Antique Doll Chamber Set

Just found this wonderful doll-sized chamber set, dating from the late 1800s - early 1900s. Includes a pitcher (4 inches tall), chamber pot, soap dish, and toothbrush holder. The porcelain appears to be handpainted, and the set was probably made in Germany.

Looking at the chamber pot makes me really grateful for modern plumbing...

Victorian Dolls Tea Set

Along with the larger doll-sized dinner dishes shown in the post below, I found this wonderful miniature tea set, still in its original box.
Made in Germany around 1880, these sets were churned out rapidly and are consequently rather crude, but still quite charming.
Sized for small dolls or children's play, the set includes 6 cups and saucers along with a teapot and creamer. Each teacup is 1 inch tall.
The box lid, though faded with age, still bears its original lithographed label portraying little girls at a tea party.

German Matchbox Kitchen

This tiny carved wooden kitchen in a matchbox measures just 2 1/4 inches wide. It was made in Germany circa the 1920s, and features a lithographed label and interior background. It was part of a series of similar matchbox dioramas including butcher shops, apothecaries, butcher shops, sewing rooms, and more. It's so tiny and delicate, it's amazing to see how well it has survived these many years.

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!

1920s Miniature Googly Tea Set

Here's one of my favorite children's tea sets: a Googly character set from the early 1920s.
Googly eyes were a popular motif on toys at that time, appearing on dolls, in illustrations, and on this little tea set, which was made in Japan. The teapot is about 2 1/4 inches tall with the lid, and is marked Nippon on the bottom, while the cups are each 3/4 of an inch tall.

Frozen Charlottes

These small immobile dolls are called Frozen Charlottes, and they date from the late 1800s - early 1920s. Sometimes called bathing dolls, they were usually crudely made of china.
The tiniest in my collection measures just 1 inch tall, while the largest is 3 1/2. The first doll is atypically made of clay, while the third doll is also unusual, as it appears to be a boy, and has a small thatch of hair and gold painted boots.
Frozen Charlottes look great in groups or clustered in arrangements, and also make good dollies for larger dolls to hold.

Victorian Dollhouse Dolls

This family of small bisque dolls were made in Germany specifically for dollhouses in the late 1800s. They live in my Dunham's Cocoanut Dollhouse, which dates to the 1890s, so they feel right at home. Mom and Dad measure 6 inches tall, and are wearing their original clothing. The little all-bisque girl, made by Limbach, is 4 inches tall, and wears her original dress. She's a sweetie...

Antique China Head Dollhouse Dolls

These little German-made china head dollhouse dolls measure about 4 and 5 inches tall, and date from the early 1900s. They were sold unclothed, and little girls were meant to hone their sewing skills by making them dresses. These two came from unsold store stock: they still have their legs delicately stitched together, to prevent breakage from clacking against each other during shipping.

This slightly larger doll wears a lovely ensemble crafted for her by her owner many, many years ago.

1920s Bisque Dollhouse Dolls

I found this family (and maid) of tiny German bisque dollhouse dolls tucked away in an old candy box, half-buried in a pile of junque in a dealer's showcase. Dating from the 1920s, they measure about 3 1/2 inches tall, with the maid (on the left) being a little bit smaller.

Grandpa lost an arm in the Great War, but that's okay: grandparents are rare dollhouse figures, so we love him anyway. (And no, Grandpa was not a cross-dresser. The manufacturers used the same standard legs on both sexes for efficiency in assembly, and just hoped we wouldn't notice.)

These dolls appear to have been sold naked, although I have seen others that look as if they were factory-dressed. I keep meaning to make them some clothes, but I haven't gotten around to it yet...they've been waiting for 80 years, so hopefully they won't mind waiting a few more.

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 Cracker Jack Prize

I loved Cracker Jack as a kid. Back in the 1970s, they still put cool prizes in the boxes: tiny pinball games that actually worked, cute little plastic figures that we carried in our pockets and traded with friends, tattoos and glow-in-the-dark stickers, and punch-out scenes to build. But by the late 1980s, new safety standards had been applied and the prizes were hardly fit to be called such.

I still buy a box every once in a while, hoping against reason to find something fabulous inside, but I'm always disappointed. As an adult, my love of Cracker Jack prizes was rekindled when I discovered how much better even older prizes were: toy trains, tiny china dolls, itty bitty pieces of furniture, and this, one of the most longed-for antique Cracker Jack prizes on my wish list.

Dating from the 1920s, this "Breakfast Set" consists of teeny tiny real glass dishes (a plate, bowl, and cup) along with a metal spoon, all housed in a fragile matchbox. (Talk about safety hazards!) I don't know how excited some small child was to pull this fantastic prize out of her box of Cracker Jack 80 years ago, but I sure was to find it a few months ago!

Antique Toy Stoves

I don't like to cook in real life (in fact, I don't cook at all), but for some reason I find toy stoves very appealing. They're charming toys, they reveal a lot of social history, and they're perfect teddy bear and doll accessories. Here are a few from my collection, dating from the mid-1800s
to the early 1900s.


The silver and green stove at the top is American made, and says "Novelty" on the door. It measures 8 1/2 inches wide by 6 inches tall. It's made of cast iron and some kind of metal that has oxidized to a greenish hue, and there appears to be a nickel finish on the doors. This was a wood-burning stove, and it really worked. A fire inside the stove heated the burners on top, and probably the entire stove as well!

