Do you think of books when you think about collecting? Or is collecting just about the figures?
Or maybe online guides fulfill your need for reference? I like online references. They are handy when I am at the computer. Some of them have even been vetted by other collectors. But ... I grew up turning to books for answers, and books still retain a hold on me. No amount of clicking is as satisfying as the weight of a book in my hands or the smooth coolness of glossy pages against my fingers.
So here are the books that I have now. There are more books I would like to add - if you know titles and authors for books about playscale fashion dolls or action figures, do share them. I know that my list is incomplete: I look forward to learning about others from you.
(Aside - have questions about how to format your book list? I found both an online reference guide on bibliography formatting AND an online bibliographic program that reduces some of your typing. Free.)
D7ana's Starter Fashion Doll and Action Figure Book List
Augustyniak,
J. Michael. Barbie doll around the world: identification & values,
1964-2007. Paducah, Ky.: Collector Books, 2007.
Augustyniak,
J. Michael. Barbie doll collector's identification and values. 2008
edition ed. Paducah, Ky.: Collector Books, 2008.
Augustyniak,
J. Michael. Collector's encyclopedia of Barbie doll exclusives: identification
& values, 1972-2004. 3rd ed. Paducah,
Ky.: Collector Books, 2005.
Blitman,
Joe. Barbie doll's cousin Francie & her mod, mod, mod, mod world of
fashion: price guide. Grantsville,
Md.: Hobby House Press, 1996.
Boy,
Billy. Barbie!: her life & times, and the new theater of fashion. New York: Crown, 1987.
DeWein,
Sibyl St.
John, and Joan Ashabraner. The collectors encyclopedia of Barbie dolls and
collectibles. Paducah,
Ky.: Collector Books, 1977.
DeWein,
Sibyl St.
John. Collectible Barbie dolls, 1977-1979. Clarksville, Tn.: Jostens, 1980.
Mandeville,
A. Glenn. 5th Doll Fashion Anthology & Price Guide Featuring Barbie
dolls and other fashion dolls. 1996. Grantsville,
Md.: Hobby House Press, 1996.
Moody,
Carol. G.I. Joe value guide, 1964-1978: dolls, gear & equipment. 2nd
Revised edition ed. Cumberland,
Md.: Hobby House Press, 1989.
Rana,
Margo. Barbie doll exclusively for Timeless Creations: identification &
values. 1986-1996. Grantsville,
Md.: Hobby House Press, 1997.
Rawstron,
Yvonne. Oh, you beautiful doll: the 11 1/2" doll book of high fashion.
New York:
Perigee Books, 1982.
Rupp,
Rebecca Ann. Treasury of Barbie doll accessories: 1961-1995. Grantsville, Md.:
Hobby House Press, 1996.
Sirkis,
Susan Bonsall. Men's fashions 1860-1970. Williamsburg, Va.:
Wish Booklets, 1978.
Sirkis,
Susan Bonsall. Men's fashions 1760 - 1850. Williamsburg, Va.:
Wish Booklets, 1977.
Smith,
Patricia R.. Modern collector's dolls: second series. Paducah, Ky.:
Collector Books, 1975.
Smith,
Patricia R.. Modern collector's dolls: fifth series. Paducah, Ky.:
Collector Books, 1984.
Teruel,
Rudi, and David Wu. The World of Jenny. Kuala
Lumpur: Cite, 2001.
Theriault,
Florence. Theriault's presents Barbie: a
value guide and description of the Barbie doll and other Mattel dolls,
1959-1976. Annapolis,
Md.: Gold Horse Pub., 1985.
Worrell,
Estelle Ansley. The dollhouse book. New York:
Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1964.
What doll and/or action figure topic books do you collect? What titles would you add to round out my book collection. I thank you in advance for your tips and suggestions.
I have not forgotten doll magazines or catalogs or brochures. Future posts will feature those reference sources.
I don't have a single doll book or magazine. When I went to the Knights dolls show I saw a bunch of old Barbie magazines and I was going to get some but ran out of money before I could. Routinely I'll go to Books A Million and flip through the doll magazines but the pricing of them is a deterrent from buying. So, I cant add to your collection or offer others to add.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent list you've complied though!
