Greetings of the Season....from Texas!

Around my dollhouse village, my little "peeps" (borrowed that term from my friend Amy who promises to start a blog on her Lundby lovelies very soon!) are getting in the spirit of the holidays......


Here we find Alex and Sara and their pup Pookie hanging a wreath on the red door of their Keystone house that was built in the mid 1930s. Looks like they have already decorated the fir trees gracing the entrance.

Rhett (who is a big boy) is helping daddy hang the wreath on their 1950 era Keystone house by staying out of his way. Rhett is hoping Santa will bring him a "two-wheeler" for Christmas!

On the south side of the village, up on a hill, we find Papa Nils waiting for Pia to hang the last ornament on the tree so he can place the new starburst on the top. Little Harald is busy playing with his kitty Kelo while Mama Margit waits in her comfy chair to light the candles on the tree...

Camille and Gabriel Bertrand hung their holiday wreath and are walking to the village store to buy candles for their tree. They are giving instructions to Baby Huey Bertrand to stay close to the chalet while they are away. Papa Bertrand always takes his umbrella with him.

In the middle of the village, Karen Wagner holds the wreath to hang on their door while hubby Doug prepares the reindeer topiaries to place on their front lawn. They are thinking about adding a red nose to one of the reindeer.......

Jeanette Renwal is trying to coax her kitty Titus away from the door of their 1940 Rich Toy home so her dad can hang their Christmas wreath. Titus must be from the same litter as Susan's lovely Darci.

In a corner of the village, Pappa Niklas Karlsson takes a nap in his chair by the tree while his wife Nana Astrid clears the dinner dishes. She is happy they decorated the tree before dinner so Niklas is free to have his nap! She is proud of her new retirement home built by Caroline's Home.

Chloe Hughes brings the door wreath to hubby Rhys while little Sofie waits patiently to help her pop. They live on the upper east side of the village near the Karlssons.

Little Greyson has helped daddy hang the wreath on their front door, but mom needed to make some adjustments.......

Grandma Wuensche wishes she could remember just where she stored the angel tree-topper because her darling grandkids are excited about seeing real candles on her little tree!

And, from one of my favorite cards from 1979, my holiday wishes to you...

Little girls and their dollhouses.....

I collect vintage dollhouses, not the great antique dollhouses and furniture shown by Louise on Grandmas Attic - Toys and Treasures or some of Rebecca's wonderful old houses on Rebecca's Collections . My dollhouses are the dollhouses of my youth (1940's and 50's) and a few from the 1930's...and for good measure, I also have some from my daughter's youth, the 1970-80's.
I do, however, have a fascination for vintage photographs of antique and vintage dollhouses found in books or on the internet. The photos that fascinate me most also include the little girls that originally played with these wonderful old houses.....

This photo may have been sold commercially as it shows a copyright date of 1896 by a photographer out of Pennsylvania and Missouri. Wonder if the other side of the house was decorated.....does anyone recognize the furniture maker?


Almost missed the little girl sitting beside this Christmas tree! Baby doll on her lap, baby dolls on chairs, dolly bed and huge dollhouse....what a lucky little girl she was!

This was a miniature model house erected in Bismark Garden for a charity event in Chicago in 1915. But the little girl standing by it seems happy to be there. Love the laundry hanging on the line!

I wonder if this dolls house was a replica of this little girl's real home? It's almost large enough to be her playhouse!

This cutie-pie looks happy all bundled up and getting her picture made with her dollhouse on the roof of her house/building....1910? If you can date any of these pictures, please help!!

Another photo that may have been sold commercially. Really big dollhouse; really big furniture sitting in front; really flat dog, hope it's just a picture. Something to their left is holding the attention of both little girls....wonder what it was? With the "stars and stripes" there in the background, we can assume this in in the U.S.

What a fantastic dollhouse! Wonder if it is in a private collection or in some museum now....or just lingering and dusty in someone's attic. From the little girl's dress, I would date this 1910...give or take a few years.

I have seen this photo in several different places. One site listed it as JohaInnesburg, 1918. Another fantastic dolls house!

Another wonderful old house that could have been a replica of the house where this little girl lived. Wonder what color it was. Probably built between 1915-20; I have pictures of my Mom's little brother dressed just like this little boy...Mom was born in 1915.

This house was listed on eBay last year........

....and with it was this photo that the seller said was taken in 1918. Always great to get some history of your little houses. The house has been repainted ( I hate it when they do that, as I think the original patina best shows the character of the house), but still looks to be in great shape.

An English garden...?

Do not remember where I found this photo; I listed it as "English", that may have been to remind me, but it doesn't! It certainly could be in an English garden with all those lovely flowers in the background.

Two little girls with a really big dollhouse. Dollie carriage looks like 1920-30's, but no way of knowing unless someone recognizes these little girls or this great dolls house that's still in their family!

Was this a lucky dog with his own little house? Old style house that could have been built at any time between 1925-1955 (black and white photographs were common through 1955).

This adorable little girl looks happy to have her picture taken with her wonderful dollhouse. In Antique and Collectible Dollhouses and Their Furnishings, Dian Zillner shows this house sold by FAO Schwarz toy company during the late 1930's (picture below left). The house had a "stucco" finish and metal windows. A pattern for the house was also featured in the Popular Homecraft magazine in the Nov-Dec 1931 issue. The picture on the right is from a 1949 publication that showcased "the best of 20 years" of make-it-yourself plans from that magazine. If anyone wants to make this great old house, I will be happy to share all 5 pages of the plans!

