Dollhouse Decorating

I meant to do some serious spring-cleaning over the past weekend. But I didn't. Instead, I spent several hours rearranging my dollhouses, a very addictive and time-consuming undertaking. Below are some photos of the finished results on my 13 inch 1900s lithographed paper house. (Note: the oversized interior wall and floor papers are original to the house.)

First, I fit out the house in scale, with a nursery upstairs and a kitchen down, using two antique German dollhouse dolls:

Then I redid the house, paying no mind to a sense of realistic scale. I went instead with a folk-arty look, similar to what a child playing with their own dollhouse would achieve, mixing pieces with no heed given to what belongs together. My favorite dollhouse china doll is technically too big for this house, but her dress goes well with the wallpaper and carpets, and I love the way she looks here, like a giantess in her kitchen. Meanwhile, her children, a collection of Frozen Charlottes and china head dollhouse dolls (and one just-a-head), play upstairs, and the dollhouse serves as a sort of display cabinet for them:

Ooops: I just noticed they've knocked the painting off the nursery wall in this second photo. Darn kids...

Dollhouse Kitchen Set

Found these at a garage sale over the weekend, but can't readily identify them. They remind me of the very simple "educational" toy company dollhouses made for preschools, and appear to be from the 1950s or thereabouts. The baby is in a highchair on wheels: wheeee!

1930s Little Orphan Annie Child's Teapot

It's always exciting to find a completer item while antiquing, and at a show this past weekend, I discovered this 1930s child's Little Orphan Annie lusterware teapot, 3 inches wide. I've had a couple of plates and a cup for ages, and even though the pot is missing its lid, it was still a very satisfying find.   Arf!

Vintage Dolly Bakeware

One of my favorite things to do with old toys is to arrange little scenes. Toy cupboards are particularly suited to this, as with the old doll's kitchen cupboard, below. It's a lot of fun scouring antique shows and shops, looking for just the right accessories to bring such a scene to life.
At a show this past weekend, I found this assortment of 1940s doll-sized bakeware, including a wooden rolling pin and metal biscuit and gingerbread cutters. My 20 inch German dolly models below. For scale, the cookie cutters are 2 inches long.

Antique Doll Dishes

Spotted in a tray full of miniatures at an antique show this past weekend were all these wonderful doll dishes and baking accessories. Made of china, they date mostly to the late 1800s, with the tiniest cup and saucer just after the turn of the century. The muffin pan (?) is 3 inches wide, while the smallest cup is just under 1 inch tall.

For a sense of scale, my 14 inch china doll agreed to pose, although she doesn't look particularly pleased about it:

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...)

Antique Dollhouse Dining Room Set

Here's my most recent find, not yet arrived, but I couldn't wait to post it. It's an almost complete set of dollhouse dining room furniture made in America circa 1910 by the Star Novelty Company of Cincinnati, Ohio.

The set includes 3 chairs (there should be one more, but it's gone missing), table, buffet, and china cabinet. The chairs have leatherette seats, and the whole lot is made of oak. It's in a large scale (the tallest piece measures 8 inches tall) almost sized more for small dolls rather than dollhouses. Can't you just picture this little one sitting here? With a little tea set on the table, and dishes in the cabinet....oh, I can't wait for it to come so I can play with it!

Antique Toy Kitchen Cupboard

I love miniature toy cupboards. They can be used to set up delightful vignettes for dolls or teddy bears, but they're also just lots of fun to stock. Searching for just the right tiny utensils, or doll-sized pots and pans, or salesman's samples of food items, and then arranging and rearranging the contents can consume me for hours. It only took me a few minutes, however, to load up this circa 1900s-1920s handmade kitchen cupboard, found at an antique show over the weekend. It measures 18 inches tall, and has all of its original hardware. Its primitive charm and obvious wear just endeared it to me, and I find myself wondering how it was filled by the little girl who owned it almost 100 years ago.

For a sense of scale, here's the toy cupboard sitting on top of my real-life Hoosier cabinet:

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!

Homemade Cigar Box Doll Furniture

I was thinking that February, besides being the obvious month to showcase vintage valentines, is also a good time to highlight toys made with love, or toys that are now charmingly bedraggled by too much love from their young owners. So, if you're tired of the valentines, here's a change, although I guess it still is rather girly and schmaltzy. 

Anyway, here we have a fantastic set of lovingly homemade doll furniture. The bed, cradle, table, and small china head doll have been together since the set was assembled in 1914. I've added the larger china doll, because the little dolly clearly needed a mommy, and also the table accessories. For scale, the bed is 11 and a half inches long, and the littlest doll is just 6 and a half inches tall.

The furniture was made from cigar boxes, which I find just fascinating. Can you imagine a father today saying, "hey Susie, want me to make you some Barbie furniture from my Marlboro cartons?" Seriously though, I love finding repurposed items like this. It's as if it's been recycled twice: first by the parent who turned a discarded box into a beloved toy, and next by me, who bought it and kept it out of a landfill. (Go green!) Anyway, in the next photo you can see the cigar box markings clearly stamped into the underside of the little table.