Two books I really like too are: "Poupées et Figurines du Show-biz" - Kathy Moreau (organizes the excellent annual fashion doll convention in Paris), and Colette Mansell's "The History of Sindy". The first is in French but has plenty of pictures of all kinds of celebrity dolls, a great book!
ReplyDeleteHi Muff and Night Owl! Thanks for responding ;-)!
ReplyDelete@Muff - given a choice between buying a doll and buying a doll book, I would go for the doll, too, lol. Glad you found the list useful; some of these books can be found at public libraries so as long as you have the titles, you can find them.
@Night Owl - I've heard of Colette Mansell's "The History of Sindy" - thanks for vouching for it - but the French book, "Poupées et Figurines du Show-biz" - Kathy Moreau is new. I have "mooks" that are mostly Japanese, which I don't read or speak, but the photos and diagrams "translate." A French book about fashion dolls would have the additional attraction of being French, a language I enjoy hearing and reading ;-D
Hello from Spain: you have a fabulous collection of books devoted to the dolls. I have only one book on the history of Barbie. I have many books on other subjects, such as novels, bibliographies ... in my country it is difficult to buy books devoted to dolls. Keep in touch
ReplyDeleteBack when bricks-and-mortar bookstores were a thing (and before I owned any fashion dolls as an adult), I used to hang out at Borders and read the Barbie guides.
ReplyDeleteThe only reference books I have are for my other dollhousing projects: Tomart's guide to tin litho dollhouses (though it's been largely rendered unnecessary by online sources) and three 1970s catalogs from dollhouse mail order stores.
But... my fashion dolls and the smaller action figures are not especially desirable collectibles, just stuff that amuses me.
You've pretty thoroughly covered the basic doll collector's bookshelf! I've read several of those books from the library. The only one that I own is The Dollhouse Book. I used to like to buy doll magazines back in the golden era of Barbie Bazaar and Miller's. I haven't seen a doll mag recently that covers much of what I'm interested in.
ReplyDeleteHey lady,
ReplyDeleteI love the way some of you are so organized. I have a LOT of books and magazines on miniatures
(1:12) I read them more for pleasure reading than how-to. lol They are all over the house. Even in a bathroom. LOL
I have all my Barbie Magazine and then the Barbie identification book and maybe I few guides. I do most research on line now. Every now and then I might pick up a magazine but that it. I haven't seen these books at the library so you have some great books.
ReplyDeleteI have The Definitive Guide to Collecting Black Dolls and Black Dolls A Comprehensive Guide to Celebrating, Collecting, and Experiencing the Passion, both by Debbie Behan Garrett. Both books are wonderful and are a cherished part of my collection. I have one doll magazine - a complimentary copy of the September 2014 issue of Dolls magazine was sent to me a couple of weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteHi Marta, Smaller Places, Barb the Evil Genius, The grandmommy, Brini, and RoxanneRoxanne!
ReplyDelete@Marta - thanks for the compliment to my book collection. I LOVE books on all topics, including dolls and action figures.
@Smaller Places - I miss the brick-and-mortar bookstore days. We have a few bookstores in town, but the selection is no where how it used to be. Remember before Barbie was a collectible? How snooty the antique doll collectors were?
@Barb the Evil Genius - oh, yes, I'll share the magazines as well. I have several Barbie Bazaar and one Miller's that I can think of. Excellent reads, both magazines.
Thanks for vouching for the books listed; it helps to having peer backing ;-)
@The grandmommy - lol at the thought of me being considered "organized."
I used to be keen on 19th Century American and Victoriana stuff. Wanted to capture all that for my playscale figures ;-)
@Brini - oh, yes, I have boxes of doll magazines, too. LOL. Love them. If your library has interlibrary loans you can ask them to borrow the book for you.
@RoxanneRoxanne - thanks for sharing the DBG books, Roxanne! Some books feel as though they extend your collection because they share photos of dolls you may not have.
