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CELEBRATING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF TOYS AND
MINIATURES
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HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER
of missouri
in the house of representatives
Friday, October 21, 2022
Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, I rise today with an abundant sense of joy to recognize the 40th anniversary of the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, located in Kansas City, Missouri. Home to the world's largest collection of fine-scale miniatures and one of the most extensive collections of historic toys currently on public display, the museum has educated, inspired, and delighted adults and children alike since its opening in 1982. Founded by close friends Mary Harris Francis and Barbara Hall Marshall, the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures stands out as one of the most treasured institutions in Missouri's Fifth Congressional District.
Born less than four years apart, Mary Harris Francis and Barbara Hall Marshall not only established the Toy and Miniature Museum of Kansas City, as it was known until the summer of 2015, but also provided the cherished collections that went on display. Barbara--one of three children of Hallmark founder J.C. Hall and his wife, Elizabeth--
developed an appreciation for art at an early age, when she helped her dad review card designs. Having always looked forward to receiving the smallest presents from her father, Barbara acquired her first fine-
scale miniature in the 1950s--a rocking chair that could fit in the palm of her hand. Drawn to the artistic efforts required to create fine-scale miniatures, Barbara became a serious collector by the 1970s. With her eye for detail refined through her professional career in the art department at Hallmark, along with her volunteer service at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Barbara only collected miniatures of the highest quality, and frequently commissioned works from artists who could meet her standards. Setting aside her personal stylistic preferences, Barbara encouraged artists to create the works of their dreams, and in doing so, the boundaries of fine-scale miniatures as an art form were explored and redefined through her patronage.
Mary Harris Guinotte Francis, whose lineage included the Guinotte family that helped found Kansas City, taught elementary school at Notre Dame de Sion and never lost the connection she felt to her own childhood. Guided by her sense of playfulness and her love for the make believe, Mary developed a passion for collecting dolls, dollhouses, toys, and games of many time periods. Most interested in objects that had been handmade and well-loved, Mary acquired her first antique dollhouse in 1974. Assuring her husband she would ``never need another,'' Mary's ever-expanding collection of large, antique dollhouses soon began occupying a significant portion of her family's home as she continued to put her curatorial acumen to use. Mary's sense of joy in life was evident in her collection, but it became apparent that a larger space was needed to house the treasure trove of toys and miniatures that she and Barbara had acquired in their respective homes. When the two women returned from a trip and showed Mary's mother what they had purchased along the way, Mary's mother stated that ``if you girls get one more thing, you're going to have to start a museum.'' This remark, having planted an idea in the minds of Barbara and Mary, would prove prophetic.
Opening its doors in 1982, the Toy and Miniature Museum of Kansas City was first located in the historic Tureman Mansion at the corner of 52nd and Oak on the University of Missouri-Kansas City campus. At this time, the 7,500-square-foot museum employed only two full-time staff members. Expansions in 1989 and 2004 saw the museum grow to 33,000-
square-feet, and by 2012, the museum's collection included 72,000 objects. Embarking on their first public capital campaign in 2012 to support building and exhibit improvements, the museum raised nearly $11 million and began a nineteen-month renovation in 2014. Reopening on August 1, 2015 as the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, the collection currently numbers more than 86,000 objects. In 2016 and again in 2018, the museum received Leadership in History Merit Awards from the American Association of State and Local History, testaments to the institution's educational significance.
The museum's fine-scale miniatures include architectural works, room settings, fine and decorative art, tools, equipment, and figures made to scale, most commonly 1:12. Crafted by master artists, the miniatures collection includes working reproductions of objects in the full-scale world, highlighting the ingenuity and skill that miniature artists employ to create their intricately detailed works. Without stepping foot outside Kansas City, the miniatures collection allows visitors to see Louis XV's study at the Palace of Versailles, an Italian Renaissance studio, and a Boston Beacon Hill mansion.
The museum's toy collection, the largest of its kind in the midwestern United States, documents society's cultural beliefs, technological advancements, and the hopes and dreams of generations of children from the 18th century to the present. The collection examines the role that toys play in providing comfort and teaching skills, while stories collected and told through children's points of view encourage visitors to think about the meaning of their own toys, thereby fueling conversations about childhood and the importance of memories. Indeed, toys represent touchstones to our earliest and most personal memories, containing important historical and cultural clues about the past.
It is often said that the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures offers something for everyone, and it is a place where art meets history. Barbara Hall Marshall once explained that ``the most enjoyment you can get from a collection that you put together is to share it with other people.'' For forty years, the museum has welcomed visitors from around the world and shared with them the precious collections that Barbara and Mary Harris Francis first assembled. Luckily for those visitors, they all left a little younger. Madam Speaker, please join me in congratulating the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures on forty years. Here's to many more.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 166(1), Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 166(2)
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