The small red and black stove is made of tin, and I believe it's German. It measures 8 1/2 inches tall. This was a pretend-cooking-only stove. (My three china dollies and their cook are using it in another post.)

The last stove, also German, is made of sheet metal and is very large, measuring 12 inches wide by 7 inches tall, not counting the stovepipe. This was another working stove, but it heated via alcohol burners (yikes!) which slide out of the stove body . Children actually cooked in the little pans, which are original to this stove.

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!

Book Review

Dollhouse and Miniature Dolls, 1840 - 1990, by Marcie & Bob Tubbs with Dian Zillner. Published by Schiffer Publishing, May 28, 2009. 256 pages.

Here's a book long-awaited by dollhouse collectors: an entire volume devoted to dollhouse and miniature dolls. While there have been brief chapters on these dolls in books about dolls or dollhouses, this is the first work I'm aware of that is entirely about them. And quite a comprehensive work it is, covering miniature dolls made of every imaginable material: bisque, wood, china, paper, plastic, rubber, composition, celluloid, vinyl, and more. Dolls dating from the Victorian period up to modern days are featured, and countries of origin include Germany, Britain, Japan, America, and others. Really a delight to peruse, this book will entice readers into its enchanting small worlds.

1930s German Toy Grocery Shop

Another addition to my growing collection of toy grocery stores, this is my first German shop. Dating from the 1930s, with a great deco design, it measures about 15 inches wide by 13 inches tall. The little wooden drawers still have their original handles and labels for salt, pepper, rice, pickles, cookies, and tea. It came with some lovely accessories: miniature boxes of Knorr products (soup mixes?), tiny tins (for cookies?), a cheese on a glass dish, and a fantastic and very old compote of fruit. A 1920s Schuco bear watches over the cheese and sausage counter.

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Antique Doll Cupboard

Just got this interesting antique toy: a homemade doll cupboard constructed from an old Waterbury clock case long, long ago. Measuring just over 13 inches tall, it's the perfect size for this early 1900s German bisque doll. Looks like she's making donuts today...

Book Review

Collector's Guide to Housekeeping Toys, 1870-1970, by Margaret Wright. Published by Collector Books, January 2007. ISBN 978-1574325409. $16.95. 285 pages.

While not a comprehensive reference source, this charming paperback provides a fun introduction to its topic, presented in full-color with great, crisp photography. Toys covered include American-made stoves, miniature cupboards, grocery stores, cookware, tea sets, wash day and housecleaning items, and much more. The author admirably conveys her delight in these objects as both simple toys and important sociological artifacts, writing in the introduction: "toys...are historical documents...American history can be taught with 20 items on a table, beginning with an 1880 cast-iron stove and ending with a plastic tea set, components of the Industrial Revolution and modern technology." Her love for these toys is infectious: you'll find yourself wanting to "play house" after you finish reading this wonderful little book!

Thoughts on Toy Collecting

I made the mistake last week of "catching up on the news." This always makes me sad, and anxious, and I vow never to watch the news again. But that is really an impossible vow to keep. My antidote to too much toxic news was to retreat into some old books about toys and read, read, read, which I did all weekend. In a 1976 book on dollhouse miniatures, I came across this passage, with which I could readily identify. Although the author is speaking specifically about collecting miniatures, I think her words could apply to any old toy collection:

"Beyond the universal and age-old affection for things small, the fascination with miniatures seems to have a special significance for us today. The modern world is bewildering in its complexity and fraught with dangers, which the news media confront us with daily. At times, too, our society seems grossly insensitive to its heritage, paving over the past with scarcely a glance backward. It's the kind of world -- unsentimental and beyond our power to influence -- that we take pleasure in escaping from occasionally. Miniatures provide the perfect retreat. They take the rough edges off of reality. They allow us to preserve the past by recreating it. And, they give us control over a tiny world of our own making, where everything is just the way we want it, with ugliness and inconvenience walled out. In our miniature world, roofs never leak, rugs never fall victim to cigarette burns, beds never need making, food never spoils. As one collector put it: 'The only perfect thing in my life is my dollhouse. It's there. It's controllable. It's security.' "

Speak it, sister!

Antique Lithographed Dollhouse

This was my first antique dollhouse. Dating from right around 1900, it was made by an unknown American company emulating the famed Bliss dollhouses. This firm's products are similarly made of lithographed paper over wood, and open from the front on a hinged door. The oversized wallpaper is original to the house. These are commonly called "Gutter Houses" because of the molding along the roof line that resembles a gutter. This is a particularly small example, measuring about 13 inches high by 9 3/4 wide and only 4 3/4 deep. It's been a bit of a challenge finding furnishings small enough for this house: so far we have a teeny tiny stove, a rocking chair, and a tin trunk, along with an antique German all-bisque dolly. Looks like she's baking today...

1940s American Toy Grocery Store

I just love these little toy grocery shops! They're perfect for using in displays with small antique dolls and teddy bears (who like shopping too, you know!).
I'm thinking this is American, probably from the 1940s, and many of the products shown are original. The set measures about 10 1/2 inches high. The little cans and packages are all wooden with paper labels, while the breads, ham, and steak are plaster.
(See the entry for the 1914 Cass toy grocery for an antique example, the 1950s British toy grocery for a very different style, and the 1930s German shop for another.)