Friday, November 28, 2025

The dollhouse that Keystone built for FAO Schwarz


This large 5-6 room dollhouse was sold at FAO Schwarz circa 1955. It was available with a platform that created a yard with flagstone sidewalks.
 
The furniture in this dollhouse was made by the German firm Bodo Hennig. The furniture in the living room, dining room, parent's bedroom and the bathroom is from their 1995 Classic Program. In the kid's bedroom, the bunk beds, shelf and play table are from the 1970s. The kitchen most likely predates the 1995 furniture, as a similar kitchen that looks updated from my set is listed in my 1995 Bodo Hennig catalog as part of the Country Program. A picture of it is shown below my brown, orange and wood tone set. 



The kitchen in my FAO Schwarz dollhouse.


Bodo Hennig Country Program kitchen in their 1995 catalog. 



Other furniture items in the kitchen are the table and chairs and the kitchen cabinet.   The hen "crock" and the bread box are also Bodo Hennig.






Bodo Hennig's Classic dining room includes
 a round table with four chairs and an occasional table.
 The cupboard with glass doors was part of the living room set..


                           
                      
                                         


 The bench, grand piano and telephone table are also from Bodo Hennig's Classic furniture. The piano was offered with a music box, mine came with actual strings. The piano stool revolves in case the dollies need it higher or lower. The telephone table is part of the bedroom set.










The living room items are from Bodo Hennig's 
1995 Classic Program with the exception of 
the end table from the Country Program of the same year. 





I've used the "cupboard with glass doors" 
as the china cabinet in the dining room.



The bathroom fixtures are from a different era compared to the other furniture in the Classic Program. The bathtub also has a stand with 2 faucets that I forgot to add when I took the picture. The wall sink should have a U-shaped drain. Mine came without the drainpipe. Don't ask me how many times the museum putty/tacky wax has let the sink slide off the wall. 




The washer and dryer are by Rinco and made in Japan. 
The folding table is the occasional table 
seen with the dining room furniture.


These 3 items of furniture are from Bodo Hennig production years in the 1970s,
 according to information found on line.


The bedroom pieces are also from Bodo Hennig's Classic Program. 
The trunk was part of the children's room. 
The lamp is German but not from the Bodo Hennig line.




The Teepee! I didn't discover the production date for the children's teepee. 
Except for the red felt and poles for the teepee, 
all other decoration was paper to cut out and use for decoration.

                                     
This Teepee was found on Italian Ebay, listed as Bodo Hennig, asking price EUR 79,00
https://www.ebay.it/itm/126762761697





Vivienne loves her kitchen. It is well equiped 
with everything she could ever dream of wanting.


She is thinking, "The only thing that could 
make it better is having a cook!"


"Darlings, Mommie is interviewing young ladies 
to hire to cook meals for us. Please play 
quietly upstairs for the next hour."



Jennifer, "I guess we can't play Indians for awhile."
"Why not play hide and seek?" asks Teddy.


Teddy hides. He hears Jennifer yell out, 
"Ready or not, here I come!"



"I see you, Teddy! Now it's my turn to hide." says Jennifer.


"Well, she wasn't in the teepee," says Teddy. 
"What are you staring at Tippy?"


"So what experience do you have, Agnes?" asks Vivienne. 
"Is that a Burger King uniform you are wearing?!!?"


"She will never find me here," thinks Teddy.


"You are too clever, Teddy! That was a good place to hide!"


"I see you! I see YOU!" yells Teddy. 


"TIME OUT!" says Mom.


"Do you think I could hang by my knees, Jenny?"


  "We are definitely missing something 
in this living room," thinks Scott.


"And I know exactly what it is," says Scott.



"Hmmm. Should I ring the doorbell.... 
or just surprise Vivienne?" wonders Scott.



"NO, NO, NO, NO!"


"Actually this is even better, more relaxing." thinks Scott. 



  Agnes       Jennifer         Vivienne           Scott      Teddy

The family that lives in my FAO Schwarz house are unmarked, 
but were made by Hückel for Bodo Hennig. 
The dolls are soft vinyl molded over a wire frame.

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

Jamie saves more dollies from the dust bin



Once again my friend Jamie has been saving dollies from the dustbin! But this time it is Dollies times Four! 

