Doctor\'s keen eye for dollhouses built exquisite collection

Tag : doll & puppet

Whether she bought an intricately carved, mirrored oak sideboardfor her dining room or a Moritz Gottschalk dollhouse, Dr. DannaClack demonstrated a consistently keen eye for quality.
A West Virginia native who began visiting antiques shops and thriftstores while still in college, Dr. Clack had a passion thatblossomed in the 1990s for collecting dollhouses, circuses,theaters, forts and castles. After a while, her collection occupiedso much space that she could not host Thanksgiving dinner.
During the past two decades, the Squirrel Hill woman amassed "anencyclopedic collection of examples of every major dollhouseproducer from the 19th century through the 1970s," said MatthewRoper, who researches and writes catalogs for Dargate AuctionGalleries in Point Breeze.
Dr. Clack died in September at age 67, and her collection will beauctioned Saturday at Dargate. Among the 300 lots are more than 50dollhouses, 10 doll schools, 10 theaters, and another 10 forts orcastles. In addition to dollhouse accessories, there are miniatureGerman theaters with cut-out characters and a miniature Spanish andBritish theater. Some include the printed text of plays.
"The German one has Shakespeare printed in German. Thank God Istudied German," Mr. Roper said.
The auction begins at 10 a.m., but the dollhouses will come up forsale between noon and 1 p.m.
Meliza Jackson, a neighbor and fellow collector who accompanied Dr.Clack to many auctions, said the physician was "intellectuallycurious, creative and a terrific synthesizer of knowledge."
Her friend, Mrs. Jackson added, "was interested in Punch and Judy,the still popular British Victorian puppet show featuring Mr. Punchand his wife. The day she bought the vintage puppet set was like areunion. It was almost as if she had brought home some long-lostrelatives that happened to be a foot tall."
Early in her career, Dr. Clack worked as a research physician atthe University of Edinburgh in Scotland. In the 1970s, she returnedto the United States, where she taught ambulatory medicine for 10years at West Virginia University. In 1981, she and her familymoved to Pittsburgh.
Between 1981 and June of 1995, she served as the physician for thecity of Pittsburgh, evaluating the health of firefighters andpolice officers, as well as running drug tests on employees ofother government agencies and utilities.
When she was not working, Dr. Clack attended sales at Royal YorkAuction Gallery, Constantine & Mayer and also bought manytreasures over the Internet.
One item sure to attract interest is a Moritz Gottschalk dollhousemade in 1910 with lace-curtained windows and ornamental grillework.The front of the home opens to reveal wallpapered rooms.
This particular dollhouse appears in a 2000 catalog of theGottschalk production company's work, Mr. Roper said. There's evena Gottschalk stable for sale, made in 1898, that featuresdecorative finials.
A national toy company called McLoughlin Bros. made a foldingdollhouse in the 1880s with four rooms.
"Each of the four rooms folds down into a 12-by-12[-inch] square.It's in amazingly good condition," Mr. Roper said of Lot 1419.
A lifelong learner, Dr. Clack wanted to know the history of theitems she acquired.
"She had a deep love for the toys in particular," said her youngestson, Andrew Clack, 31, a doctoral student studying molecularbiology at the University of McMaster in Hamilton, Ontario.
Dr. Clack was ethical and unpretentious, he said, recalling thathis mother once responded to a newspaper ad placed by a woman whoclearly did not know the value of what she was selling. Dr. Clackmet with the woman and educated her about the value of those goods,which fetched several hundred dollars.
Of course, dollhouses must be furnished. So, the auction includeswhole tray lots of miniature toilets and sinks, cast-iron stoves,crystal chandeliers, German tin kitchens, upright and grand pianos,cloisonne vases, pots and pans, Jell-O molds, tea sets, cuckooclocks, mantel clocks, lacquered Japanese bowls, Limoges plattersand books.
Dr. Clack met her Australian husband, Lindsay, in Scotland at aThanksgiving dinner. He called her Swan, her maiden name, and shecalled him Clack. The couple met while both attended the Universityof Edinburgh.
In public, Lindsay Clack, former director of the Pittsburgh (nowNational) Aviary, often rolled his eyes at his wife's devotion todollhouses, Andy Clack said.
But behind closed doors, on several occasions, Lindsay Clack toldhis son, "No one on this Earth works harder and is more deservingof her 'fun time' than your mother."
Dr. Clack's collection includes dollhouses and a circus made bySchoenhut, a Philadelphia company.
"Their circuses are very valuable," Mr. Roper said. "This circus,with its figures and animals and canvas tent, with the originallid, will probably sell for between $2,000 and $3,000."
There's also a fine example of a Tootsietoy dollhouse -- a Spanishmansion from the 1930s with its original box, instructions and allof the furniture for its five rooms. It was silk-screened oncardboard.
"One sold several years ago for $2,700," Mr. Roper said.
To see the dollhouse collection, go to www.dargate.com .