Midget Manor is a good descriptive name for this little tin dollhouse manufactured by Ohio Art between 1949-1951, as it measures only 6" wide, 2" deep and 5" tall.
It sits on a base 8¼" by 3", lithographed as a yard and side patio.
Theodore and Maxine Bumfielder live on the
west side in their little tin house.
Their house is well furnished with the plastic furniture
that came with it when they bought it.
Theodore is waiting in the kitchen for Maxine to fix his breakfast.
He is dressed for work and has his briefcase and umbrella at the ready
....and his hat on in the house.
Maxine is dressed to go to her job as a bartender at Smitty's Downtown Tavern. That explains the lowcut dress, nothing explains the brown hat.
The second bedroom is for Theodore's mother when she comes to visit.
It is sparsely furnished for a reason.
The living room has a comfy sofa and two chairs.
Also Theodore's grand piano and a radio for Maxine.
Hmmn, they have their chairs close to the fireplace.
Hopefully they won't catch fire and melt their house.
Both Theodore and Maxine enjoy sitting outside on their patio.
Theodore always claims the green chair.
Theodore is still in the kitchen waiting for his breakfast.
Maxine is still in the bedroom,
thinking that Theodore already has his hat on,
and his briefcase and umbrella in his hands.
To the east side live Mickey and Minnie Maus.
Because both of them work at Disneyland as stand-ins
for a pair of famous movie stars, they are able to afford
Toostietoy Midgets furniture for their house.
Their bedroom has art deco beds in a shade of green
with a pale blue chiffonier.
Their spare bedroom is for family visits,
but when not in use, Minnie likes to think of it as her boudoir.
Their living room has a stylish sectional sofa in red, with a casual blue chair.
Also in the living room is Mickey's piano and guitar.
Their kitchen has appliances made of index card
and a plastic table and chairs.
Their patio has more Tootsietoy Midgets
....a library table and two lounge chairs.
Mickey is deciding whether he should play his guitar or piano
....maybe he will play both at the same time!
Oh, look who is visiting Minnie and Mickey!
According to Dian Zillner's American Dollhouses and Furniture From the 20th Century , Ohio Art Company offered this tiny house in 1949 furnished with 28 pieces of plastic furniture. My set is missing 2 straight back chairs.
It is certainly sized for tiny hands
with the bed 1 ⅛" long, chest ⅝" tall,
table ¾ " wide,
chair ½" wide, piano 1' long, and sofa 1 ¼" wide.
as the plastic furniture that came with the Midget Manor.
from 1922 thru 1937. These Tootsietoy Midgets
reflect the art deco style popular during that period.
I have the beds in green and pink,
but it is possible they were also produced in blue.
I was delighted to find the piano.
The piano stool is plastic from a modern production.
for their Midgets line of furniture.
The gold chairs came with the living room or bedroom set.
The table can be used as either a coffee table or library table.
When there is space enough, some of the
Midgets furniture is marked TOOTSIETOY.
Other pieces, like the gold chairs and
the living room chairs, are marked with a winged T.
The furniture was sold in room sets. I am not aware if they were sold individually.
The bedroom set.
With the great graphics on the box,
any little girl seeing it
would definitely want this dollhouse to play with!
I was not aware of the Midget lines. Thank you for sharing. Great photos!
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know who made the plastic furniture that came with the Midget Manor?
ReplyDeleteI believe it may have been Allied -- they also sold a tiny plastic moving van filled with eight pieces of the same furniture, so that leads me to believe the furniture originated with them. Plus, I have never seen it anywhere except those two places.
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