Doc and Grams.....retired!

This is the retirement cottage that Doc and Grams moved into recently. 

This Keystone of Boston doll house is from 1947...

one of the smaller houses made in this style

 with the metal shutters...but no stairs.

The front door and chimney were missing on my little house;

I took the liberty to make the door match the shutters instead of making it the original white....

and also made the chimney match the metal casement windows instead of the original grey.

The first thing Grams does each morning after brushing her teeth
is put on lipstick.
This wonderful bathroom set looks like
the Arcade iron dollhouse furniture circa 1930...
right down to the metal faucets...but it
is made of wood and marked  Japan.
I wonder if any of the other Arcade room sets were copied.

Japan

Arcade

Then Grams magically appears in the kitchen (they have no stairs)

to put the kettle on for tea and to set the breakfast table.

The kitchen appliances are often attributed to Lynnfield, but I recently saw it auctioned on eBay 

in the original box marked "Jenny Lynd..doll house furniture of the better kind"...

perhaps that was an additional brand produced by Lynnfield.



Lynnfield

Jenny Lynd

Doc and Samson apparate to the living room where Doc brushes Samson

...and Samsom purrs with contentment.  Doc wishes Grams 

hadn't insisted on bringing her grandmother's 

very uncomfortable furniture to their new little cottage. 

The piano has Wurlitzer marked above the keyboard, but the maker is unknown.

The tall lamp is a Tyke Toys piece by Menasha Woodenware Corp.

Tyke Toys lamp in 1½” scale.

Oh Oh! Has Grams forgotten to give Samson his bowl of milk? 

The oak dining  set is referred to as fretwork and may be of US or European origin circa 1915. 

The buffet was purchased separately but matches well; both table and buffet have marble tops.

The buffet has an embossed design on the cabinet doors.

After Doc cleans up the breakfast dishes,
he plays "The Celebrated Chop Waltz" on the baby grand
while Grams relaxes on the settee with Samson.

Star - American Toy Furniture produced some similar chairs, 

but the quality is more like the Golden Oak furniture produced in Germany.

The small 1¼” figurines on the mantle come from France and are called Fèves.
Provence tradition has them baked in an Epiphany cake " la gallette des rois"  

and the person who gets the figurine wears a paper crown....much like the King Cake 

celebrated during the ephiphany season in our southern states

...especially in New Orleans.

 Fèves translated  is beans; originally beans were used 

in place of the figurines in the " la gallette des rois". 

I think they make excellent accessories for doll houses! 

I found these on eBay but one can also find them on Etsy.

Since he retired, Doc likes to work in the yard. 

Grams likes to watch him work. 

Sometimes Doc likes to tease their cat Samson 

by pretending to rake him up with the leaves.
Samson is always very cautious when Doc has the rake....

After lunch, Grams and Doc like to retire to their comfy chairs

 in their bedroom and read. This can also be called nap time.  

The two comfy chairs are sachet pincushions made by Stuart  "for milady's  boudoir" 

or for a doll house and are large 1" scale.

The smaller chaise is Queen Anne by  B. Packman 

and shown just to compare sizes.

Samson settles down on the soft rug to nap
while Grams and Doc are....reading.

I have found several pieces from the 20-30s painted this bright

 shade of salmon-pink. The bed and chest came as a set,

the 2 chairs came with a large kitchen table and are

possibly handcrafted, the vanity and bench are either Star or

German manufactured...but all a similar shade of salmon-pink.

In the evening, Samson likes to sit on the open window ledge,
listen to the "night music", and pretend he is catching 
crickets and other evening creatures
...Doc is always close by. 

The Lurches.....in hiding

 

  

Lester Lurch, my resident Elvis impersonator, is distraught.

 

 

 

"OMG! OMG! OMG!"

 

 

He is so distraught.....

  

 .....  ..     

.....



 he has himself...

 

 .......      

    .....  .... 

....running around in circles!

Whoops! Did he trip....or just throw himself down in despair?

  

 

Why is Lester so distraught? He just read on Rick's A Home for Dolly blog  that his relative, Lazarus Lurch, was recently paroled from The Big House! Not only that, Lazarus has made his way back to the neighborhood to reunite with his long-lost kin folk. What does that mean? Just what does that mean?  Lester does not want to be reunited with Lazarus....what to do...what to do?

 

Sometimes, when he sits in "the Thinker" position, he comes up with good ideas....

...and other times he thinks so hard he falls asleep....

and when he wakes up he wonders why he has a big bump on his head.

 

 

¡Ay, caramba! He's got it!

and grabbing his laptop, he quickly googles "hideaway cottages"......

 

 

After piling his family into the car....he starts their trip to the hideaway cottage he has rented 

in a little valley down in.....oh no, can't tell you....you might snitch to Lazarus!

 

 

Yes, it is a pink Cadillac....he is an Elvis impersonator, you know!

 

 

 

 

Lester drives west....

  

 

 

...Lester drives south....

 

 

 

 

...Lester drives east...

  

 

...thru the night....

  

 



 ....and into the woods....

 

 

 

 

and right up to their hideout...er, their hideaway cottage.

 

  

 

Everybody jumps out of the car and Lester unlocks the door.

  

 

 

 The first thing mom does is check the kitchen for supplies.

 

 

 

The first thing Lester does is check the fridge for a brewsky.

  

 

 

Looking around, Lydia wonders where the kids have disappeared to so quickly....

 

 

 

Oh, there's LaNell and Lulu playing at the picnic table...and Lyndon has jumped into the pool already. Lyndon is hoping he will be able to put his arms down soon...that was a long ride.

 

 

 

 Little Lionel pipes up, "Look daddy! I can kneel on the sofa and look out the window!"

  

 

 

 "Oh no! Oh no! If Lazarus is outside he can see us! I must do something about that!"

  

 

 

 So Lester hangs a covering over the window to the disappointment of little Lionel,

  

 

 

 but is there someone already peeking into the upstairs bedroom?

This vinyl dollhouse and furniture was made by Ideal Toy Company in 1969. 

What is rather unique about this particular vinyl house is the front door opens

 and there are also two clear vinyl windows....so the dollies can see out.