[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 166 (Friday, October 21, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1066-E1067]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CELEBRATING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF TOYS AND 
                               MINIATURES

                                 ______
                                 

                          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

[[Page E1067]]

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.

                          ____________________