An invite to visit my Dora Kuhn peasant dollhouse

 

 

This dollhouse is one of the first dollhouses that became a part of my collection. I fell in love with it the very first time I saw it on Ebay. They seem to be quite popular with collectors.

Dora Kuhn peasant dollhouses were imported from Germany and sold exclusively through FAO Schwarz toy stores. The Dora Kuhn dollhouses appeared in their catalogs from the late 1950s to the 1970s. 

 

In trying to establish when my dollhouse was produced, I found this Chalet Dolls Houses article by Rebecca Green  on Dolls Houses Past and Present  e-magazine. Rebecca tells us the earlier versions had applied wooden decoration above the windows rather than the painted decoration of the later model. Mine has wooden shutters and wooden headers over the window.  My house also has two patches of dried glue on either side of the door indicating something missing. I found this example that may explain what was originally on each side of the door of my little house.

Newer houses have shrubs painted beside the door, painted shutters, and painted designs above the windows instead of a wooden header. 

This is an updated Dora Kuhn house. My little house is from the older production period.

This is the home of Klaus and Gerda Schmidt and their children Horst, Elise and Oskar. The Schmidt's home came with 3 rooms, two on the first floor and a large open room on the top floor. I used a divider made for my Karlheinz Klein dollhouse to separate the top floor into 2 bedrooms. (My Karlheinz Klein dollhouse went on a mercy mission to live with another lady who had one as a child).

Most models of this Dora Kuhn house have the front door opening into a large room on the right side of the first floor. I have seen one other DK house with the door opening in the room on the left like mine. 

The Kachelofen (traditional tile-covered masonary heater) on the lower floor is found in the living area. It is in the back left corner beside the man of the house.

The living area has a lot of cozy seating and a table  for playing games with family and friends.

The kitchen is well stocked with pantry, hutch, cook stove and a counter with basin for washing dishes....evidently no running water, but an electric stove.

On the upper floor, the Kachelofen  is found in the parent's bedroom in the back right corner.

Klaus and Gerda's bedroom is furnished with Bauernmöbel styled pieces in red. That term refers to the traditional, painted and carved rustic folk furniture of Germany and Austria. Dora Kuhn produced this popular furniture in shades of red, blue, orange and green.

Horst and Elise's room is furnished in the very popular blue "Bauernmalerei" styled pieces.

 Bauernmöbel: farmer's furniture

 Baurenmalerei: peasant painting

Wonder what this little family is doing this evening?

Klaus seems to be reading a magazine....unless it is daytime and papa doesn't have a job. He does have a stein beside his chair....beer, no beer?

Looks like Gerda is playing solitaire. (I played a game of solitaire and then set her cards up according to my play....she will win this game!)

And there is Elise quietly sitting in her chair, hoping mom and dad will forget she is there and talk about things she shouldn't be hearing.

Is Klaus a great bear hunter?

Ah! Here is Horst, in the bedroom he shares with Elise, playing with his train. I wonder if he knows his hat is on backward. It seems he has glued it to his head, so I guess it will stay that way.

And baby Oskar still napping.

Snitzel is thinking it is time to eat, and he can't find his bowl.

Just what is that cooking on the stove? 

    

    PEASANT DOLL HOUSE (Furnished) (Exclusive)  All assembled . . . . $50.00

    A very sweet and cozy chalet style house, made entirely of wood with rustic roof,

    white exterior walls, natural wood under eaves. Balcony on front of house. Has 6

    windows with shutters and colorful flower boxes. Bundle of wood and bench on

    terrace. Living room and kitchen downstairs, bedroom upstairs. Furnished in good

    taste with 15 pieces of decorated peasant style furniture. Open back. Measures 29 x

    16 x 17" high. Ship. wt. 23 lbs. Express only. 

This ad appeared in a 1959 FAO Schwarz catalog. The artist's rendering changed the appearance of the balcony. 

The ad also included an artist rendering of the house furnished with Karlheinz Klein dollhouse furniture. 

Spielwarenfabrik Karlheinz Klein manufactured the furniture and several models of dollhouses in Wiesloch, Germany in 1954. Below is my Dora Kuhn dollhouse furnished with Karlheinz Klein dollhouse funiture.

 

This ad appeared later in the 1960s after the house was redesigned. Notice the price increase, 10 additional pieces of decorated peasant-style furniture, and a family of 4 included.

 The bench and 2 chairs are adult sized.

These 2 chairs are child sized.

Comparison of the 2 sizes of chairs Dora Kuhn produced.