She found these sad little dollies on Ebay and decided they needed to be saved. Would you have invited them to live in one of your dollhouses? No, neither would I. But I don't have the wonderful skills of rehabiltation that Jamie does.



You can see that these dollies were loved and survived after many hours of happy play.

 

       



I asked Jamie how she had the patience to work on such small items....the dolls range in size of 2½-3¾". She shared that she just takes her time, and found it best to do a little at a time while also taking a lot of breaks. Jamie finds it relaxing to work on these tiny people, and at the same time it helps her to come up with ideas on how to fix them.

Jamie said the little girl was her biggest challenge because of her small size and her outfit had more components. 

       
YES! It's the same dollie!

Now here are some suggestions Jamie shared that may help you if you are inclined to save some of your dollies from the dustbin. The little boy had broken wires in both legs and was unable to stand properly. Jamie bound each leg with embroidery floss that matched his arms, stabilizing them from being weak. She then used white embroidery floss to make his knee-high socks with green toppers, giving his legs even more stability. Jamie says he won't be able to bend his knees, but at least he can stand. His sister has matching socks with that same method. And here is Jamie's magic....

 
Jamie said the rest of the gang was much easier....that means mom and dad....and here they are.

                    


   Papa cleaned up nicely!




Mom is very happy with her new outfit!

Jamie asked me, "Remember  when I said I wasn't  going to make their Tyrolean hats? The joke was on me. I decided I had to finish their outfits with each one wearing one."



 And here's the happy family in their lovely new clothes!
Don't you love Jamie's new creations!!



Jamie's little dolls telling us goodbye 
from the balcony of their Karlheinz Klein home. 

Thursday, October 9, 2025

The Mouse House



 


Come in to visit my little mouse house.



This is the home of six little mice.


Meet Coco and Mortimor Hobbs and baby Boink.


Upstairs we find Fritz and Ziggy 
kick-boxing on the top bunks.

                                             


                            

And here comes Marvin down the hall on his 3-wheeler....

     

            turn around and back again....what fun!   

    
oops!


"Not hurt! Not hurt!" and off he goes again!


Marvin!! 
We will roll you off the edge if you don't stop it! 



Looks like mom is getting ready for cheese....
boys in the dining room



....parents in the kitchen....for a peaceful meal.




Cheese time!


A quiet and plesant room for Coco and Mort.
Coco insisted on twin beds.



A bath in pink tells you 
just who makes the decisions in this household. 




Boink likes to sit on the cozy rug while he nibbles his cheese.



Mort likes to enjoy a bit of wine before his meal.
And with his meal. And after his meal.


Mort is thinking he has a comfortable life.



Coco knows Mort has a comfortable life.






This is a Keystone of Boston dollhouse produced in 1950.
Two other Keystone dollhouses were produced with 
the same/similar graphics and color scheme. 
One of them, the small Put-Away model, is in my collection.


I haven't located an actual picture of the third house. The following advertisement for it appeared in 1951. If you have one of these houses, I would love to see pictures of it. You can contact me at florinebettge@comcast.net. If you just want to talk about dollhouses or share some pictures of the ones you have, you may contact me about that also!







Strombecker sets are found in the kitchen....
a  table and chair set plus a fridge and stove from 1942, 
and a kitchen sink from 1933-36 production. 



In the dining room, also from Strombecker, is a table and 4 chairs from 1942 
and a buffet from 1947 that is missing the base. 
 The 2 chairs with pointed tips on the backrest are from 1935.
 


 The Strombecker end tables were produced in 1941. Kage made dollhouse furniture from 1938 to 1948. The fireplace is one of their earlier models
 with a beveled mantel and 5 flutes on the pilasters.
 The chair and sofa are a rare find of flocked Plasco dollhouse items.
    

    
This model of the bunk beds were first seen in 



The pink bath fixtures come from Japan. The Strombecker bath stool appeared 
in their 1955 catalog with the 1" scale furniture. 




This Strombecker bedroom set was first produced in 1933
 and offered in pink and green. Later, in 1936, 
it was sold unfinished. My set is a lovely shade of yellow. 



The Hobbs Family
are Kunstlerschutz/Wagner animals from West Germany.
  


and the house pets!