VISTA, CALIFORNIA.- Museum curator John Darcy Noble, 80, died. He was an expert on dolls and toys. Long a member of Mingei International’s International Advisory Board, Noble was Guest Curator of Dolls-Mirrors of Humanity, which was on view at Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park. Mr. Noble describes it as "an exhibition of antique and contemporary dolls reflecting the ideals of their makers, from the most profound beliefs and aspirations of the men and women who made them for their children to the frivolous delights of their own vanities and recreations."

A native of England, Noble was the first person anywhere to hold the post of Curator of Dolls and Toys, his title at the Museum of the City of New York. His interest began at six when a schoolmate brought to school a china whistle depicting a baby astride a cigar. Delighted by the whistle, Noble gave his friend a puzzle in exchange for it. He soon had a brisk trade going with fellow students, exchanging cricket bats and footballs for toys and dolls. At ten, he had a large collection, and, having discovered early that there were very few and very rare - books on dolls and toys, Noble did his own research wherever he could, becoming an expert in his teens. He has published numerous articles and three books, A Bluebook of Dolls, A Brief History of Dolls and A Treasury of Beautiful Dolls. Several other works are in progress.

By his mid-twenties, his collection and knowledge were so well known that Marguerite Fawdry, a noted television personality and collector, interviewed him on the BBC. Shortly afterward, Noble was invited to organize the doll section of Children’s Paradise, a fundraiser for the Royal Society for the Blind. His doll, Little Lizzie (on display at Mingei International) stole the show, charming the two duchesses who were the organization’s patrons. Fawdry’s collection was included, as were Vivien (Mrs. Graham) Greene’s dollhouses. A newspaper picture of the exposition showing Noble and Vivien Greene shaking hands with the Duchess of Gloucester bore a caption describing them as "two noted eccentrics of the collecting world."

Fawdry’s and Noble’s next collaboration was the creation of Pollock’s Toy Museum. The famous, early Victorian "Penny Plain, Twopence Colored’ Toy Theater had survived until the worst of the bombing forced its owners to close, and Fawdry decided to purchase it. She also bought an early Georgian townhouse in Monmouth Street, London, almost opposite Noble’s home. After extensive renovations, it was opened as Pollock’s Toy Museum, and four floors of exhibits, including Noble’s own collection, were crowned by a History of the Toy Theater on the top floor. It was an instant success, and it continues today in much larger premises on Scala Street.

During his first visit to the United States in 1960, Noble called for an appointment to see the Brett Dollhouse at the Museum of the City of New York. He had asked for the curator, but was given instead an appointment with the museum’s assistant director. She had seen the newspaper picture of him and Vivien Greene and was pleased to have the opportunity to meet him. Soon after their meeting, a large collection of rare dolls, mostly 18" century, was bequeathed to the museum. Unsure of its age and value, they turned to Noble, who spent a year identifying and evaluating these dolls. At the end of the project, he was appointed Curator of Dolls and Toys, the post he held until his retirement in 1984. During that time, Noble more than doubled the museum’s doll and toy collection, establishing the importance of dolls and toys as historical artifacts and as works of art. Now a resident of Vista, California, he continues to write articles, to mount exhibitions and to lecture.