The Sitges Museums present the long-awaited catalogue of Lola Anglada's collection of dolls and toys, a key volume for research and heritage dissemination

The Sitges Museums presented last Wednesday afternoon, in the Gothic Room of the Maricel Museum, the catalog Dolls and Toys at the Sitges Museums. Collection of Lola Anglada, a long-awaited reference work that gives shape and context to one of the most unique heritage collections in Catalonia: the collection of dolls and toys donated in 1961 by the artist and illustrator Lola Anglada i Sarriera (1892-1984), whose 133rd birthday is commemorated today.

This volume is the result of years of research, documentation and critical study, and provides a renewed look at the historical, artistic and social importance of the pieces that form part of one of the most emblematic collections of the Can Llopis Romantic Museum. The publication not only offers an exhaustive catalog of the pieces, but also contextualizes them within the history of collecting and the material culture of childhood between the 19th and 20th centuries.

Txema Romero, director-manager of the Sitges Museums, has remarked that “this catalogue is much more than an inventory book: it is a tool for research, memory and cultural dissemination that highlights a unique and beloved collection. It fulfills a historical debt to the collection and places it at the level it deserves within the country’s museum scene.”

The book includes around 700 dolls and toys, mainly from Lola Anglada’s founding donation, to which pieces from her house in Tiana and other later donations and legacies have been added. The catalogue combines a detailed description of each object with historical studies on the European toy industry, the role of dolls in education and the social imaginaries of childhood.

The author of the volume, Pere Capellà Simó, PhD in Art History and professor at the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), has emphasized that “the publication is the result of a long process of research and revision that has involved contrasting each piece with historical sources and international repertoires. Beyond their material value, dolls and toys tell us stories of life, education and social transformations that connect directly with our collective memory”.

The catalog culminates decades of work on a collection that has been the object of fascination for both its artistic dimension and its testimonial value. Furthermore, the volume places the Sitges collection within the international framework of toy collecting and in relation to other reference heritage funds.

In the words of Pau González, president of the Sitges Heritage Consortium and deputy for Culture of the Barcelona Provincial Council, “this book consolidates the commitment of the Provincial Council and the Consortium to make the Sitges Museums a first-rate cultural and heritage reference. The Lola Anglada collection is a shared treasure that now, thanks to this catalogue, can be projected with all its richness into society and the academic world”.

With this publication, the Sitges Museums reinforce their commitment to research, conservation and the dissemination of heritage, and make available to the scientific community and the general public a reference work that enriches the understanding of the cultural history of childhood and collecting practices in Catalonia.