Keystone of Boston dollhouse, circa 1935

 

This is an older model Keystone of Boston dollhouse,

most likely from their initial dollhouse production

 year of 1935. It is a two storied house with four rooms.

Marta and Bernhard Schmidt live in this little house.

The back roof is attached to the front roof 
with fabric tape. The roof flips up 

to make the top floor available for playing.

Now this little house is ready for play.

This house is in fairly good shape for its 90 years. 

All the  window inserts are still with the house.

The kitchen has room for appliances and a large table with four chairs. 

Not sure what the hole in the center wall is for. 

There is a similar sized hole in the floor of the bedroom.

The bathroom is found on the second floor. 

I almost typed upstairs, but there are no stairs

 so that wouldn't be quite right.

The bedroom is large with room for twin beds, a night table, a dresser, 

a dressing table and chair, and a comfy chair in the corner.

Being somewhat crafty, I covered the hole in the bedroom floor with a carpet.

Marta is standing in the kitchen. 

I wonder if she is thinking about making supper,

or telling Bernhard they are going out for dinner.

Bernard is looking in the bathroom mirror

 wondering if he needs a shave, 

before Marta tells him they are going out to dinner.

 

And here are Marta and Bernhard Schmidt on their way to dinner. Good thinking Bernhard! 

The sofa, chair and end tables are part of Nancy Forbes #070 Living Room. The ottoman is from the Donna Lee #020 Living Room. The coffee table and end table are from Donna Lee's #022 Bed Room. This information was found in Patty Cooper's Nancy Forbes and Donna Lee Dollhouse Furniture 1940s found on Blurb.com.  The fireplace is unknown, although it closely resembles the fireplace listed in the 1928 Schoenhut catalog. 

The grandfather clock is probably of German origin. 

The sink and stove are Strombecker; the fridge is either a German or Japanese import. 

The maker of the table and chairs is unknown.

The table, with different decorative accents, came with the four chairs.

Strombecker lamps and clock and a Queen Anne lounge chair for the bedroom. 

The bedroom set is most likely a Japanese import 

that has been modeled after a 1931 Schoenhut set. 

Here is a comparison of the pieces with the Schoenhut furniture on the right side 

and the imported furniture on the left.

           

The sink, commode, stool and scales are Strombecker. 

The tub is hand crafted and I think rather unique.

The table and chairs and the bedroom set came from the same Ebay seller. 

I painted the sofa and chair to carry on the happy theme of this little house. 

Marta and Bernhard Schmidt are 4½ " tall bisque dolls imported from Japan.

A New House for Daisy

When Donald asked Daisy to marry him, he promised to buy her their very own house.....

..... but he didn't tell her it would be made of cardboard!

And she didn't tell him she was just a plastic dolly!

"Here, let me help you up, Daisy.  Someone needs to take an x-acto knife and cut the front door open...or build steps so you can get into the house without help.  Hop up and I'll show you the new house I promised you!"

"Pretty comfy living room, right? All the furniture came with the house...but that's my fish bowl on the radio.  You think the fish will get too warm up there? This is MY  chair here by the fireplace....,"  said Donald.

"Hmmm," thinks Daisy. "This furniture is cardboard too....and what's with those gold ruffles on the chair and sofa? I think I will have to do some remodeling....maybe some nice plastic Renwal or Ideal furniture...."

"Not a bad kitchen-dining room combo," said Daisy. "Looks like the fridge and sink are just drawn on. Darn, why couldn't the stove be drawn on too?"

"Donald, pretty neat bedroom! A chest for you and a dresser for me! But why is the clock facing the wall?"

"Daisy, look how big the bathroom is! We have a linen cabinet and a Strombecker heater...."

"Donald, not a bad house, not a bad house indeed! It's a good thing you have your own chair as I seem to be taking up the whole couch!"

"Next on our list is having a party, Daisy!"

"Great, Donald.  We can invite all our newlywed friends!"

Daisy and Donald were happy when all their newlywed friends came to their party....let's see who is here......

This is really a young looking group....Fritz and Astrid talking to Jack and Jill....are they really old enough to be married?

There is Mildred in her slinky white wedding dress holding tightly to her new husband Angus and wondering just why Collette's dress is an off shade of white. And goodness, does Horace ever take that top hat off??!!"

And Grampa Fred Flagg with his trophy wife Bettina....is that number 5 or number 6 for him? Looks like he's exhausted already!

Ahh! Mr and Mrs Cake-Topper Nineteensixtysix talking to Mr and Mrs Kewpie Doll...Shirley made her hair pink just for her wedding day....hmm, looks like it's still pink.

And in the back is Zachary and Angela Ascot, still dreamy after being married 75+ years!

Daisy and Donald are happy their first party in their new house has been a success!

This little house was made by the Samuel Lowe Company in 1943; they also produced a popular line of children's books and many paper dolls that are highly collectable today.  Many of the cardboard houses of the 1930s-40s used the bottom of the box as the base for their houses. This house has its' own base....and this is the box it came in...

Cast of Characters:

Daisy and Donald:   4" plastic dolls with trademark Plasticbaby [baby holding banner with the words Plasticbaby]. Arms and legs are jointed, no country of origin but I often see them attributed to Germany and guessing 70s or 80s...love their pouty faces....or, are they holding their breath?

The Kewpies:  4" plastic or celluloid dolls marked Made in Japan. The added clothes are of crepe paper and organza; notice the dolls are barefooted...but the guys' feet have been painted black to resemble shoes. Styles reflect the 1920s but  no idea how old these dolls are.

 Fritz and Astrid:  3" soft plastic dolls with "Germany East" decal; resemble dolls that are sold as Ari, but these do not have the Ari trademark.Groom's head is jointed, bride's head is not.

Jack and Jill:  3 1/2" bisque dolls in 20s style but no trademark or country of origin; bride has had a re-paint but groom looks original.

Mr and Mrs Cake-Topper Nineteensixtysix:  definitely 1966 as this couple was on my wedding cake that same year.....yes, I was a child bride.

Fred and Bettina Flagg:  4" pliable vinyl dolls circa 1950 made in USA.  This difficult old curmudgeon didn't want his picture taken, kept throwing himself on the ground....AND I had to remove long blonde hairs from his suit before I could take pictures....wonder how long this marriage will last!

Mildred and Angus:  3" bisque couple...may be a cake topper from around 1930...that's just a guess as there are no markings to identify.

Zachary and Angela Ascot: At almost 5", these are my tallest newlyweds...and marked Made in Japan... in the 1920s style. She is unique in that she has one jointed arm that hooks into the crook of his arm. Short guys always like those Amazon women!

Collette and Horace:  These 3.25" dolls are identified in Tubbs' Dollhouse and Miniature Dolls  as bisque  1930s....clothes are made of felt and cheesecloth. Like Zachary and Fritz, Horace is forced to sleep in his top hat!