The Doris Hill Collection

“When did it all begin, this love for dolls, miniatures, and the beauty and fulfillment that I’ve found in them?” begins Doris Hill of Pennsville, NJ, as she meets with me to discuss selling her dols.  She recounts always having a love of things small, from puppies to rosebuds to “the flashing wings of hummingbirds”.  Confined to a wheelchair for numerous years, Doris has not let her handicaps prevent her from living a full life.  She is a miniature doll artist specializing in recreating dollhouse room settings, and has exhibited her work in numerous gallery shows and also had her creations appear in the Miniature Gazette magazine.  Doris sold antique dolls at shows and developed a friendship with the owners of Mary Merritt’s Doll Museum, where she acquired many of the dolls in her collection.  Doris also made many visits to area nursing homes with her dolls, and allowed the patients to handle dolls which were both fragile and dear to her heart. 

Always honest, Doris admits that she was quite the “ham” and enjoyed lecturing about dolls; she often would wait, with microphone in hand, for questions, comments, and (hoped for!) accolades after her presentations.  She recounts one time that she carefully shared a Kestner #211 “Sammy” baby with elderly patients at one area home, taking the time to show the layers upon layers of original undergarments the doll retained.  After Doris delivered her closing remarks and awaited praise, one patient with “fire in her eyes” announced “I don’t think that was at all nice or proper of you, to show that baby’s diapers!”  Doris could only blush!  I met Doris at my very first doll show, close to 17 years ago, and indeed made my first sale as an antique doll dealer to her. In the early years, she was a mentor, but a fast friendship developed; the years since have been marked by occasional home visits and numerous letters from her with flowery prose, her distinctive penmanship, and stationary which she has hand painted with roses and vines.  Doris will not divulge her age or how long she has collected dolls, but does say that it has been almost 70 years since she first enlisted the help of her son to dust her collection.  A very tender soul, Doris Hill cannot tolerate the idea of dispersing with her collection at once, so we will be offering the collection for her in small amounts, perhaps a dozen dolls at a time over the coming years.  We are honored to be handling the sale of her collection.  We are delighted with the first batch of dolls that has arrived here in the shop from Doris’ loving home, and look forward to more treasures which she will bring out for us in the coming months. 

"Doris & Bill Hill during a recent visit to Debra's Dolls."

Doris Hill’s booth of dolls at the Hotel DuPont Doll Show, circa May 1973

See these Dolls from the Doris Hill Collection throughout our site.

16” Kestner Turned Shoulder Head with Closed Mouth	23 ½” Cuno & Otto Dressel	21” Alt, Beck & Gottschalck Turned Shoulder Head with Closed Mouth
7 ¾” Belton-Type	8 ¾” All-Original Kammer & Reinhardt #114 “Gretchen”	9 ¼” Covered Wagon China
4 ¼” Pair of Happifats All-Bisque Dolls		11” Parian