Dolls, some approaching the century mark in age, sit, lay, and stand behind glass at the Maple Ridge Museum.

For these new residents of the Maple Ridge Museum, their playing days are over.

Since June they've sat behind glass display cases. Technically, most of them are senior citizens. But really, they are infants or pubescents frozen in time, their

expressions, stoic or smiling, permanently etched on ceramic, vinyl, or paper faces.

For the past month, the museum has had various dolls and doll accessories on display.

Curator Allison White said the exhibition has been a hugely popular addition.

"We've had a lot of positive feedback with this exhibit," she said. "School groups that have come in have really enjoyed it, there's been lots of questions, and when they send us letters, they are always mentioning this."

The collection includes items and artifacts donated by local resident Daphne Clowes, from ceramic dolls, to toy wicker furniture, to a large collection of paper dolls from the 1930s.

The ceramic dolls are from the 1930s.

The fashion dolls are from the mid-1960s, including a Barbie from 1965 and a Happy Family collection from 1973.

The paper dolls, cut from paper or thin card stock, are from the early 20th century.

Paper dolls were first seen in France during the mid-18th century, and were drawn or painted like people with fashions for each doll.

"The paper dolls have really taken off," White said. "The dolls are still in great conditions and a lot of people who have come in today, have never seen paper dolls."

Another Maple Ridge resident, Shirley Goetzen, donated two "Wettums," the name of some of the more popular dolls from the Reliable Toy Company Ltd., a Canadian company founded in 1920. The two dolls lay together in a toy carriage. They were a Christmas gift to Goetzen in the mid-1930s. One of the dolls, with brown eyes, is named "Marilyn."

The largest of the ceramic dolls is dressed in toddler clothes.

For more , people can drop by the museum, at 22520 116th Ave., call 604-463-5311 or visit www.mapleridgemuseum.org.

tlandreville@mrtimes.com