Pollock’s Toy Museum is delighted to launch its latest fundraising campaign on the 1st November 2022 selling original, and now rare, Dutch Peg Dolls to raise money for the running of the museum and upcoming projects.
Dutch Peg Dolls (also known as wooden tops, wooden betty’s, timber tops to name a few) are traditional wooden dolls made since the 1850s in the Dolomite Mountains, Italy for the winter employment of shepherds and their families. Whole villages were devoted to making dolls and animals which were made in their thousands and exported all over the world.
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“Many have fond memories of buying these dolls with their characterful faces, long wooden limbs and stiff joints from the museum shop and they have since become a sought after collectors item. When a supporter of the museum shared with us that a listing of 76 dolls had appeared on ebay from a house clearance, a plan was hatched to buy them, pick some for the collection and then sell the rest as a fundraiser!” - Jack Fawdry Tatham
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Dutch Peg Dolls have been an iconic part of Pollock’s Toy Museum’s history ever since Marguerite discovered a barn full of thousands of the dolls in the 1950s. The trade of these particular dolls had been interrupted by the First World War and they’d been sitting in the barn ever since. Marguerite bought the whole lot and sold them in the Pollock’s Toy Museum shop until the last batch was sold in the early 80s, the few remaining dolls from that time ended up becoming part of the museum collection. Now, after 30 years and one special discovery later, the dutch dolls are back.
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Please note that each doll listed here is an original and as such has imperfections (these imperfections are also original; peg dolls famously had stiff joints and brisk brush strokes which give them their character!). As such we have not written detailed condition descriptions of each one and ask you to refer to the photos to make your choice. They are collectors items. They are not suitable for children.