Mrs. De Clifford and her family of 150 Dolls.
Although Mrs. de Clifford is middle aged she has never lost her love of dolls and in her home a West Norwood she has a "family" of 150 of them, and like most other families, looking after them is a whole time job. All the dolls have complete wardrobes, a dressmaker makes all the clothes to her design and if they are dressed in period costume everything has to be authentic, even down to the underclothes. Doll collecting has always fascinated Mrs. de Clifford's family, Her great-great-great grandmother started it and each generation has carried it on, but when the collection reached over 800 Mrs. de Clifford regretfully had to "weed it out". Many of the dolls are historic and many have come from far off lands. Now Mrs. de Clifford is starting a Dolls Club so that others can share the delight of her fascinating hobby. The club will also have a charitable object in that doll shows etc., will help raise funds for charities, as did a collection of her dolls during the war which toured the country and raised pound 2,000 for war charities.
The tallest and one of the oldest dolls in the collection is Lourisa (1864). She has a wax face is dressed in her original costume and has corkscrew curls.
Photo measures 8 x 10 inches.
Photo is dated --none.
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