The Fold-Away Dollhouse and Playbook of Cut-Out Furniture

I'm sure most of you have seen this fold-out dollhouse made in book form for sale on Ebay or Etsy. It was published in 1949 by Garden City Publishing Co. of Garden City, New York, with artwork by Catherine Barnes. It came with a playbook of small furniture to cut out. But, like with many toys of that era, additional parts are most often missing. 

The first of my two books came without the small furniture. I ended up furnishing it with Renwal and Ideal plastic furniture that was made at the same time the fold-away book was published. It was the first item I ever sold on Ebay!

My second book came with furniture already cut out.  That is what I will be showing you....a fold-away dollhouse with cut-out furniture.  

The book opens to show graphics of the back of the house 

plus a diagram of how to set up the book as a 3 room dollhouse.

Opening further, we see additional graphics 

of the back side and a floor for the nursery.

Following the diagram, the book sets up to show three rooms. 

A nursery, or child's room...

...a dining room or living room...

...and a kitchen.

Furniture was supplied for a nursery, a dining room, and a kitchen. 

It is on a smaller scale than the rooms themselves.

The nursery has a crib, a dresser or chest, a rocking horse,

 and a play table with two chairs. 

All the furniture is put together with slot and tab design. 

Missing from the nursery is a small duck on wheels. 

According to an original uncut book that accompanied this foldout dollhouse, the small duck is the only piece missing from this set.

The dining room is furnished with a large dining table 

holding a bowl with a turkey, 3 high back dining chairs 

and a hutch with dishes. 

This room also holds a TV (with a screen large for 1949!),

 2 side chairs, and 2 end tables. The two chairs belong to the kitchen set. 

In the kitchen we find the 3 necessary appliances..

.fridge, sink cabinet, and stove. 

A small kitchen table with 2 chairs completes the furnishings. 

For the dining room,

additional pieces used in the dining room, 

furniture for the nursery, 

and furnishings for the kitchen. 

Did you notice that all the furniture is in shades of white, blue and pink? 

The backside of the house is also attractive,

with windows that open.


The interior has 2 doors that open connecting the 3 rooms...

nursery to dining room, 

                                 and dining room to kitchen.                      

The back of the book

shows the diagram for assembling this little house

and more artwork from Catherine Barnes.

For fun, I have furnished this fold-away dollhouse 
with other dollhouse furniture produced 
about the same time as the book.

Shown here with Ideal plastic furniture

with Plasco plastic furniture

 with Kage wooden and upholstered furniture

with Strombecker wood furniture

and even vintage Lundby furniture!


If you see this little fold-away dollhouse for sale on Etsy or Ebay, 
give it a chance to bring fun and smiles to your life!

A reasonable price for this unique little dollhouse without the furniture

 is $30 USD or lower. 

Ardee: plastic dollhouse furniture from 1946.... with a modern flair!

This is a Rich Toys dollhouse from the early 1950s. Bench seats on the porch, the fence post with lantern, blue shutters with  red roofs and porch make it an attractive little dollhouse. 

I have furnished it with Ardee Plastics' modern design furniture made in 1946. Ardee Plastics, Inc., one of the  early manufacturers of plastic dollhouse furniture, made their products from Lumarith, a product of Celanese Plastics Corporation. Their furniture, along with the early plastic furniture marketed under the Jaydon name, has had a tendency to warp. An interesting article about Lumarith, made of cellulose acetate, told that with time this plastic broke down, giving off a telltale vinegar smell. 

This  four room dollhouse was a very nice size for children to furnish and play with. Ardee did not make kitchen appliances or bath furniture....I substituted Plasco products for these areas. 

With the exception of the unique design of the sofa and chair, Ardee furniture is very plain with no working parts. The "mahogany" parts of these pieces have a decorative ribbing design. 

You notice the warping in the sway of the fireplace mantel and the lean of the floor lamp. (The smoking stand is a Renwal product.) 

I love the shape of the sofas!  If you think my curtains drape nicely, it is because they are made from a picture of drapes printed on index card and "hung" on a bamboo skewer painted gold. 

The table and chairs are a bit larger in scale than the rest of the Ardee furniture...and made in a design popular in the late 1940s. You can see the ribbed design in the table top, buffet top and chair seats.

The only Ardee piece in the bathroom is the vanity on the right. The drawer design is printed on the cabinet, as are the bricks on the fireplace and the doors on the buffet.  

Furniture for the bedroom includes a vanity, chest of drawers, bookcase, chair, night stand and table lamp. A vanity bench was also made but I donated mine to a worthy cause....another dollhouse collector! Actually, Myrtle said she would cut me if I didn't give it to her.

The Ardee bed came with a cardboard bedspread...this original spread is in fairly good condition at seventy years old.   

Pieces of furniture in my collection include:

The dining room furniture consisted of 

a table, two to four chairs and a buffet.

The style of this chair and sofa would go as well in 

an art deco house as in a mid-century modern home. 

I added the fire insert. 

I do not know if one was originally included.

Fancy pulls were printed on the chest of drawers. 

The drawers did not open.

Notice the similarity in the vanity drawers and this night stand table. 

The bases of the lamps are unusually shaped.

A very modern bookshelf....also made in one-half size. 

The bed was made with the head and foot the same height.

I am lucky to have found original bedspreads in both pink and blue. 

I do not know if other color spreads were produced.

Furniture was also produced in other colors. 
Here is a medium blue chair and a very rare pink bed, 
courtesy of Patty Cooper.  

Myrtle has the chair in this lovely shade of blue....

along with the vanity bench.

Here is the half-size book shelf and the elusive coffee table.

If you have other Ardee dollhouse furniture or pieces produced in other colors, please share with me at florinebettge@comcast.net.  I would love to add them to this post....giving you credit for being the lucky owner, of course!