A 1934 Schoenhut Dollhouse

 

This dollhouse was produced  in 1934, the last year of production for the A. Schoenhut Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It has suffered some water damage, is missing the chimney, and was missing the door and two windows when it arrived. I will get around to making a chimney one day. I made the door....and then installed it the wrong way, that's why the door knob is on the right side. I "borrowed" two windows from the side of another small Schoenhut, because in my Dollhouse Village, having front windows is more important than having side windows!

This illustration is from a 1934 dealer's catalogue and appears in a soft cover book Dollhouses and Dollhouse Furniture (Manufactured by A. Schoenhut Company Philadelphia, Pa. 1917-1934) compiled by Margaret Whitton. Notice that it came with lights in each room and a removable back cover. This illustration shows the extension on the right side, while the extension on my house is on the left.

This illustration of the entire page might explain why. Notice that all of the houses are facing left. It is possible that the graphic designer flipped the image to create a more visually pleasing composition.

A cute little family has moved in to "No.208E". I might know their names by the end of this post.

The house has 5 rooms....two bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room and living room. No bathroom, and no outhouse in sight. 

The living room is furnished in German Red-stain furniture. The seating pieces and the clock can be found in International Dollhouses and Accessories by Zillner and Cooper, page 214. This book, published in1998, indicates the maker of German Red-stain furniture was unknown at that time. Twenty-six years later we are still trying to discover that information. 

The lamp table is Donna Lee  from her Deluxe Bedroom set no. 302. 

The lamp base is incised Germany; it came without the celluloid shade. I fashioned one of textured paper, not the same as the original but it works for me.

The dining room has a Schoenhut dining room table set and buffet from their 1931 production line. 

The maker of the hutch is unknown, possibly a German or Japanese import.

The kitchen is furnished in Schoenhut with a Kage fridge. 

The stove, sink, table and chairs are Schoenhut from 1932. The fridge is Kage from the late 1940s. 

I found this wonderful handmade crazy-quilt on Ebay and thought it was just perfect for the Kage bed. 

The bedside table and dresser are Nancy Forbes with a Strombecker clock to wake dad in case he has a job. A former owner added the knobs on the dresser. I added the mirror, but it should have a border around it. Just another error I need to correct because I didn't research. The chair is not marked as to maker. 

The children share a room, each having their own little corner. I see a girly toy but no boys toys. Hmmn, girls rule? Yea!

A Kage chest holds a Strombecker lamp. The small chair  part of the Tiny Suite made by The Spartan Company in the late 1940s. The blue bed may be from Miniaform, made when they were moving away from making the more expensive Art Deco furniture with wire legs. The brown bed is early UK Barton.

My little family has introduced themselves! Gervais and Colette Perreault and their children Laurent and Lisette. They are new immigrants from France....because of the way they are dressed, possibly time travelers? 

Dimestore Wood Dollhouse Furniture, ca. 1940s

Chunky wood dollhouse furniture, sold mostly in dimestores during the 1940s, is highly collectable.  If you, like me, are curious about who made these pieces in your collection, this new book by Patty Cooper will help you identify them. 

This is a companion book to Patty's Nancy Forbes and Donna Lee Dollhouse Furniture  and covers the smaller, lesser known companies that sold the inexpensive wood dollhouse furniture at the dimestores beloved by children of that era. 

You are probably familiar with Wanner, often referred to as Grand Rapids, 

and can usually identify it....but can you identify Barbara Jean, Mary Frances, Spartan, Tag-Line or the others found in this remarkable book? 

Wanner made several variations of each piece of furniture manufactured, you will find many of them here.  Japanese copies of Wanner, made in the same era, are often found  identified as Wanner. Patty points out the differences in the two productions.  

Did you know Miniaform, well known for their Art Deco style wire legs dollhouse furniture, also made furniture similar to Wanner? 

The Mary Frances line, made of plywood and similar to Wanner, also made a Deluxe line of furniture, flocked or decorated.    

Tag-Line! I have a Tag-Line dresser and now want a complete dollhouse full!    

This highly detailed and informative book on wood dollhouse furniture, made in the 1940s and sold in dimestores, joins Patty Cooper's seventeen other books on dollhouse furniture, all available at Patty Cooper on Blurb.com