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Massive doll collection fills home, spans centuries

Editor’s note: This story originally ran on Dec. 27, 2016

By Elana Warsen

MIO – One would be hard pressed to find a doll collection more diverse than that of Nancy Crane, whose Mio home doubles as a doll museum. Spanning centuries and featuring fads from Poppin’ Fresh to Bratz, Crane’ collection is a visual history lesson.

‘I try to keep one doll from each year so that when you look at the collection you are following along through history,’ Crane said of the figurines, which date from the late 1800s to 2015 (a doll in the likeness of ‘royal baby’ Princess Charlotte).

The collection includes First Ladies of the United States from Martha Washington to Rosalynn Carter dressed in period clothing sewn by Crane herself. She’ not opposed to picking up again at Nancy Reagan, she says, but she’ particular about finding the right materials to do the job well.

The former home economics teacher started collecting dolls relatively late in life. In fact, she says, she didn’t have many dolls to play with as a child. ‘I came up just after the Great Depression and my folks didn’t have much money’ she said. ‘But I was always interested in clothing and history.’

Now Crane has nearly 2,700 dolls in her inventory, with numerous others waiting to be cataloged. She logs details of the dolls’ vintage and dress along with photographs in notebooks and on her computer. Three large rooms in her home are dedicated to the storage and display of her extensive collection. A few dozen special dolls’uch as her Jesus collection’are incorporated into her living room d+¬cor.

Although much of the work related to her doll collection is solitary in nature, Crane most enjoys sharing her hobby with others. ‘I’m always glad to show anybody,’ she said. ‘That’ where I get the most joy I think, is sharing it with others.’

To comment on this story or to suggest a story idea, please contact ejwarsen@gmail.com.


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