As a year-long exhibition opens at North Somerset Museum, in Weston-super-Mare, Gerry Brooke talks to Peggy Nisbet doll fan Chris Poulten about her collection

B usinesswoman Peggy Nisbet was something of a legend in the world of dolls. Her House of Nisbet company, which she started in 1952 in Weston- super-Mare, went on to become one of the most successful in the country.

By the time she died in 1995, aged 86, she had established a world-wide reputation.

I caught up with Peggy Nisbet collector Chris Poulten in Weston just as she finished setting out her sixth annual show at the town's museum.

She and her husband Dave, who live in West London, had travelled down to the West Country – together with boxes and boxes of rare dolls – to help the museum staff organise the exhibition. Chris, now a great enthusiast and expert on the dolls and their costumes, tells me she became a Peggy Nisbet collector purely by chance.

" I love history," the 59-year-old explained as we clustered around the glass-fronted exhibition in the Victorian museum annexe called Clara's Cottage, "and that's really how I got started.

"I spotted Henry VIII and his six wives in an antique shop but had no idea that they were made by Peggy Nisbet.

"In fact, I didn't know anything about her or the Weston-super-Mare connection at that time.

"I paid £300 for the set, which seemed quite a lot of money then.

"Over time my collection has expanded and now I have well over 1,000 dolls that I exhibit in three cabinets at home, but most are kept safe and dry in boxes in an alcove in our lounge.

"I must admit I've never actually counted them, but we might get round to photographing and cataloguing them all one day when we've got the time.

"Although most of Peggy Nisbet's doll collections are in America – they are very popular there – I suppose I must have one of the biggest collections in this country."

And her favourite?

"It's got to be Cinderella," Chris said, taking the doll carefully down from its glass case so that I could get a good look at her.

The face, which is reversible, changes from scullery waif to glamorous princess in an instant.

"I bought her in 1986 for £125," explained Chris. "But others, such as the early porcelain dolls you see here made by Royal Doulton (known as Tower Treasures) are irreplaceable.

"You would have to pay £200 to £300 for dolls like that today. I dread to think what the insurance costs would be. Figures like this are still very collectable but, because of the recession, prices are down on what they once were.

"But for me, collecting the dolls isn't about making money – buying and selling – it's just for the pleasure I get from the hobby. In fact, I only sell doubles that I might have."

What about the Weston connection?

"We first came here in 2003 for the Peggy Nisbet 50th anniversary," said Chris.

"Peggy, who died in 1995, had started the business from her home in 1953 with a Queen Elizabeth II Coronation doll.

"I was talking to Liz at the museum about the exhibition and mentioned that I had a large collection – in fact, big enough to keep them going for another 10 years. The museum took me up on it and we now come down regularly to help set up what has become a yearly exhibition of my dolls.

"This year there are more than 100 on show. The museum does have it's own collection, donated by Peggy Nisbet herself, but these are at present in storage.

"We try to vary it but 2009-10 will be the last chance for people to see my rare Royal Doulton dolls. Next year we will be concentrating on the Teddy Bears which the company also made.

"Over the years we've tried to track down and take photos of all the places associated with Peggy, who first started making dolls at her home at Weston's Shrubbery in 1952.

"In 1970, when the factory burned down and many valuable records and stock were lost, it looked like the end.

"But Peggy, a very determined woman, moved the business to the Oldmixon estate and, although they no longer make dolls, the factory there still exists. We really like coming to Weston," added Chris, as I wished her well on the trip back down the M4, "and we'd like to retire here one day."

Chris Poulten's Peggy Nisbet doll exhibition – Porcelain, Vinyl, Wood and Wax – will run for a year.

North Somerset museum, in Burlington Street, Weston, is open 10am to 4.30pm, Monday to Saturday. Call 01934 621028 for more details.