Saturday, June 29, 2024

T. Cohn....my only metal dollhouse

 


T.Cohn, Inc., produced one of the first modern metal dollhouses. 
 The Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog of 1948 sold it  for $4.75.

The all metal house contains six rooms plus a sun deck. 
 The door and the five front casement windows open.



The house is lithographed with red brick
 on the lower part and white shingles above.


Wonderful graphics continue around the house.



The interior of the house is colorfully decorated in the styles 
I remember seeing in magazines while growing up in the 1950s.



Wood floors with area rugs....



modern linoleum designs in the kitchen....



 tufted designs in the carpet....



and of course swans in the bath.



In children's rooms cardboard cut-outs decorated the walls 
in colorful nursery rhyme and circus shapes. 



I've decorated this house with Plasco furniture, 
first made in 1944 by Plastic Art Toy Corp. of America.


At 11" by 12", the living room is large enough
 to hold a nice arrangement of furniture.
  


 Plasco furniture is mid-century stylish and extremely well made.



When I first started collecting in 2005, I was impressed with this furniture having finished backs and undersides on many of the pieces....just like real furniture. No wonder long-time and avid collector Roy Specht says 
it is his favorite dollhouse furniture.
 


A fireplace with bookshelves, a grandfather clock 
and a television were included with the living room set.
The TV set has a rotating dial to change the picture on the screen.
  


The dining room was produced in a solid mahogany, 
the above marbled mahogany and later in a warm beige.


A boxed set included a table, 4 chairs, 2 serving pieces, 
and a buffet with a separate china cabinet.


The kitchen was provided with pieces that were enjoyed by little girls who could set up their dollhouse kitchen just like mom's.


 Besides the normal kitchen appliances and table and chairs, a separate cabinet and an island room divider with shelves were produced. 
  


 The back of the kitchen pieces were finished
 like other pieces in Plasco production.


My nursery set includes two cribs, a chest and a changing table. 
A dresser with mirror and 
a mirrored two drawer chest were also available.



Notice that both sides of the crib raise and lower.



The bathroom in this T. Cohn dollhouse is too small 
to include the vanity (without mirror) along with the other fixtures.
 


Bath fixtures all in a lovely shade of aqua



 Lovely blue "chenille" bedspreads are on the matching twin beds.
 


The bedroom set included twin beds, a vanity with mirror and stool, 
a bedside table and a chest of drawers. 
  


As in other Plasco pieces, the backs of the chest and vanity are finished.
  



The Plasco patio furniture is highly collectible.



The legs on this patio furniture are a bit fragile,
 and the front legs on the chaise are often missing. 
This is probably my favorite dollhouse patio furniture.



Plasco babies, the only dolls made by Plasco, stand 2½" tall. 
I think these two have been playing in the sandbox! 



This is a Renwal family, just like the ones that came 
in my Keystone of Boston dollhouse, Christmas 1949.

Early in  blogging on My Vintage Dollhouses, I posted about my Plasco dollhouse filled with Plasco furniture. If interested, you can view it here.

2 comments:

  1. Another great post! I love the graphics on this house and you have done a fabulous job furnishing it.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Troy! I too love the graphics on this house and that's probably the reason it is still in my collection!

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