Great post, D7ana. As a collector of Black dolls that are not just playscale, my doll reference and Black Americana library is extensive and roughly consists of about 50 books (possibly more). I need to document these titles.
ReplyDeleteMy library began soon after I became a collector in 1991 at the suggestion of an antiques dealer who said, "You need to know about the dolls you collect," or something to that effect. Since I am a firm believer that knowledge about anything that interests you (and even things that do not) is power, I armed myself with doll reference book power.
My first books were the complete (at that point) series of Modern Collector's Dolls Identification and Value Guide by Patricia R. Smith, which at that point might have consisted of 5 volumes. I purchased additional volumes as they were published as well as one book written by the woman who continued the series after Ms. Smith passed. I also purchased all volumes of Smith's Antique to Modern Dolls at that time (approximately 7 books) and the 8th edition by Barbara DeFeo and Carol Stover.
For collectors of black dolls, for extensive coverage of antique to modern dolls, no books to date have surpassed the information provided in Myla Perkins' two black doll reference books: Black Dolls an Identification and Value Guide 1820-1991 and Black Dolls an Identification and Value Guide Book II. Of course my own black-doll books have been useful references for collectors and I often refer to them for information.
I have several other doll reference books dedicated to particular doll types (Barbie, Ginny, Patty Playpal, Tammy, Terri Lee, for example), manufacturers (Ideal, Mattel), or medium (composition, hard plastic).
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PS Thanks for the shout out and support, Roxanne.
ReplyDeleteDoll Magazines: I have been a past subscriber to Barbie Bazaar (out of print), Doll Reader (also out of print), Dolls, Haute Doll, Contemporary Doll Collector, Doll Castle News, Fashion Doll Quarterly, British Doll Showcase.
I currently receive UFDC's Doll News because I am a member of that organization and membership includes their quarterly publication.
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Hi and thanks for sharing titles from your reference library, Black Doll Enthusiast (aka Debbie). Always helpful to have feedback from an expert like you ;-)
ReplyDeleteI should point out that when I started "officially" collecting in the late 1970s, there were fewer black or ethnic playscale dolls and action figures than we have today. Thanks, Debbie Behan Garrett, Myla Perkins, and any other authors for your researching in that area.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I grew up using books as references and still like to use them. Online sources are often better in that they can be updated easily, but I like having books for a quick reference on "completeness" or price guide (even if it is out of date). My books reflect my collection, which is primarily the Barbie doll family, Gene Marshall, and Tyler Wentworth. The out-of-print magazines have a wealth of information that I haven't seem duplicated online, so I pick them up. The current crop of magazines are okay, but the information they have does seem to be readily available online. Sometimes it's just nice to sit down with a magazine, though, rather than a tablet. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi and thanks, Troy. I agree with your statement that online sources don't always have information covered in out-of-print sources. Online sources cover the bigger (company) dolls and occasionally, some smaller lines that have a strong fan base. Some dolls series slip through the online cracks.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I, too like the comfort of sitting down with a book or magazine. How about the phrase, "curling up with a good book"? Nice, that.
That's a solid collection of doll books! And they look informative, which I like to see in a book - too many of the doll and figure publications I see are essentially just photo albums.
ReplyDeleteI subscribed to Dolls magazine for the first time last year and was a bit disappointed by how little of the magazine was actual information versus adverting. I only have a couple of doll books, most of which were bonuses for ordering from Dollmore - they have beautiful photos, but there isn't much more to them than that.
Hi jSarie! Much as I love seeing photos of dolls and action figures, I also love text to go with those photos. Information + photos = book ;-)
ReplyDeleteI have not looked at any of the doll magazines in recent years. Thanks for the information about the advertising being so heavy. I'll wait to see the magazines in hand before buying.
I have two books and maybe 10 magazines! I'm impressed with what you have. You should bring them to the next meeting!
ReplyDeleteHi Ms. Leo! Thanks for stopping by. Now I am all-curious aka nosy: what doll books do you have?
ReplyDeleteAnother doll club meet! Need to get on my email to follow up.