Are you planning a trip to Europe--or looking for an excuse to do so? Our Jan-Feb issue of Dollhouse Miniatures (downloadable version here) announced a fabulous giveaway: free tickets of admission to The Toy Worlds Museum Basle. The museum houses more than 6000 teddy bears, dolls, toy grocers’ shops, dollhouses and miniatures, making it the only one of its kind in Europe, and it holds many special exhibits throughout the year.
For miniaturists, this fascinating collection as well as the special exhibits provide the opportunity for unparalleled invaluable information about period pieces and toys. As well as being great inspiration, anything you see in the museum could help you add authenticity to scenes by recreating some of these toys in miniature, and looking at a photo just does not give you the same amount of detail as you'd get from seeing them in person.
Visit their website for more information on the museum itself or on future special exhibits. Perhaps you'll be interested in their upcoming exhibit, "To wind up and charge," which will run from April 20 to October 6 of this year. This will highlight moving toys from the past 100 years, from cars to teddy bears to animals. There will also be 70 short films highlighting the movements of the pieces so that you can recreate them in miniature with all their moving parts! "The early toys were often made completely from tin and could be found with elaborate and detailed lithographs," says the museum's announcement of the exhibit. If you're creating a playroom or nursery from the mid-1900s or even a modern collector's room, this is the exhibit to catch!
Happy, the Violinist
Toplay Ltd., (T.P.S. v. Tokyo Plaything Shokai), Japan, around 1956, wind-up toy
Other upcoming exhibits include an exhibit about starlet Marilyn Monroe (running from Oct 19, 2013 to Apr 6, 2014) that includes "more than 700 original memorabilia and personal items of the extraordinary icon" on display. What better way to add to your Marilyn scene than with recreations of pieces from her real life? There is also a series of Christmas biscuits and cakes from around the world (Nov 30, 2013 to Feb 9, 2014) as well as a historical look at shoes (Oct 18, 2014 to Apr 6, 2015) and their transformations over the years.
The best part? These tickets don’t expire, so you can use them whenever you are in Switzerland or can plan your trip around any exhibit that you find particularly interesting.
The winners of these tickets will be chosen by random drawing. To enter the drawing, email traci@ashdown.co.uk with your name, address, and phone number. You could also fax this same information to (507) 634-7691. Just be sure to put Museum Giveaway - Dollhouse Miniatures in the subject line. But hurry--the deadline for this entry is Friday, March 22, 2013, just a few days from now!
