Author Anne Rice pictured with some of her beloved antique dolls to be sold by auction house Theriault's on July 18th in Chicago. (PRNewsFoto/Theriault's)

Antique Doll Collection of Legendary Author Anne Rice to be Offered at Auction

ANNAPOLIS, Md., June 2, 2010 -- Theriault's, the prominent U.S. based auction house specializing in antique dolls and toys, has been commissioned to offer the private collection of fine antique dolls from legendary American author Anne Rice. The dolls will be featured in a large event to be held in Chicago on July 18, 2010.

Anne Rice has collected dolls for over 20 years and has referenced them frequently in her best-selling novels including "Interview With the Vampire," "Queen of the Damned," and particularly in the book "Taltos" in which she used a rare French bebe from her own collection as inspiration for a doll owned by the main character, Ashlar.

Dolls have always been an important part of her love of unique art forms. Says Rice; "I never purchased a doll simply because it was an antique, or the handiwork of a famous doll artist. I purchased only dolls which I loved and found to be beautiful and interesting... dolls I loved to look at."

Rice further describes a passion for the subject and the desire to see the dolls to new stewards so as to preserve their place for future generations; "I must dream that they will go to loving homes, and loving contexts in which they will continue to have vitality and charm for new people. I'm sure that they will find devoted new owners. They're too beautiful to go wandering alone, without history, in the world. A doll is reborn every time a new person sees that doll. Dolls are immortal. They can live forever if they are passed on down the generations with love and care."

Theriault's President, Stuart Holbrook, commented, "While society places high regard on the collections of noted figures -- we rarely see a collection which has, as well, been an integral part of this person's work. Anne Rice did not just 'collect' the beauty of antique dolls, she shared them in her writings and harvested this passion as part of her talent."

The dolls will be featured at Theriault's annual summer event that has hosted numerous prominent doll collections in the past and was the site of their landmark auction in 2009 in which a French doll sold for a world record price of $263,000.00.