Notice the difference in coloring of the hutch on the left from the patina/finish on the 2 cabinets on the right. The cabinets on the right are marked Made in Germany US Zone  which indicates they were made in 1957 or before.

I posted about winning these wonderful pieces in 2009. You can read about it here.

Modern stove, Kachelofen US Zone.

Lovely table and chair set in red, also US Zone. I can never decide if Iike the red more than the blue, so I will just enjoy both!

In Horst and Elise's room are 4 pieces from my "buy of the year" in 2009....

and two pieces made after 1957.

All of the furniture in Klaus and Gerda's room is pre 1957 with the exception of the wardrobe on the left.

These are samples of the Caco dolls that were sold for/or with the Dora Kuhn dollhouses. They stand 3¾" to 4" tall.

They are in a smaller scale than the Dora Kuhn furniture. I am sure it didn't make a difference to the child who received these wonderful toys. The chair shown is the child size model. 

Here is the Caco family that live in my little Dora Kuhn folk dollhouse. Klaus and Gerda Schmidt with their children Horst, Elise and baby Oskar. 

Klaus and Gerda are from the early 1950s and have been redressed in wonderful German themed clothing by a previous owner. 

Horst, Elise and Oskar, all with metal feet and hands. Information from Dolls Houses Past and Present indicates plastic hands were introduced in 1961 while plastic feet came along in the mid 1970s. So I assume these 3 dolls are pre 1961. 

A big thanks to Astrid of Diepuppenstubensammlerin blogspot for all the wonderful information she shares with readers on German dollhouses and dollhouse peoples.

This little Dora Kuhn chalet has gone to live with my friend Jamie in Wisconsin!

And yet, another Keystone of Boston dollhouse!

 

Yes, another Keystone of Boston dollhouse! Keystones make up a large portion of my dollhouse collection. I have posted about them or mentioned them in 30 of my previous posts. Yes, I was curious and looked that up. My fascination with them probably stems from receiving a Keystone Tudor from Santa in 1948, I posted about it here. 

 This Keystone dollhouse was shown in a Keystone brochure of 1950.

An unusual feature of this house, not seen in other Keystones, is the side "picture" window. 

This model is one of their six room dollhouses without stairs or a fireplace, although there are two chimneys!

The brochure indicated "electric light in each room". Brackets on top of the upstairs walls hold D batteries to power the light bulbs in each of the six rooms. Several of my Keystone houses have this feature, but I have never checked to see if any of them are still functioning.

The living room is furnished with Lynnfield furniture, my favorite dollhouse furniture. I have been told there is a book being written on Lynnfield dollhouse furniture.

Lynnfield furniture is also found in the dining room.

In the kitchen is the unidentified brand of furniture I refer to as Marshall Field furniture. According to a 1957 Grandmother Stover catalog, this furniture was first sold at the Marshall Field store in Chicago. It is often attributed to Chestnut Hill Studios; it was sold in their catalogs, but the maker is still unknown.

In the bedroom is more Lynnfield furniture. I prefer it over the second generation of the Lynnfield line of similar pieces made by Sonia Messer.

The bathroom has more of the Marshall Field furniture.

The nursery is filled with Marshall Field furniture, and a sweet little yellow Strombecker duck rocker.

Classic lines are shown on the Lynnfield living room furniture with the Duncan Phyfe sofa and Queen Anne chairs. Chester Waite started this line of furniture in Lynnfield, Massachusetts, in the 1930s.

Lynnfield pieces include the desk, grandfather clock, and 18th Century end table. 

Zillner and Cooper's Antique & Collectible Dollhouses and Their Furnishings  

indicates a floor model radio was included in the line circa 1940; it is possible that this radio was produced by Lynnfield.

The dining room is furnished with Lynnfield Duncan Phyfe pieces. The candelabra and the items in the corner cupboard are Tootsie Toy. 

In the kitchen, more of the Marshall Field furniture sold in Chestnut Hill Studios, Mark Farmer and Grandmother Stover catalogs.

The bedroom is furnished with the Lynnfield Empire bedroom set....vanity and stool, bed and night table.

The Empire bedroom set included this chifforobe and dresser.

Bathroom furniture first sold at Marshall Field in Chicago. All the the pieces of this popular furniture are so well made and truly reflect the furniture and appliances made from the late 1940s through early 1960s. I am hoping someone will eventually come forward and identify the creative artist that produced this wonderful furniture.

Such a sweet little set of nursery furniture....who made you?

And the little family of Caco dolls that live in my little Keystone of Boston house with the yellow shutters.