Sunday, January 29, 2012

1950s German Kitchen Playset

I found this 1950s-early '60s kitchen playset at a recent toy show. Made in Western Germany by Fuchs, the 16 inch wide kitchen features fabulous mid-century design elements, including a very fashionable salmon pink and turquoise blue color palette.



One of my favorite features is the printed-on window, which reveals a scene of a father arriving home from work, his vintage automobile parked just outside the gate.
















The cupboard doors above the stove slide open, revealing tiny canisters filled with printed paper food. The little drawers under the cupboard slide open, too.
















The copper mold forms, found in German toy kitchens all the way back to the 1700s, are in this case printed onto the wall above the counter.
















An assortment of real miniature molds cover the countertop. These could actually be used to make such things as little chocolates or gelatins. A teeny tiny mezzaluna lies beneath the molds, useful for chopping herbs.















A basket of miniature flatware, each piece stamped "Germany", rests on the counter. They are quite delicate, and amazingly in perfect condition.










The stove top hosts the most adorable set of miniature cookware I've ever seen: pots and pans decorated with images of tiny toys.



The kitchen set was a great find: such playsets by this maker are highly sought items. But the price made it a fantastic find: only $25! I was hopping up and down with glee once I spotted the price tag. Typically kitchens like this sell in the $100+ range. Some of the accessories alone (the silverware tray, the mezzaluna) sell for more than $25 apiece from dollhouse and miniature dealers. It was the best bargain of the whole toy show!

20 comments:

  1. I'm drooling over this amazing little set!!!
    Oh my.....oh my....oh my:)
    So unbelieveably cute!

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    1. I was just letting you folks know on this blog I have the complete Fuchs kitchen set 3 piece set with all the accessories in original boxes the boxes are a little rough but I will grade them about eight to nine out of 10 if interested let me know the whole set complete is in very good to excellent

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  2. The kitchen is lovely! I really liked all accessories!

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  3. This is awesome,I can see a happy little girl doing her cooking. Again very nice!!!

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  4. Wow, I was amazed to see this kitchen set. I got this exact same set when I was 3 years old, in 1963. I have a picture of myself with it on my blog. If you visit my blog and click on 1960's in my Labels on the right hand side of my blog, and scroll down to 1963 once you are in the posting for the 1960's, you will see it. I had a red garbage can with a white lid, and different dishes. I played with this kitchen for hours. I still have it! I've never ever seen another one like it. How cool!!!! I just LOVE your blog posts. This one made my day.

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  5. PS: My kitchen set has a sink with a drain hole. I washed dishes in it many times. Yours doesn't have a sink. How very strange!

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  6. Hi Loretta, thanks for visiting! I will have to go take a look at your kitchen: how cool it is to find another toy just like this one! Re: the lack of sink in mine, I wondered about that too. It's just flat countertop, but one of the counters (the one over the trash can) has a pull out shelf, like on an old Hoosier cabinet. Maybe you had the deluxe version! :) I'm guessing these had separate refrigerators, too?

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  7. Oh, you are killing me with this one, Tracey! It is soooo wonderful!!!

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  8. Well well, this answered a question for me!

    I was in a charityshop thing, you know, one of those second hand stores? And I had been looking for such a kitchen for a long time. And there, in a corner under a pile of junk, was a dusty ol' kitchen quite like this one for only 2 euros.

    I bought it because I wanted a KittyKitchen (they also have a bed and livingroom.. I'm strange, I know.. But they actually USE all of them!) and so I cleaned it up and made it a little prettier. It was quite battered.

    And then one day, (yesterday to be precise) I decided to "pimp" it. To make it as pretty as I could, and to make it match my kitchen. I painted the cabinets, fixed the rusty metal edges, the towelrack and a missing handle, and a lot of other stuff.

    Here's a picture of it for you: http://tinyurl.com/NewKitchen0

    I learned from this where the kitchen came from, whenish it was made, that i've put the cabinetdoors in upside down (easily fixed!) and that there used to be tiny drawers in the square cavities. I might make some tiny drawers for them next time I have 48 hours to waste haha

    I had no idea these were worth so much! I probably ruined the value of mine with my restauration efforts, but I don't mind. I love it too much to sell anyway.

    Here's some bonus pictures!
    http://tinyurl.com/NewKitchen1
    http://tinyurl.com/NewKitchen2
    http://tinyurl.com/NewKitchen3

    Thanks for all the info and pictures you've put on here :)

    Holly

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    Replies
    1. Hi! Glad I was able to help with your project: you did a great job (well, other than the upside down doors - ha!) and I LOVE the idea of a kitty kitchen!

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  9. I think I had this kitchen when I was a child (born in 1953). I have been looking at a lot of these litho kitchens and I recognize the row of tiny drawers underneath the cabinets. I don't remember having the dishes and silverware and molds though. Nice find!

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  11. Don't know if anyone is interested but I have one of these for sale! I've had it for about 25 years and it could use a more loving home.

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