The Bloo Family

One of the highlights of toy collecting is finding a group of toys that have remained together since they were packed up by their original child owner. It's interesting to see what children liked to keep together, and how they played with and stored their toys. Some of my oldest such finds date back to the 1890s (a doll trunk full of bisque dolls, their furniture, accessories, and tea sets).

One of the quirkiest is much more recent: a group of 1960s trolls, found inside a vinyl troll house, where they had been carefully stored by their original owner. Said child was clearly a very tidy and color-coordinated kid: her trolls were selected for the way their hair and clothes complemented each other. I call them "The Bloo Family". They're in minty shape too: this child was clearly a neat freak.

Mrs. Bloo is a 3 1/2 inch troll by an unknown maker. She has white mohair and wears a vintage felt troll dress and hair bow. Mr. Bloo, besides being a nudist, is a '64 Dam with a fantastic shock of blue mohair, and their daughter is a tiny 2 inch Scandia House pencil topper.

This guy, also blue of course, was in the case with the family of trolls above. I call him "The Bloo Family's Crazy Uncle, Who Lives in the Attic".