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A mysterious female, known only as AE251, stands inside Anita Munson's closet. She has rosy cheeks and is wearing an off-the-shoulder dress and two matching ribbons in her hair.
“I found her at the Salvation Army," said Munson, 80. "I worked out a deal and brought her home to fix her up.''
On Saturday, Munson will be amid dolls like AE251 and the people who collect them at the St. Petersburg Doll Club's Third Annual Show and Sale at the Palms of Largo. Munson is the event's director.
Besides her children and grandchildren, dolls are Munson's passion.
More than 300 dolls dot her two-bedroom condo. She has Alexanders, Cupies, American Girls and Cabbage Patch dolls. She has found them at secondhand stores, estate sales, here in the United States as well as in Europe and Japan, on the Internet and through friendships.
"Of course, it started when I was a girl,'' said Munson, who taught Spanish at Largo High School from 1959 to 1984. "But when my mother gave me her own doll from when she was a girl — an Armand Marseilles, circa 1909 — that's when I realized my real interest.
"I took it in to get it cleaned up. As I learned what went on in repairing it, I became more interested in collecting.''
The show includes 34 dealers. An appraisal and repair service will be set up (for a nominal fee). Both antique and contemporary dolls will be displayed.
Although doll collecting is perceived as a female endeavor, the club is expecting several hundred people of all sorts.
"There are collectors of all kinds, both children and adults, women and men," she said.
"Some see dolls as objects of beauty or art. Some see them just as something pleasurable to have around.''
Will the mysterious No. AE251 make an appearance?
"Maybe," she said, "but she definitely won't be one I'll be selling."
If you go
What: Third Annual Doll Show and Sale, sponsored by St. Petersburg Doll Club and the Palms of Largo.
When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday.
Where: The auditorium inside the Cypress Palms campus of Palms of Largo, 400 Lake Ave. NE, Largo.
Admission: Free, but there will be a small fee for appraisals and repairs. Food and beverages also will be sold.
For information: Call (727) 585 5227.
[Last modified: Nov 13, 2008 05:08 PM]
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