The Musée de la Poupée was established in June, 1994, to display both the private doll collection of Guido and Samy Odin and also thematic exhibitions that change several times a year. It is located at the end of a small alleyway adjacent to the Anne Frank Garden and across the street from the Pompidou Center in the third arrondissement. If you are walking in this very lively neighborhood, be careful because streets change names at the drop of a chapeau.
Impasse Berthaud is a very short distance from the corner of rue Rambuteau and rue Beaubourg and Métro Rambuteau.
The Doll Museum is on the left, and the Anne Frank Garden is on the right.
The gated entrance to the Doll Museum
The entrance to the Doll Museum is adjacent to a shaded courtyard.
The entrance to the Doll Museum
The permanent collection of the museum consists of more than 1600 antique and collectible dolls in cases lining the walls of the “pocket” museum. The dolls are arranged chronologically with scale-model furniture, accessories and toys in settings and backdrops typical of each period. The first of 4 rooms of the museum covers the period from 1800 to 1870, when dolls were frequently made of wood, wax and papier-maché.
Wooden Dolls
Wax Dolls and Paper Dolls
A Pajama bag doll
Papier Maché & Porcelain Dolls
A closer look at the Papier Maché & Porcelain Dolls
The second room showcases the golden age of the bisque head bébé,
which lasted from 1870 to 1919.
Lots of dolls
which lasted from 1870 to 1919.
Bisque Dolls and “Pocket Dolls”
Dolls of an “unbreakable” material, an alternative to bisque dolls
Educational Dolls
French Dolls
Doll Showcases
19th century German dolls
19th century French dolls
House of Jumeau dolls
Of all the French dollmakers, Jumeau reigned supreme for over half a century. Originally made as playthings, nowadays many of these dolls are sought-after antiques.
Of all the French dollmakers, Jumeau reigned supreme for over half a century. Originally made as playthings, nowadays many of these dolls are sought-after antiques.
World War I Dolls
Room three focuses on the production of French dolls between the two World Wars (1920-1939), the golden age of celluloid and bathing dolls.
Character dolls
German baby doll
German character dolls
Room Four features dolls from the low-production WW II years (1940-1948) and the period that coincided with the first Baby-Boom (1948-1959), which is the period that brings back childhood memories to many of us. New materials, including plastics emerged, and this generation of dolls wears the fashions of the day and the new textiles like polyester and rayon.
Lots of dolls
Baby dolls
Dolls with products
Entertainment Dolls
Urika Dolls
The Urika Doll Company was founded in Paris in 1947. Urika dolls were mostly cloth dolls (usually synthetic and bendable), stuffed with cotton. The dolls are flexible, with the head and hands in the early plastic material called Rhodoïd. The dolls have metal rods that allow them to stand up and hold different poses. These dolls resemble the caricatures and cartoons of the era.
Ethnic dolls
The Doll Museum also houses a boutique with a huge choice of modern and antique dolls, accessories and reference books concerning dolls and a doll hospital.
Barbie Retro Chic poster
The special exhibit at the Doll Museum was, “Barbie Retro Chic,” running from February 11, 2014 - September 13, 2014. The exhibit looked at the 1960s wardrobe design for Barbie and featured authentic Barbie dolls from private collections. Contemporary designers from the company Magia 2000 created one-of-a-kind miniature Barbie gowns specifically for this exhibit. (Magia 2000 is a company that consists of 2 Italian men who built a fashion doll business which has collaborated with Mattel to design Barbie clothes.) Their creations were so exquisitely done, they took my breath away. These are doll clothes that you have to see to believe. Magia 2000 are now the official designers for Barbie events in Europe.
Barbie in boudoir/bathing clothes
Barbie in dressy casual ensembles
Barbie in dressy casual ensembles
Barbie in a fashion boutique
Barbie and an entire wardrobe
Barbie in career clothes
Can you identify the movie stars by the clothes they wore in the movies or in real life?
This was probably my favorite display. (Answers are at the end if you need them)
Barbie in wedding clothes
Barbie in prom gowns
Barbie at the opera
Barbie in black
Barbie in dressy clothes
The poster in the background is the cover of a book, Dreaming of Dolls, written in celebration of the 15th Magia 2000 Anniversary. It is also a catalogue to show their 12 dolls at the Musée de la Poupée. (500 first edition copies of the book sold out.)
The poster in the background is the cover of a book, Dreaming of Dolls, written in celebration of the 15th Magia 2000 Anniversary. It is also a catalogue to show their 12 dolls at the Musée de la Poupée. (500 first edition copies of the book sold out.)
Barbie in a little black dress
Barbie on a pedestal
Barbie in evening clothes
Barbie in a balloon hem dress
Barbie in a delicately embellished dress
Barbie in a sumptuous gown with shiny embellishments and a skirt of overlapping petals
Barbie in an evening gown with folds upon folds of organza
Barbie in the Pièce de Résistance by Magia 2000
I’ve never been a Barbie doll fan, but on this day I almost became one after seeing these superb gowns in miniature.
FYI: The movie stars are: Elizabeth Taylor in “Cleopatra,” (1963) Marilyn Monroe in “The Seven Year Itch”(1954) and “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (1953) Audrey Hepburn in “Roman Holiday” (1953) and “Sabrina,” (1954) and Grace Kelly in her wedding gown.(1956)
Web site: www.museedelapoupeeparis.com and www.magia2000.com
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