The Carole and Barry Kaye Museum of Miniatures

This week we have had rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog – so I haven’t been able to do all the things I was planning to do.

It did, however, mean that I had a chance to start rearranging my bookcase.

I need to do this because, although I had made a solemn promise to myself not to buy any more books, I was tempted beyond endurance by a copy of The Carole and Barry Kaye Museum of Miniatures Catalogue.

It is not very large – 10 inches by 8 1/2 inches and 110 pages – and it is absolutely full of colour photographs of dolls’ houses, miniature scenes and accessories collected by Carole Kaye.

I was fascinated by the American scenes and decor and there were makers who were completely new to me – the work of Rainbow Hand being a wonderful new discovery.

There were also some very beautifully dressed and modelled dolls by George Stuart, which I had never seen before. However, I made the mistake of reading the short paragraph about his Charles II (which is quite stunning to look at) and became intensely annoyed…

Charles II was not “the second in the line of Stuart Kings” – he was the third – James I of England (and 6th of Scotland), Charles I, Cromwell (not a king at all), Charles II – and what is wrong with paying your debts? and the king did not personally plunge the United Kingdom into endless wars – as seems to be implied –

and –

…and then I calmed down a bit

…and remembered that History is Written by The Winners

…and a great deal depends on which books you have read

…and what you have been told

So, no more words, but some pictures – which are far more interesting!

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I am told that only part of the Carole and Barry Kaye collection is featured in this catalogue and sadly the Museum is now closed, so I will  never see it in-situ and in its full glory.

The collection has apparently been donated to The Naples Museum of Art and Philharmonic Center for the Arts where some of it (at least) is now on display as part of the museum’s permanent collection – although I have not been able to find any details about it on their website.

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