Notes and Links

Brief Biography:

After graduation she worked for several years (1903-1907) as a Librarian at the Washington Public Library. In 1908 she began a long career at the Library of Congress, starting in the Card Division. In 1942 she became Head of Serial Records, which was made into a Division, and she was made Chief of Serial Records in 1944. She was the first woman to have achieved the position of Division Chief at the Library of Congress.

Faith had a life-long interest in historical preservation and is best known for her Dolls' House, which she began at the age of 7, using a four room doll house, dolls and doll furniture given to her by her older sister Mary, who was then about 19 years old. Faith actively pursued adding and expanding the Dolls' House as a hobby almost all her life, at least until past the age of 70. The Dolls' House is an authentic replica of a typical large American home of the year 1900 on a scale of 1 inch to 1 foot.

The completed Dolls' House consisting of 22 rooms, became an historical museum, in miniature, of family life in 1900s America. It was first displayed in Gadsby's Tavern in Alexandria VA, then spent some time as a holiday season window display in the Montgomery Ward's department store in Washington DC. Finally, in about 1965, Faith donated it to the Smithsonian Institution for an exhibit in the Museum of American History, where it was positioned across from the First Ladies' Gowns exhibit for many years, and attracted large crowds. At this time (Year 2001) it is still displayed, now on the second floor, and still attracts a crowd of viewers, young and old.

Select this link to see the cover photo of the Dolls' House which appears on a Smithsonian Brochure, published in 1976.

Many other articles of historical memorabilia collected by Faith Bradford were donated to the Smithsonian, and have been displayed from time to time in appropriate exhibitions.