1950s German Kitchen Playset

I found this 1950s-early '60s kitchen playset at a recent toy show. Made in Western Germany by Fuchs, the 16 inch wide kitchen features fabulous mid-century design elements, including a very fashionable salmon pink and turquoise blue color palette.

One of my favorite features is the printed-on window, which reveals a scene of a father arriving home from work, his vintage automobile parked just outside the gate.

The cupboard doors above the stove slide open, revealing tiny canisters filled with printed paper food. The little drawers under the cupboard slide open, too.

The copper mold forms, found in German toy kitchens all the way back to the 1700s, are in this case printed onto the wall above the counter.

An assortment of real miniature molds cover the countertop. These could actually be used to make such things as little chocolates or gelatins. A teeny tiny mezzaluna lies beneath the molds, useful for chopping herbs.

A basket of miniature flatware, each piece stamped "Germany", rests on the counter. They are quite delicate, and amazingly in perfect condition.










The stove top hosts the most adorable set of miniature cookware I've ever seen: pots and pans decorated with images of tiny toys.

The kitchen set was a great find: such playsets by this maker are highly sought items. But the price made it a fantastic find: only $25! I was hopping up and down with glee once I spotted the price tag. Typically kitchens like this sell in the $100+ range. Some of the accessories alone (the silverware tray, the mezzaluna) sell for more than $25 apiece from dollhouse and miniature dealers. It was the best bargain of the whole toy show!

Archer Space Woman

If you've read this blog for awhile, you'll know that I have a thing for Archer Space Men, absolutely fantastic little 4 inch plastic figures sold in dime stores in the 1950s. If you haven't been reading this blog for awhile, you can catch up on the Archer Space Man posts by clicking here and here and here.

Anyway, the Archer Space Men had a couple of female companions, the Archer Space Women. They're rather scarce today: it appears the women weren't manufactured in nearly the same amounts as the men, probably on the assumption that they wouldn't be as popular with the target audience of little boys. I've kept an eye out for one for several years, but had nary a sighting until this one turned up at a recent toy show. Isn't she just fabulous?!

The Space Woman is on the left, wearing what appears to be a micro-mini skirt.

Clanky the Chocolate Syrup Spaceman

The space race of the 1950s and '60s resulted in all sorts of fabulous interstellar themed products for children ranging from toys to snack foods, including some like Clanky that were a little bit of both.  

Clanky Chocolate Flavor Syrup debuted in 1963, with a bizarre but catchy commercial (see it by clicking here.)

From the commercial, Clanky's theme song:

"We love Clanky, Clanky the Spaceman.
 He can do a lot of things nobody else can!
 We just squeeze him,
 (bloop, bloop, bloop)
 And he makes our milk all chocolatey.
 Chocolatey!"

Clanky's ingredients: a little bit of stardust and a whole lot of sugar.

The 9 1/2 inch plastic Clanky the spaceman came filled
with chocolate syrup that could be stirred into milk,
poured onto ice cream, or simply squirted directly into your
mouth if your mom wasn't watching. Once all the chocolate was gone (and, presumably, mom had thoroughly rinsed him out)
Clanky could be used as a toy, a sort of large scale action figure
(minus the action features).

Today Clanky serves as a great example of vintage space race product tie-ins, and he looks fab smiling from a shelf full of related toys.

Toy Show Finds

One of my favorite toy shows takes place each January, which is really an unfortunate month for a toy show, don't you think, coming right after Christmas? Nevertheless, we went, we jostled our way through the crowd of manic toy collectors, and we came home happily with all this:

Wheeeee!!!! I'll post everything soon. There were a couple of long-sought space toys in the haul, and, as you can see, it was a Trollapalooza.

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.