Old Dollhouse Grocery Shops

There was such a surprisingly positive reaction to my latest dollhouse grocery shop last week, I thought perhaps I should do a group post (I have six shops so far). So here they all are! They date from 1914 to the 1950s, and include American, German, Danish, and British examples.

My earliest shop was made by the American toy company, Cass, in 1914. It's constructed of cardboard, with a little wooden counter, and measures about 9 inches tall. The base the counter rests on folds up into the store for storage. The cough drop box on the top shelf is original to the store, while the other pieces, while old, are not, but they seemed suitable. It's amazing to me that such a fragile little toy has survived for so long.

On the bottom shelf is one of my oddest old dollhouse food items, a 1 1/2 inch cardboard and tin can of "Heinz Vegetable Salad in Mayonnaise." I nominate it for Most Disgusting-Sounding Canned Food Item ever conceived. Blecch.

Next is my 1920s Danish grocery shop, staffed by a 5 inch Steiff bear. The shop is 16 inches wide by 7 1/2 inches tall. It's made of wood, with a separate counter, and retains many of its original items.

This shop is unusual in that it features a display window, and the back is printed with advertising:

"Could I interest you in some Knakbrod?"

 

Here is the first antique dollhouse shop I acquired: a 1930s German Art Deco style grocery. Made of wood and measuring 14 1/2 inches wide by 8 inches tall, it came with lots of old products, and I've added some more. Some of my loveliest, and oldest, dollhouse food is in this shop, including plaster meats, sausages, and cakes from the late 1800s-1920s.

My 5 inch Steiff bear staffs the cheese and sausage counter:

A closeup of the cake shelves:

Some closeups of the meat and cake items, all very old German-made plaster pieces:

This next shop is a lithographed tin grocery made in America by Wolverine Toys in the 1930s. It's the largest of my shops, measuring 20 1/4 inches wide by 12 inches tall. The two lithographed side panels fold in to close the shop up for storage. It's missing its separate counter, but the phone and scale, as well as most of the products, are original to this set.

Both side panels feature fantastic illustrations of children shopping in the store. On the left side, a little boy in denim overalls and a cap purchases a can of tomatoes and box of tea (?) from a clerk with a '30s platinum marcelled hairdo:

 The right side panel shows an adorable little girl choosing sausages at the butcher's counter:

My smallest dollhouse grocery shop is this one, made in America in the 1940s, wooden, and measuring only 10 inches tall by 4 3/4 inches wide. I believe almost all the products are original to this piece, with the exception of a few Grandmother Stover's and Dolly Dear accessories. The counter features an attached "paper roll" (made of wood) on the left side.

The week's shopping, ready to be bagged.

My most recent, and one of my most unusual, shops, is this 1950s-early '60s British "Circle Grocery", also made of wood. It's quite large, measuring 15 inches wide by 10 inches tall, and distinctively painted in red and turquoise. Being British, it naturally came with lots of packages of tea, as well as many other interesting pieces. The groceries upon the counter are a much smaller scale than those on the shelves, but it all came together and seems to work out. The golliwog sticker on the counter was a premium from Robertson's, which I believe was a preserves manufacturer.

 The itty bitty Ovaltine can and Lyons Ready-Mix Pudding box 

are particularly cute:

Antique Dollhouse Grocery Store

If you've followed my blog for awhile, you'll know that I love antique dollhouse grocery shops. I found a fabulous one last week, just in time for my birthday, which gave me an excuse to splurge on it. Made in Denmark in the 1920s, it has a glass display window, removeable counter, all of its drawers with their original pulls, and lots of accessories, most of which are original to the shop. The store measures 16 inches wide by 7 inches tall, and the largest product bottle is 2 inches high.

My 5 inch Steiff bear makes a perfect shopkeeper:

Here are some closeups of the products:

 

 

The outside of the shop features colorful signs 

advertising wine and tobacco. 

I'm not sure what "Kobmand" means: any Danish speakers out there?

Birthday Party!

Today's my birthday, and some of my teddy bears decided to set up a little party with my newest doll furniture.
The bears are mostly 1920s Shuco miniatures (the smallest are 2 1/2 inches high, while the largest are 5 inches), along with a 1910 Steiff, and the dining room set is by the Star Novelty Company, also circa 1910. The party accessories include a couple of old German-made cakes, teeny spoons (for the ice cream, of course) and lots of itty bitty gifts.

 A close-up of the cakes. The two molded ones are very old
German pieces, 

while the frosted cake is a Dolly Dear product, circa 1940.

 An overhead view of the festivities.

1910 Star Novelty Company Doll Furniture

As part of last weekend's dollhouse rearranging project, I also spent some time working on some larger furniture that is, sadly, homeless. The scale is so big (1 1/2") that it's all sized more for a small doll instead of a dollhouse. The set was made around 1910 by the Star Novelty Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. Fashioned of oak, the pieces feature details like leatherette seats on the chairs, a mirror on the buffet, and dresden-paper like trim on the china cabinet shelf. The tallest piece, the buffet, measures 8 inches tall. Below, an old German doll and 1920s Schuco miniature bear find the set to be just their size.

