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Shortly after the birth of his younger daughter, Capt. William Charles Shroh/Allen began collecting dolls during his travels as a Merchant Mariner.  He paid particular attention to three things:  1)  the dolls must be in native costume, 2) variety, and 3) the dolls, whenever possible, would be the type of dolls with which native children actually played.  To accomplish this, Capt. Allen avoided tourist areas, seeking out shops and markets in small towns and villages.

The result was a unique collection of over 75 foreign dolls procured over a 14 year period, from  1943 to 1957.  Several dolls in this collection have won awards in doll shows held in Galveston, Texas during the 1940's and 1950's.

The dolls included on this page are representative of the entire collection.  Their selction was based on variety, and condition.