- July 11, 2025
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Building a doll collection wasn't something Jennifer Joseph began intentionally.
When she was a young adult, she would often buy dolls as mementos, from places she visited, and although she had the idea of a collection in her mind, it ultimately came together of its own accord.
While she bought many of the dolls herself, her family, friends and students she worked with all contributed.
She says those people have become part of the memories found among what she says is approximately 80 dolls representing 40 countries.
That includes the country of her birth, Guyana, as well as others as diverse as Spain, Senegal, China, Norway and Jamaica.
Thanks to the Friends of the Betty J. Johnson North Sarasota Public Library organization, for which she volunteers in the library's bookstore, her lifetime collection is now there.
Joseph believes her connection with dolls probably began with her father, Vincent Chung, who died when she was very young.
"He was 45, I was just about seven, and the last gift I had from him was a doll, so I suspect there's something in there about connection and remembrance and special people, all coming together," she said.
Throughout her life, she also worked primarily in higher education administration, and is a founding member of the Freedom School at Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) in Sarasota.
She says the curiosity she feels about other places in the world is what she hopes to inspire in others.
Since she moved to Sarasota from Chicago about five years ago, the dolls had been in storage because of a lack of space.
Yet when Friends Bookstore Manager Ellia Manners suggested a new place for them, in a cabinet in the bookstore, Joseph agreed.
The Friends group is an organization which advocates on behalf of the library, besides managing the bookstore, whose sales benefit the library's activities.
"I'm thrilled to see them out, hopefully for others to enjoy and be curious about," Joseph said.
Joseph says the dolls come from many parts of Africa, Europe and the Caribbean, as well as many other countries, and describes them as showing "an incredible diversity."
However, while the features of the dolls themselves are diverse, so are the ways in which they were acquired.
During her time living in England, Joseph visited many European countries.
As her then-husband was a professor of African Studies at Oxford, they also lived in many African countries with their three sons, from the 1970s to 1980s.
They spent time in Sudan, Senegal and Nigeria, while their location, and his work, also brought them to other neighboring countries including Togo, Ghana, Cameroon, South Africa and Tanzania and Kenya.
During that time, she obtained many African dolls, although she says other focuses often occupied the forefront of her life, like being a mother and settling into new environments.
One thing Joseph says she took away from the experience was the diversity of Africa, including its more than 50 countries and the different languages and geographical regions.
She says what she leaned was “in some ways, the realization that people are people the world over."
"You find that they’re all the range, but for the most part, living and working in the countries that we did, the warmth and the welcome is certainly something that I would say remains with me, certainly in terms of the people that we've met and interacted with," she said.
The collection continued to grow after she moved to New Hampshire and worked at Darthmouth College, serving in admissions, then as a dean of first-year students, and then as the leader of an academic support program.
She says students she worked with would often bring back dolls for her from the countries they visited.
“I often think about that, that they wouldn’t know that I still remember their names and think of them when I see and I take these dolls out,” she said.
The remaining portion of the collection comes from the contributions of friends and family.
“Of course, it's very touching that people remember, ‘Oh, you collect dolls, and when they think about bringing you something, I get a little doll," she said.
For instance, her youngest son, Robert, made a trip to Guyana, bringing back a small doll where a plant seed makes up the head.
She says although it's difficult to choose a favorite among the many unique dolls in the collection, that one does hold a special meaning for her because her son brought it to her, from the country of her birth.
Her second son, Anthony, brought back one from an antique store after a visit to China, as well as a cornhusk doll by Iroquois Indians in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada.
Her oldest son, Mark, brought dolls from Belize and Norway.
She says apart from the memories attached to each doll, her interest also comes from her curiosity about the diversity and creativity found in dolls around the world.
"It's interesting to think that around the world it's a common thing," she said. "Wherever you go, wherever you go, you will find a doll, but then they're drawing on all these local materials.”
For instance, she bought another doll in Guyana and dressed entirely in some type of leaves.
In the tropics, she notes, leaves including banana, coconut and palm go through drying, shaping, coloring and used for a variety of purposes, from thatching houses to making baskets.
Many of the dolls also carry their own unique meanings and traditions, such as a fertility doll from Ghana.
Common across African countries, tribal women hoping to become pregnant carry these, and cared for as though they were an actual baby.
Then there is a basket of six Mexican Worry Dolls, all of which are smaller than an inch.
Worry Dolls originate from Guatemala, and traditionally given to children, so they can tell one doll a story about something worrying them before placing it under their pillow that night.
Joseph said the Betty J. Johnson North Sarasota Library is a space where she's happy to showcase the collection and try to find its audience.
She says there is something "very special" about the library, including the fact its namesake, Betty J. Johnson, is still very involved in the community.
"I just saw her recently and had a chance to tell her that I feel that it's her special spirit that is in this place, but it’s just a great library, in terms of the resources, the programming, and, of course, the bookstore," she said.
