Oriental doll
ca. 1910
Gift of E.H. Orozco in memory of Joy E. Orozco

The Joy E. Orozco Doll Collection was donated to the Illinois State Museum by the collector's husband in 1995. Joy Orozco had collected dolls from all over the country and the world. She was an active member in the National Association of Doll Collectors.

The Decorative Arts curator and registrar were responsible for moving the collection from the Orozco's Chicago apartment to the Collections Center of the museum. Because most of the dolls were made of very fragile materials, it was necessary to hand-wrap each one and pack them very carefully. Each item was wrapped and packed and would be stored away from the damaging ultraviolet rays of the sun. Tiny doll fingers were sometimes wrapped individually because wrapping the entire hand together might break a finger.

Soft tissues were used next to the dolls' skin, and harder tissue wrapped the body. Then a cocoon of polyethylene foam and bubblewrap encased each doll. These protective layers kept out dust, excess humidity and temperature changes during the November move. Each doll or object was tagged with an identifying number that was also copied onto the box in which the doll was placed and entered with a description into a laptop computer database as inventory. Five trips were made to transfer all the objects.

Doll being prepared for moving.

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