The Doll Hospital *since 1830

The Hospital de Bonecas (The Doll Hospital) - Lisbon, Portugal

"Many toy stores are in the business of selling dolls, but here's a magical enterprise that cares about the relationship between the toy and its owner. The Hospital de Bonecas in Lisbon lovingly restores and repairs beloved dolls, stuffed animals and other toys. With a thorough assessment and careful precision, each wounded toy is mended - arms are reattached, eyes are replaced ' and a cherished plaything is returned to the grateful arms of its owner. In business since 1830, the Hospital de Bonecas also sells Mariquita Perez and Paola Reina dolls from Spain, Schild Krot dolls from Germany and duplicates vintage-style doll clothing." (Photo courtesy of Hospital de Bonecas)

Lisbon doll hospital brings repair to a downtrodden Christmas

"In a warren of cluttered rooms overlooking a shabby square, the men and women in white coats are performing surgery. Some are replacing a limb. Others deal in hair loss. Shelves are lined with eyes, legs, arms, entire heads of unblinking figures. This is a hospital, but not in the traditional sense. The Hospital de Bonecas – or doll hospital – has been used to austerity since its founding in Lisbon in 1830, when the original owner fixed up simple cloth and clay dolls for local children outside her herb shop. The oldest existing business of its kind, it now repairs everything from priceless porcelain heirlooms and vintage BABY borns to worn teddy bears and plastic Barbies."

World's Greatest Toy Stores / The Doll Hospital, Lisbon

At Lisbon’s Figueira Square, the world’s oldest doll hospital traces its roots back to 1830, when an old lady began fixing broken toys brought to her by neighborhood children. Surgeries now happen in an operating room upstairs, where skilled artisans reattach limbs, replace eyes, and stem the tide of receding hairlines, for patients ranging from Barbies and shabby teddy bears to priceless vintage porcelain dolls.

Hospital De Bonecas

Many toy stores are in the business of selling dolls, but here’s a magical enterprise that cares about the relationship between the toy and its owner. The Hospital de Bonecas in Lisbon lovingly restores and repairs beloved dolls, stuffed animals and other toys. With a thorough assessment and careful precision, each wounded toy is mended - arms are reattached, eyes are replaced – and a cherished plaything is returned to the grateful arms of its owner. In business since 1830, the Hospital de Bonecas also sells Mariquita Perez and Paola Reina dolls from Spain, Schild Krot dolls from Germany and duplicates vintage-style doll clothing."

A Portuguese Tradition Of 'Healing' Dolls For Christmas

At a hospital tucked away off one of Lisbon's main cobblestone squares, Manuela Cutileira does triage on incoming patients. "First we do a checkup, create a chart and assign a bed number — like you would in an ordinary hospital," Cutileira, the hospital's owner, explains. "Then we try to figure out what the treatment should be. If it's a simple procedure, we'll inform the family right away of the cost. And if it's something more complicated, they may have to leave the patient here overnight for more tests." But this is no regular hospital.

Hospital de Bonecas

See the content in the link below

How Lisbon's Doll Hospital is Preserving a Generation of Memorable Treasures

The Doll Hospital Lisbon Storytrail

A nice introduction to the Hospital de Bonecas with Storytrail

10 of the World’s Greatest Toy Stores

Perfect 10: Lisbon perfect for retail therapies

"DOLLIES ON TROLLEYS: The quirky Hospital de Bonecas is a delightful trip down the memory lanes of childhood. Situated in a narrow townhouse on Praca da Figueira, the doll hospital opened in 1830 and continues today as one of the last surviving examples of its kind in the world. Plastic, rubber and porcelain heads and appendages are stored in shelves and glass cabinets, all in reach of the hospital’s five repairers. The owner, Dona Manuela Cutileiro, says “patients” vary from Barbies to Baby Jesus dolls. On the same floor, don’t miss the museum, which showcases about 3000 porcelain and plastic dolls, and doll’s house miniatures are for sale at the shop on the ground level."