The furniture also features handpainted faux wood grain, and the slats on the bed are actually numbered to show which order they go in (since, being handmade, the measurements are not quite standard).

And the neatest thing, which I've found on almost all the homemade doll furniture I've seen, is that the name of the little girl the set was made for is pencilled on the underside of the cradle, along with the date ("Marela, 1914"). I'm not sure why this was done so extensively, but toy collectors are certainly grateful for it now!

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!

Vintage Tin Grocery Store

I got a much longed-for toy this Christmas: a General Grocery tin shop made by Wolverine Toys in the 1930s. The side panels fold out to reveal beautifully lithographed scenes, and the awning can be raised. The separate counter is missing, as often found, but the set still has its shop phone and scale and some of its original miniature packages. Just a beautiful toy!

Handmade Doll Dresser

Here are two of this year's Christmas presents: a handmade doll dresser, circa 1900 (the mirror has been replaced), and an antique dolly's chamber set. The dresser measures about 14 inches tall, and is signed on the back with the original owner's name, "Ludwina Stachler." Doll dressers are frequently found with their young owner's names pencilled on the back, often along with the date they were made or purchased. Must have been the thing to do back then.

German Dollhouse Man

Here's a little Christmas stocking stuffer: a 3 1/2 inch tall German bisque dollhouse man, made in the 1920s.He still has his original felt tuxedo and molded top hat, although it does look as if he's had a rough night out on the town...

Christmas in the Dollhouse

The denizens of my 1890s dollhouse have decorated for Christmas and wrapped their gifts. Dad looks as if it wore him right out...

Miniature German Doll

This little 7 inch German bisque and composition doll was included in the Victorian trunk lot, described in an earlier post. Isn't she lovely? Santa did a good job bringing her this year!

Victorian Doll Trunk Full of Toys

A few months ago I mentioned a wonderful Victorian doll trunk filled with its original owner's toys that I was going to buy for Christmas. Well, it's here now, and it's awesome!

The trunk dates from the 1880s, and the toys are from the same time period, up through the early 1900s. The trunk measures 16 inches wide by 9 inches tall, and is made of lithographed paper over wood with metal trim. There's a tray inside, under which is the main compartment.

Inside the trunk are: 2 small dolls, including a 7 inch German bisque head with tiny blue glass sleep eyes, a beautiful mohair wig, and a composition body, and a 6 inch French Unis doll of similar make; a wooden doll table with a handmade linen tablecloth featuring a "pulled work" design and a miniature tea set; a handstitched needle case (probably the child owner's project); handmade dolly stockings; a gorgeous green silk doll bonnet covered in delicate lace; an 18 inch tall Armand Marseille Mabel doll with lots of play damage, but in her factory original outfit, with beautiful brown glass eyes; and a lovely German made children's tea set.

Each toy individually is a wonderful item, but this is definitely a case where the sum of the total is greater than its parts. For all these toys to have stayed together for over 100 years, safely tucked away in their trunk by their original owner, is amazing. As I look at these toys, I feel I've been given a glimpse into the world of the little girl who owned them so long ago.

1900s Children's Tea Set with Original Box

Santa came early to my house this month, and brought this!

Children's and dolly tea sets were made in such profusion from the mid 1800s all the way through the 1960s that the variety is seemingly endless, and boxed sets are still findable. This is my third such set so far, and the biggest yet. Made in Germany in the early 1900s, it has settings for a party of six, along with a squat little 3 1/4 inch teapot and a lovely creamer. Sadly, the set lost its sugar bowl along the way, but that's okay, because it has retained its wonderful box, 13 inches wide, covered with fantastic illustrations of children at play.

Victorian Cabinet Full of Antique Toys

I just got one of my Christmas presents early, and couldn't wait to post it: a Victorian secretary with its original finish, in a great petite size. I'm using it to store and display my dollhouses, doll furniture, and doll tea sets, dishes, and play food. The Dunham's Cocoanut Dollhouse fits perfectly into the side cabinet, with room left at the top for some china dolls and their dining room set. The various cupboards, drawers, and pigeonholes house the rest, while my lithographed dollhouse and Noah's Ark found a spot above the desk.

Grandmother Stover's Toy Tree

This is one of my most favorite vintage Christmas decorations ever! It was made by Grandmother Stover's, an American company that manufactured dollhouse miniatures and tiny novelty items in the 1950s and 60s.
Measuring about 8 inches tall, it consists of a heavy cardboard die-cut Christmas tree strung with cords that are just loaded with charms, favors, and tiny toys, including a miniature harmonica, an itty bitty dexterity game, a roller skate, cups and saucers, a little tin streetcar, tiny dolls, and lots more.
The box the tree comes in is rather deceiving: it looks just like an old stationery package, thin and flat, and gives no hint of the amazing object within. In fact, I almost passed it over when I saw it in a pile of Christmas junque at an antique store, assuming it held old cards or handkerchiefs. It was a big surprise to open it and discover this amazing item inside.