GLEN RIDGE, NJ — The Glen Ridge Women’s Club will be turned into a museum of dolls from July 30 through Aug. 1.
A collection of more than 300 dolls, all donated to the organization by member Roberta Rubin D’Ull in advance of her move out of town, will be on display at the club’s headquarters on Ridgewood Avenue. They’re not toys — the collection’s items, which D’Ull amassed over a period of 30 years, are art pieces.
“You’ve got to see them to believe it,” GRWC President Sandra Lefkovits said in a phone interview with The Glen Ridge Paper on July 22. “When you hear ‘dolls,’ you think of Barbie and American Girl. They’re not typical dolls — they’re really art pieces.”
The club spent a few days at D’Ull’s house just down the street from the Women’s Club cataloging and moving them. It was a big project: A group of club members wore gloves when handling the dolls and wrapped them in bubble wrap before driving a caravan of cars on multiple trips back to the organization’s home. Trisha Turiano took the lead on the cataloging project, along with Margo Garrison, Laura Cohen, Annemarie Morrow, Mary Lou Malyska and Lynn Hanson-Vaux. They jokingly referred to themselves as the “Doll Squad.”
“With the first 50 or so, we thought we could carry them back,” Turiano said in a phone interview on July 22. “Then we drove them down the street. It was a huge undertaking, because we had the descriptions of each of them but the dolls were around the house, so we had to match them.”
Turiano wasn’t familiar with D’Ull’s dolls before the club received them, but Lefkovits had been to the house and seen them before.
“Her house was a museum of dolls,” she said. “Every part of the home had dolls. She also had them in cases in the basement.”
Many of the dolls are porcelain; others are wax and ceramic. Their hair and clothes are extremely detailed and delicate. Some of the dolls are rare, and some even one of a kind. The dolls range in size from that of a Barbie to 5 feet tall.
“The detail is incredible — the paint, the hair, the costumes,” Lefkovits said. “Some are wearing silk. They’re really gems.”
The dolls are made by artists from all over the world: Every continent is represented. Historical figures such as Joan of Arc and Napoleon are represented, and there are commercial dolls of celebrities that viewers will recognize, including Liza Minelli, Greta Garbo, Sophia Loren and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Fictional characters are represented, too, including Dracula, Lily Munster and Morticia Addams.
D’Ull is not alone in collecting dolls. There are doll shows held around the world and collectors who spend years searching for pieces. The club’s upcoming exhibit was recently featured in Dolls magazine.
“People will walk into a wonderland of different cultures and ethnicities,” Turiano said. “It isn’t just these little grandma dolls. They’re all different colors and ages. You’re never going to see a collection like this anywhere else.”
After this weekend, the club has to decide what to do with the dolls in the collection. Some of them will be brought out to be put on display at the club’s annual Doll Tea, while others might be auctioned off. But for now, residents have the chance to see all 300 of them in one room.
The exhibit is open at the Glen Ridge Women’s Club on July 30 from 5 to 8 p.m. and on July 31 and Aug. 1 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A small admission fee is charged.
“It’s a jaw-dropping collection of dolls,” Lefkovits said. “I think it’s something people should see at least once. Roberta had them and enjoyed them for 35 years, so we want to show people.”
Photos by Amanda Valentovic
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