Mildred Seeley (1918 - 10 December 2001) was a

doll A doll is a physical model, model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and ...

collector, doll-related

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

, and prolific author on the subjects of doll making and doll collecting.

Life and work

Mildred Seeley lived in a "small village in upstate New York" and in

Green Valley, Arizona Green Valley is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Pima County, Arizona, United States. The population was 22,616 at the 2020 census. Geography Green Valley is located along the western side of the Santa Cruz Ri ...

. She never visited the countries where her beloved dolls were made. Yet, she built "an international network of doll lovers and a world-class doll collection". She is widely recognized as a primary force in raising the profile of

antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

doll collecting and increasing the value of antique dolls. In 1986, Mildred Seeley initiated the designation of the second Saturday in June as World Doll Day.

Professional Accomplishments

In 1946 Mildred Seely founded Seeley's, a company which refers to itself as the leader in "the fascinating world of

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

dollmaking and related arts." In 1977, Mildred Seeley co-founded the Doll Artisan Guild. The Doll Artisan Guild offers special recognition in dollmaking competition, including the "Millie" (named for Seeley). It also publishes the quarterly "DOLLS Beautiful" magazine. Seeley established a chain of franchised "Seeley Doll Studios". She also created lines of limited-edition doll-related collectors' plates, valued by both doll collectors and plate collectors, often featuring dolls from her own collection.

Doll Collection

Mildred Seeley became known internationally for her collection of French dolls. When the collection sold in 2002, it set new world records (since broken) of US$1,800,000 for a single doll collection and US$215,000 for a single doll.

Bibliography

;Books *''Porcelain and Low-Fire Doll Making'' (1973) *''The Doll House Doll: Directions for Making Dolls'' (1977) *''The Doll Makers Work Book: French Dolls'' (1977) *''The Doll Makers Work Book: Baby Dolls, Volume I: German Dolls'' (1978) *''Making Reproduction Dolls for Profit'' (1979) *''Project-Milettes: Clones of Small French dolls'' (1982) *''Doll Collecting for Fun & Profit'' (1987) *''How to Collect French Bebe Dolls'' (1987) *''How to Collect French Fashion Dolls'' (1987) *''How to Make Money with Dolls'' (1987) *''Doll Costuming: How to Costume French & German Bisque Dolls'' (1990) *''German Children Dolls'' (1990) *''Judging Dolls: For Collectors, Doll Shows, Investment, Insuring, Appraising, Auction Buying, and Fun'' (1991) *''The Doll Makers Work Book: Lady Dolls'' (1991) *''The Complete Book of All-Bisque Dolls'' (1992) *''Fabulous French Bebes'' (1992) *''Milettes: Small French Dolls to Collect & Make'' (1993) *''For the Love of Dolls and Roses: A Story of the Author, Her Life, Her Successes, and Failures'' (1994) *''Beloved China Dolls'' (1996) *''Study of the Fashion Dolls of France'' (1996) *''Victorian Doll Secrets'' (1996) ;Pamphlets *''The Doll House Doll: Stitching Craft Book'' (1976) *''Making Original Dolls and Molds'' (1977)

About Mildred Seeley

* Theriault, Florence. ''For The Love Of Dolls: The Legendary Collection of Mildred Seeley''. Gold Horse Publishing. 2002. * Theriault, Florence. ''Magnifique: The Family Dolls of Mildred Seeley and Others''. Theriault. 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seeley, Mildred 1918 births 2001 deaths American collectors Women collectors People from Green Valley, Arizona 20th-century American non-fiction writers