This looks like several of the Rich Toys masonite dollhouses of the late 1930's. I wonder if big sister let him play with this house....or if he just had his picture taken with it?

I love it when I find old photos of dollhouses I have been lucky enough to add to my collection.

That's one of my houses....

And here is a proud little girl that received an almost exact copy for Christmas sometime in the mid to late 1930's! This dollhouse was made by Rich Toys; I have seen no less than 6 tudor models with this same color scheme made by this company.

Another Rich Toys dollhouse.....

This house dates to the late 1940's. I have one of these houses in my collection also.

This looks like European roomboxes to me, maybe German? Late 1950's or early 60's. Anyone recognize the furniture? Beautiful beautiful smile on that happy child!

Another big smile of happiness on this cutie-pie. Another German roombox?

This is a metal dollhouse made by T.Cohn and first sold in 1948. Wonder if the little girl picked this house for Santa to bring...or if her mom had the final decision? I have one of these in my collection and the graphics and colors are exceptional...I think the best of any of the metal houses made at this time.

Plans for this huge dollhouse are still sold on eBay. These little girls from the early 1950's look happy enough to be playing with this house, whether it was their house or just for the photo.

One little girl is happy, the other not sure! Big dollhouse! Looks like the ones sold in the 1970's when I was trying to decide to buy or build for my own daughter. I built, but more about that later!

This picture was shared by my friend Patty.  Love the message at the bottom of the picture, DAD-MADE-THIS-DOLL-HOUSE. The back of the picture indicates it is from Christmas 1939. In a child's printing is another message, 5-YRS-OLD, YOUR-LITTLE-RUTHY, Did you notice the kids jumping on the bed in one of the bedrooms?

This picture was shared by my friend Wendy. When she purchased this dollhouse, the seller shared that the house belonged to his mom. Her nickname was Sally, so now this Rich dollhouse is known as "Sally's house". 

 

Keystone of Boston cottage

Keystone of Boston made some great dollhouses! This little cottage was probably made around 1940, as the style of roof falls between the late 1930's solid colored roof with printed shingles and the variegated colored shingles of the late 1940's houses. If you can't tell from the picture, this roof has embossed shingles...the only one of my 20 different Keystone houses with this type of roof. This house was new in the box when I received it, so it is in pristine condition for a 70 year old house. And, just like items we buy in the 21st century, the pre-drilled holes didn't line up!

A floating wall divides the two spaces; but there is plenty of room for Gramma Wuensche to read, crochet, and cook lunch for her grandkids when they visit! All the furniture is smaller size Strombecker with the exception of the bookcase made by the Kage Company.

The vanity holds items by Dolly Dear and the bureau has a lovely scarf made by my new eBay friend, Amy Korn. Yes, moms and grandmoms used dresser scarfs in the 1940's!

Gramma Wuensche has antimacassars on the backs of her sofa and chair....are you old enough to remember when everyone used these? She has the cookies ready on the table and is warming milk for the hot chocolate!

Gramma's pup loves the attention he gets when her grandkids visit!

Another Tudor dollhouse by Rich Toys

In American Dollhouses and Furniture of the 20th Century, Dian Zillner lists several characteristics of the early dollhouses made by The Rich Toy Manufacturing Company which fit this little house....doorbell, front chimney, metal shutters (similar to the Keystone houses but smaller), interior walls and floors without graphics, solid color roof (Keystones houses had silk-screened shingles).
This house arrived with one cream colored metal shutter; I've recreated the acetate window panes found in other Rich Toys home of this same period (1935-1939) , but hope to add something in cream at a later date.
This house also arrived falling apart! The gypsum board/masonite of the 1930's is soft and flaky; I had to replace the second floor and add a piece underneath the first floor. I took the liberty of creating a bathroom for this house at the same time, but I forgot to add flowers in the window boxes!

This house is filled with furniture made by The Kage Company from 1938 to 1948. I have always been fascinated with the living room furniture that is upholstered in small printed fabrics; several designs of chairs and sofas were made. Although mine are not originals, Kage also produced beds with spreads and pillows. The dressing table and chair pictured below retain their original fabrics. Kage made several designs of the kitchen pieces...and the cutest little fireplaces! The only functioning piece is the desk/secretary which has a drop-down writing surface.

Brightly painted wooden books grace the bookcase, while short pieces of small branches are used as logs in the log basket. (That's a Toncoss fireplace in the living room.) This wall clock still has its' decorative decals, most haven't survived with the decals intact. A Renwal mom and dad live in this house with their twin daughters....such a stern looking family!

Older pieces of Kage furniture featured round dowels for legs on the kitchen and dining room pieces. At a later date, Kage started using turned legs. The designs are considered 3/4":1' in size; some of the earlier kitchen tables/chairs are so short I use them as children's furniture!

Kage produced bathroom furniture but it is extremely hard to find. This bath furniture is the Nancy Forbes line from 1945 and also an original coiled braid rug from the same era.

Check out that chest-on-chest in the corner... and the reading lamp by the chair....really cute! The area rugs in the living room and both bedrooms are vintage 40's-50's upholstery samples. Those of you old enough will remember how scratchy they were to sit on.

Here is a close up of the little dressing table and vanity stool with the original fabric...and a close up of the adorable fireplace. 

The Renwal twins have plenty of dollies to play with in the room they share.... they should look happier!