November 2 marks the birthday of Marie Antoinette! She was born at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna in 1755, the 15th child and last daughter of Empress Marie Theresa, and was described as “a small but completely healthy Archduchess.”
The details of her life are well-known, thanks to myriad biographies and several films, and we still seem drawn to her tragic story today. It’s amazing the variety of merchandise out there! Here is just a few I found on a Very Important Research Trip through the Internet…
Marie Antoinette t-shirts (this one is from Cafe Press!)
Action figures (with Ejector Head Action)
Paper dolls
Barbie as Marie Antoinette (she is kind of pricey, but I would totally buy one right now if I could!)
If you go to Etsy and type in “Marie Antoinette” (but be careful! I quickly found myself spending hours on Etsy…) you will find all sorts of items. There’s jewelry:
Ebay (another classic time and money suck!) has lots to choose from as well! Like this antique Sevres figurine (going for a mere $22,000!)
The official Versailles website has all kinds of pretty to look at! (And I can personally attest that their gift shop is marvelous! These are just a few of the items they carry)
What items would you get if you needed a Marie Antoinette collection in a hurry? Whose birthday would you like to celebrate? (This one seems ideal for, well, cake…) Do you like Barbies? (and if anyone really wants to get me a Christmas gift, I would totally accept that MA Barbie!!). What kind of cake would you order for Marie Antoinette? (I vote for strawberry cake with white icing and pink roses)
http://www.shakespearesden.com/marie-antoinette-head-pops.html
My personal favorite. I also love Shakespeare’s Den….great website. For fun check out the avenging unicorn.
Since I share a birthday with Marie, I would have to say her! I’m dying for that Marie Antoinette Barbie. Our Past President owned it, and I was always tempted to break into his apartment to steal it like Sebastian Capet in Tasha Alexander’s mystery series who was stealing Marie Antoinette memoribilia. I would also settle for anything Marie Antoinette related from Etsy or a Madame Alexander doll, she must have a Marie Antoinette one!
Am now craving strawberry cake. Yum!
And to wash it down here’s a link to historical drinks posted by the folks at the FB Steampunk page.
http://historicalfoods.com/category/recipe-type/drinks-cocktails/
And may Santa distribute MA Barbies to all!
I’ll take one of each, thank you, although my friend Helen might fight me for a MA Barbie.
I bought a MA ejector head action figure for Christine Trent, who wrote The Queen’s Doll Maker. She was thrilled!
I do feel Marie Antoinette is a tragic figure, a victim of forces not of her making. So I think she deserves all this attention!
And Happy Birthday to Elizabeth!!! May you have a wonderful day.
Happy birthday, Elizabeth! 🙂 I would love to own this whole line of Barbies (which also include a gorgeous Josephine and Elizabeth I), but I would then have to build them their own special shelf. 🙂
Rachel and Jane, those websites are so much fun! Just what I needed to be looking at instead of writing today, LOL
I think I will watch “Marie Antoinette” tonight in honor of the day
Another cool MA link, this comes from
@bkshelvesofdoom on Twitter.
Marie Antoinette’s piano=playing automaton!
http://bit.ly/9TiKQZ
Oh no! The Marie Antoinette with the ejector head?? That is SO WRONG !!
That Barbie is GORGEOUS! I hope my Mom never sees it as she collects Barbies and she would LOVE that one.
I think clothes, accessories and a collection of the many biographies would have to be included in a Marie Antoinette collection. And definitely the t-shirt!
Happy Birthday, Elizabeth !! Enjoy!
I definitely snatch up every book I can find! I got a beautiful one for Christmas last year, “Marie Antoinette and the Last Garden at Versailles”–but I need the Barbie to go with it 🙂
http://www.rubylane.com/item/200888-SS-0809/French-Lady-Barbie-Full-Sized
Not MA barbie, but a french lady barbie that’s affordable.
Well, I didn’t get any Marie Antoinette stuff! However, I really must thank you for your post. Seeing the Barbie- which is quite beautiful and astonishingly expensive!!!!- sent me on a little trip through Barbie land. While checking out a Barbie website, I saw their “Hollywood” collection and could not resist seeing who they had.
What I found is, for me, a treasure- the “Went with the Wind” Barbie as Carol Burnett in the green velvet draperies!!! I love Carol Burnett, loved her show, and this was my all-time favorite episode. When they re-play it anytime, anywhere, I still laugh hysterically.
So, I enjoyed your post a lot, and enjoyed the end result even more!