This is my 1934 Triang #24 dollhouse filled with Barton's Tudor furniture.
I call it my Greyhound Special because it came to Houston from New York on a Greyhound bus....and was at the downtown bus depot for a month before the Greyhound employees decided it belonged to me.
Labeled No. 41 from 1934-36, this second largest in the 40s series of Triang dolls houses was renamed No.24 in 1937, according to the Tri-ang Dolls Houses Database, Vol.2, 1930-1941 found on Dolls Houses Past and Present e-magazine.
This is how my house looked when I received it 5 years ago...shredded shutters, pencil marks everywhere and missing chimneys...it needed attention...
but it still had it's Triangtois emblem on the back!
I repainted the exterior of the house and then rubbed a golden oak stain on the surface, wiping it off before it dried. The stain helps to give an aged patina to the paint. Would you believe the paint sample matched the original color exactly?
The previous owner painted the roof red, covering most of the embossed shingles. I liked the vintage look. I used an embossing stylus and straight edge to enhance the shape of the shingles.
I painted the cardboard half-timbering a dark brown and then gently sanded to give an aged wood effect.
The base was painted a darker green....both my shutters and base turned out darker than the original. That happens sometimes.
I made the chimneys, and because I love the look of chimney pots, I added the pots to the chimneys for this rather plain little house.
This is what I used for my chimney pots...cutting them down to the size I needed.
I removed the windows and cleaned them but did not add the strips of paper or cloth these Triang windows usually have. I may at some later date.
I recreated the shutters copying from the one good shutter on the lower left. Not an easy task since I am not technical enough to figure our Photoshop. Then I discovered that Lee Higgins of Shed on the Pond had recreated them and made the shutters and several wall/floor papers available. Her site is an excellent source for collectors and sharing of methods to use when refurbishing Triang dolls houses. Here's a copy of my shutter if you wish to use it, but check out Shed on the Pond's shutter before you decide.
This dolls house has four rooms with stairs leading to the top floor.
All the papers are original with the exception of the floor in the lower living area. I have covered it with Trevor's reproduction Triang floor paper that can be purchased on Dolls Houses Past and Present. Some of the papers have browned with age but I prefer my little houses in as original state as possible....unless I want to add something like chimney pots!
All of the furniture in this house is part of the Tudor line made by A. Barton & Co. (TOYS) Ltd. from 1948-1977 . I fell in love with this Tudor line of furniture the first time I saw it; and finding out that 42% of my DNA originates in UK might help explain that. The cradle and chair in the nursery and the repainted Toncoss fireplace in the scullery are not part of the Barton collection.
The information provided here regarding the Barton furniture comes from Bartons "Model Homes" by Marion Osborne, published in the UK about 1990.
...the living area...
This dresser was described as being sold at/or part of the collection at Pollock's Toy Museum . Mrs. Osborne tells us that the beading on the top is called ball and sausage (3 balls then 1 sausage) which Barton bought ready turned. Evidently their stock ran out and they were unable to buy more, so she was able to date pieces with ball and sausage beading prior to the mid 1950's.
These stately chairs, perhaps small monk's benches, were not referenced in the Barton book, but came to me along with the monk's corner settle shown later.
This is my favorite of the three Barton Tudor fireplaces in my collection.
The corner bench is a monk's settle/bench.
The small bench perhaps a stool to be used close to the fireplace.
This half-round side table was not made after 1967.
This wonderful Tudor refectory table is shown
with monk's benches and chairs with arm rests.
More about the chairs later.
...the bedroom...
another wonderful Tudor fireplace made of plaster.
A half-round table with a wardrobe from a period style bedroom set that Barton included in their Tudor range. The other pieces in the set are shown later in this post.
The four poster bed sold for 10/9 in 1957, draped it sold for 13/9.
The small chest sold for 1/6.
The corner cupboard with ball and sausage trim has interior shelves.
I purchased this wonderful piece on ebay from Marion Osborne.
This is Barton's Tudor tallboy that was included
with the period style bedroom set.
The Barton pieces in this small room are the court cupboard
and the last fireplace produced in the Tudor range.
...the scullery...
The Welsh dresser....no bead and sausage trim
but with stretchers connecting all four legs.
This Tudor piece was sold as the rug chest.
The following pictures are close-ups of this 39 to 68 year old
range of Barton Tudor dollhouse furniture.
Refectory table, chairs with arm rests and monk's bench.
Dresser
Monk's chairs
Tudor fireplace
Monk's settle/bench
Half-round table
Four poster bed with draping from 1971-76
Wardrobe and tallboy
Corner cupboard, arm-less chair and half-round table
Tudor fireplace
Court cupboard
Tudor fireplace, produced of plywood starting in 1972
Welsh dresser and rug chest
Additional pieces of the Tudor furniture range:
Sideboard and grandfather clock
Period style bedroom that came with the wardrobe and tallboy.
A straight chair was also part of this set.
Progression of chair's design according to Mrs. Osborne: "The earlier chairs have very little carving or "turning" on the legs, also the ⅛” thickness of the doweling stretcher between the front legs is also indicative of an early date."
Other interesting facts:
- Not all the pieces are the same color...varying from a black to a deep brown. In questioning if this would help date the individual pieces, Mrs. Osbourne was told that the dying process was "a nasty job, trying to get the antique look and Bartons experimented with various dyes to get the effect. Originally they had girls dipping each item into a mixture of dark oak naptha stain, which took ages to dry and got everywhere. So it's probably a case of not working to exact amounts each time, or variations to the dye itself and the result is the difference in colour."
- A brass fruit bowl and powder bowl with lid were sold as accessories for the Tudor range of furniture, probably by the same firm that made the brass knobs that are a hallmark of Barton furniture. Other accessories that have surfaced and attributed to being sold for the Tudor range of furniture are candlesticks, warming pan, plates, goblets and vases.
- Three different four poster bed drapes are known to have been available...the first available from 1956, the second being available from 1966 to 1971, with the last the red with gold embroidery shown on my bed from 1971 to 1976.
- Unstained light colored Tudor furniture sets were exclusive to Pollocks Toy Museum from 1968 for several years. A set was available on Ebay just this summer.
