and hobby no matter what the
paper "value" of your collection is at any one given time. And,
if you ever have to sell your doll collection, and the value has increased, then
that is just a wonderful extra benefit.
I would encourage you to read and study as much as you can about dolls.
There are some wonderful books and publications about Madame Alexander Dolls and
collecting dolls in general. Also talk to other collectors.