The dolly is clearly thinking, "how wonderful Tracy is: 

she bought all this just for me!"

Now she's wondering if she can sneak an apple out of the fruit display without it all tumbling down.

Tea for two. Bear hopes there's honey...

"Don't worry: I'll bring the cake over. 

I can just reach it, if I stand on my toes..."

1920s-'30s Dollhouse Hoosier Cabinet

I love Hoosier cabinets. It's strange, really: I don't cook or bake; in fact, my own kitchen serves primarily as display space for my PEZ dispenser collection and vintage toy stoves. But for some reason, I find Hoosier cabinets fascinating.
Their nostalgic appeal is undeniable, and it's ironically amplified the smaller the cabinet gets. Currently, I have 2 "life-size" Hoosiers, a homemade child's version, a doll-sized cabinet, and now, found at a weekend antique show, an even smaller dollhouse variety.

This wooden Hoosier measures 6 1/2  inches tall, and came with the accessories and kitchen chair shown. It was made by the Wisconsin Toy Company, a short-lived firm that manufactured dollhouse furniture in the 1920s and '30s. All the cupboards, drawers, and the pull-out shelf are functional.

My 5 inch dollhouse doll gives a sense of the Hoosier's scale. Below, the cabinet is fully stocked with all sorts of goodies. (As I look at this picture, I realize my dollhouse denizens actually have better supplied cupboards than I do...)

Vintage Kitchen Playset

I have several of these vintage tin toy kitchen playsets: they line the counters and appliance tops in my real kitchen, which I never use. I think I've used my Easy Bake Oven more than I have my real oven, now that I think about it...It's futile to expect real food, or even coffee, at my house, but if you want to play kitchen, I can totally hook you up.

Anyway, here's my latest set, scored at an antique show last weekend. All made of lithographed tin in the late 1940s - early 1950s, the stove is by Marx while the fridge and sink are by Wolverine. For scale, the stove measures 12 1/2 inches high.

The fridge features great lithography on the inside door, revealing well-stocked shelves, and houses some unique pressed tin food items:

The stove has an opening oven door with a bright red rack inside:

And the sink actually works: a reservoir on the back can be filled with water, which then pours out through the tap!

A very retro kitchen set, indeed. Makes me want to go to Grandma's for some pie.

Antique Dollhouse Icebox

We just had a big snowstorm here, and the day before, everyone scurried around like squirrels, stocking up on groceries in case they got snowed in. Coincidentally, I had just received my latest miniatures purchase: this 5 inch tall dollhouse icebox made by Hubley in the 1920s-30s, complete with its original glass "ice block," so I loaded it up too. Now everyone is prepared, including my dollhouse residents, and we won't suffer any Donner Party type disasters.

 

Here's the provisions:

And here's a close-up of the glass ice block. 

Amazing that this has survived!

Christmas Loot 2009

Well, the Christmas bacchanalia is over. Here's a glimpse of some of this year's loot: vintage Barbies, antique doll furniture and dishes, a tin toy grocery store, teddy bears, books, and a new camera (thanks to my brother Jody, the quality of pictures here will be much improved). Details in the following posts!

Hope everyone had a very happy holiday!

Antique Dollhouse Food

These two sets of French or German-made dolly food date from the late 1800s - early 1900s.
They're made of hand-painted plaster, and the largest pieces measure about 2 1/2 inches across. They're a bit large for most dollhouses; perhaps they were meant for toy kitchens or doll play.

These pieces are wonderful on their own, but what makes them even more special is that most are still tied down with twine in their original packages. The boxes themselves are quite beautifully lithographed with scenes of children cooking and eating.

It's always especially exciting to discover such a fragile old toy that has survived in this condition: these were one of my greatest finds ever!

1930s Dollhouse Food

Antique and vintage dollhouse food is one of my favorite toys to collect. Not easy to find, its always especially exciting to come across a type I haven't seen before, or a set in its original box.

This set, featuring hand-molded food on metal plates, dates to the 1930s. Each plate measures about 1 1/4 inches wide. On the back of the box is its original price sticker, $1.50, from the John Wanamaker Department Store.

Antique German Dollhouse Food

I've been keeping an eye out for more goodies to stock my German toy grocery store (see earlier post), and I just spotted these. From the early 1900s - 1920s, these German-made plaster pieces are charmingly primitive. I find them much more appealing somehow than today's ultra-realistic dollhouse food. These remind me of the dollhouse meal the Two Bad Mice smashed in frustration in Beatrix Potter's classic storybook...


Another find for the shop was this 1930s German flour sack. The shelves are slowly filling up!