Marx Troll Village

A few months ago, back when I did my troll blog-a-thon, I mentioned my longing for the elusive 1960s Marx Troll Village playset. I finally got one for my birthday: yay! 

The Marx Toy Company made all sorts of playsets like these back in the 1950s and '60s: western ranches, medieval castles, army forts, family farms, and pretty much any other imaginative setting a kid could want, complete with tiny figures, buildings, and a box or case that held all the parts.

The Troll Village is one of their most unusual such sets, as well as one of their smallest. The box measures 10 inches wide, and the little trolls within are only 1 1/2 inches tall, the size of a typical gumball machine prize troll. The set includes trolls, animals, fences, rocks, trees and foliage, a little house, and caves. Originally it also had a printed vinyl playmat, but this is often missing from the set, as it is with mine. Still, it's a fantastic toy for troll lovers, and no good troll collection can consider itself complete without one.

 The village. As you can see, many pieces are delightfully
out of scale with each other.

The little troll house is just 4 inches tall, with a crazy roofline.

Hangin' out in the troll cave...

Two of Troll Village's denizens.
As you can see from the troll in the back,
the village is not officially a nudist colony.

For a sense of scale, a Troll Village troll is on the right,
next to a standard-sized, 3 inch troll
also made by Marx. Their trolls have a very distinctive appearance.

1871 Bliss Building Blocks

The name "Bliss," when speaking of antique toys, usually brings to mind their famed lithographed paper dollhouses. But the American company made other toys as well, including this set of small wooden blocks, still in their original 7 1/2 tall box with its paper label intact. I spotted these on a birthday antiquing trip last weekend, and was thrilled to find them.They were only $20, which seemed like a steal for such a lovely, and old, toy.

The label dates the set to 1871, and the text features one of the earliest toy safety endorsements I've ever read:

"No. 248.

Improved Architectural Building

BLOCKS

Free from PAINT or other POISONOUS colorings.

Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1871,

by R. Bliss Manf'G. Co., in the Office of the Commissioner 

of Patents at Washington."

Silver Dollhouse Decanter Set

I'm always looking for interesting little things to add to my dollhouses, and I found this on my birthday antiquing trip over the weekend: a silver decanter set. It has a Mexican silver hallmark on the underside of the tray, and appears to have some age to it, although I couldn't say exactly how old it may be. The tray measures a little over 4 inches wide, and the mugs are just 1/2 an inch tall. The keg-shaped decanter has a turquoise stopper, and rests on a stand.

My seven inch German doll is just the right size to serve as a barmaid. I expect the teddy bears will be arriving soon, ready to throw a few pints back...

Antique Bisque Doll Head

My sister is a minimalist, and doesn't share my appreciation for antiques, which she disdainfully refers to as "a bunch of old junk." For my recent birthday, I took myself on an antiquing shopping spree, and my sister later asked me what I found. "Ooooh: an absolutely fantastic broken old doll head," I replied, beaming over the beautifully sculpted and painted bisque head, circa the 1880s. My sister looked at me scornfully, and said, "You bought a broken doll head?" Yes. I did. But just look at her: she's beautiful! And technically speaking, it's only her shoulderplate that's broken...

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?