Antique Travel Dollhouse

I received one of my most unusual dollhouses as a Christmas gift this past year. American made and dating from the 1890s to early 1900s, the 17 inch long house features detailed decoration lithographed directly onto the wooden surface. It appears to have been made as a travelling dollhouse, as the pieces disassemble and pack neatly inside for storage and transport. I've never seen anything quite like it, and can't find anything similar in any of my dollhouse books. The house has a lot of play wear, but it was so unique, I couldn't pass it up.

Here's how it looks all packed up:











One long side slides off to reveal the contents inside:

Two little china dolls have lived in this house for a very long time, along with a tiny bisque man. (Clearly, correct scale did not matter to the child who originally owned this house!)

Here are all the parts unpacked:

 The pieces all stack onto the box base to build a Victorian mansion, complete with a tower and porch:

One of the house's most interesting
features is the garage
on the left side,
complete with its
own sliding door: 

The now faded and worn lithographed detail is still wonderful, including curtained windows (some with tiny people peering out) and tiles on the roof:

 

The house is lithographed inside as well, with pictures, windows, and Victorian bric a brac:

I added some old furniture, and now the little dolls have somewhere to sit: 

The little man fits perfectly on the front porch,

where he seems to welcome us to his house.

Mr. Cranberrie

Meet  Mr.Cranberrie,  a wee little four inch ted made by bear artist extraordinaire Peng Peng. (She made his tiny outfit, too!) This very Christmasy-looking bear was, in fact, a holiday gift this year.

For a sense of just how small he is, 

Mr. C. is pictured sitting on a dollhouse porch. 

Antique Cast Iron and Tin Bell Pull Toy

This beautiful 1880s toy was one of my favorite Christmas presents this year, acquired from a collection I appraised in the autumn. Made of cast iron and pressed tin, a melodious chime rings as the 5 inch tall toy is pulled.

The little girl at the front is made of tin (is she skipping rope?) and retains some of her original paint. The cast iron wheels hold a bell between them. Toys like these were made by American companies such as Fallows of Philadelphia; Althof, Bergmann of New York; and Gong Bell of Connecticut throughout the mid to late nineteenth century.

 The cast iron assembly holding the chime bell.

1890 Frozen Charlotte Doll with Homemade Wardrobe & Cigar Box Armoire

Oh, I just love love love these sorts of toys: homemade, much-loved things that have been kept together for a century (or more!) and come with information about their original owner. This was another of my favorite Christmas gifts.

This wonderful dolly's armoire was made from two cigar boxes, probably by a father or grandfather. 11 inches tall, the armoire still retains many of its original cigar labels, including one with a patent date of 1886. The decoration on the outside of the box was applied, and consists of antique paper which gives an appearance of marquetry. The words on the armoire seemed rather cryptic, but research revealed "Our Dickie" was a pet name used for the pictured canary bird in the 1890s, while "Lula" was a popular girl's name at the same time.

 The inside shelves, with original cigar box labels. 

According to the pencilled note on the back of the armoire, this belonged to a little girl named (as nearly as I can decipher) Dorthea Sison, who lived in Maryville, Missouri, a town founded in 1845 in Nodaway County.

Still more historical information was found inside the armoire. Written on a beautiful Victorian Easter scrap were the words: "From Miss Pressler 1890."

Who was Miss Pressler? Perhaps a teacher, governess, or friend of the family? That part remains a mystery. My guess is she gave Dorthea the little Frozen Charlotte doll, 4 1/4 inches tall, who lives in the "Lula" labelled bottom drawer of the armoire:

My heart skipped a beat when I slid open the drawer to reveal this!

 Lula?

The little blonde doll has a particularly lovely face; however, her hands are broken off. But since Dorthea clearly didn't care, neither do I! (Besides, you can't tell they're missing when she's dressed...)

Dorthea made an entire wardrobe and even some accessories for her little doll, including red silk bloomers, a matching laundry bag, several blouses, two lace dresses, a cape, a blue tweed coat, a pillow, and even a tiny belt made from an orange ribbon and an itty bitty buckle.

 A second set of clothes in a larger size appear to have been made for a companion doll who is now, sadly, missing. These pieces include a feedsack apron and a black lace mourning veil.

Everything packs neatly

into the armoire for storage:




Somehow, this small lot of much-loved toys made their way from Missouri to an estate sale in New Hampshire, and from there, to an antique doll dealer in metropolitan Detroit before coming home with me. Quite a journey for such fragile toys! I plan to keep them together for the rest of my life, but who knows where Dorthea's dolly may travel to then?

Wind-Up Doggies

We spotted these two little wind up doggies at an antique flea market just before Christmas. Probably German and circa the 1930s, they measure 4 and 1/2 inches long. When their keys are wound, their tails spin in wild circles, while the ears on the larger dog flap back and forth in spectacularly comic fashion.

The littlest dog wears a red felt sweater. He reminds me of Asta, Nick and Nora Charles' dog in the Thin Man movies.





The doggies are just the right size to hang out in my doll kitchen.