Extensive collection of antique dolls from Alberta museum up for auction
Linda Schuler loves dolls. It started as a childhood passion, and eventually turned into a 15-year business venture.
In 2006, Schuler and her husband were driving down a Saskatchewan highway and saw a sign for a doll museum. They decided to check it out.
"I was totally in awe of the whole thing. It was just fantastic to view that museum, and (we) just totally fell in love with it right off the bat," she said.
After returning to Drumheller, Schuler said she couldn't stop thinking about the museum.
"Finally my husband said, 'Why don't you ask those ladies if they'd be interested in selling it?'"
Schuler said she got up the courage to ask, and to her surprise they were ready to part with their business.They packed up the doll museum on Mother's Day and drove it back to Drumheller.
Valley Doll Museum opened on June 6, 2007.
Over the years, Schuler added more dolls to the museum – which she ran while also helping her husband with his locksmith business.
"The Ralph Klein dolls [of the world] that he had in city hall in Calgary when he was mayor, I acquired those as well, those were donated to me," she said. "The Glenbow Museum in Calgary and Heritage Park, they didn't want them, so they found a home in my museum."
Fifteen years later, Schuler is retiring from the doll business, and is auctioning off her inventory with the help of an Edmonton auction company.
"I love my dolls but I just got to the point in life where I have health problems and can't do both jobs at the same time," she said. "One of them had to go and the doll museum is really a lot of work for one person so that's the one that unfortunately had to go."
'JAMMED TO THE RAFTERS'
The museum's inventory was moved from Drumheller to Beck Auctions' east Edmonton location in preparation for Wednesday's auction.
"We've sold many collections, but this is the most extensive collection, probably. It's literally jammed to the rafters in here with dolls," said Beck Auctions President Clinton Beck.
Beck estimates there are more than 1,000 dolls to auction off, as well as furniture, clothing and other museum items.
"We have dolls that are cultural dolls, we have dolls from different countries, we have Victorian dolls, we have antique dolls from the 1920s," said Beck.
Many collectors will be looking to fill the missing pieces of their collections, Beck predicted.
"We've had calls from the United States, from Europe, from all over Canada, there's tremendous interest in this auction tonight."
The entire collection is available to view and bid on online.
The first lot of items in the doll auction will close at 6 p.m. Wednesday, with the auction ending at midnight.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Joe Scarpelli
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bathroom break nearly derails $22 million project at city council meeting
A brief break during Wednesday's city council meeting in Saskatoon nearly cost the city dearly.
Do this once a month and extend your life by up to 10 years. No gym required
Research shows that art experiences, whether as a maker or a beholder, transform our biology by rewiring our brains and triggering the release of neurochemicals, hormones and endorphins.
Scotland's Robert MacIntyre holds off Griffin, wins RBC Canadian Open
Scotland's Robert MacIntyre has won the RBC Canadian Open.
'The legacy I want to leave:' Mother with Stage 4 cancer advocates for survivors
People around the world are observing National Cancer Survivor Day, an annual celebration held to honour patients who have been through the often difficult and traumatic experience of living with cancer.
'Rotten rock': Climate change altering the face of Canadian mountaineering
The Abbot Pass hut stood for decades in a rugged saddle between two iconic peaks, overlooking the limpid turquoise of Banff National Park's Lake Louise — a destination for alpinists from around the world until the ground melted beneath it and forced its closure.
Ryan Reynolds has declared 'War of the Popcorn Buckets.' He's honestly onto something
Ryan Reynolds this week unveiled arguably the most anticipated and sure-to-be coveted merchandise tied to his upcoming 'Deadpool' sequel: the movie’s novelty popcorn bucket.
A CBSA strike could soon snarl border traffic. Here’s what you need to know
Just as the summer travel season gets into gear, Canadians and visitors could find themselves waiting in long lines at the border — delays that could also deal a blow to the economy.
Mackenzie Hughes 'gutted' after falling short at RBC Canadian Open
Mackenzie Hughes had the dream scenario of winning the RBC Canadian Open in his hometown within reach but then it all slipped away.
Trump joins TikTok and calls it 'an honor.' As president he once tried to ban the video-sharing app
Donald Trump has joined the popular video-sharing app TikTok, a platform he once tried to ban while in the White House, and posted from a UFC fight two days after he became the first former president and presumptive major party nominee in U.S. history to be found guilty on felony charges.