Small Wonders
We tend to think of dolls’ houses as playthings for children, but, in fact, early examples were costly status symbols owned by the aristocracy. The first recorded ‘baby house’ was commissioned by a 16th-century Bavarian duke. It was a miniaturised version of one of his grand residences, with four storeys, a garden, stable and dairy. The fashion for replica houses spread to other parts of Europe and early examples took the form of ‘cabinet houses’, in which the furnished rooms were set behind cupboard doors, though by the 18th century, British dolls’ houses had taken on a more architectural appearance.
A dolls’ house in the style of an English butcher’s shop, with carcasses and handcrafted butchers, from the 1880s; a grand dining-room scene, designed by Mulvany and Rogers, with a fireplace as its centrepiece and a collection of miniature glass and ceramics.
Dolls’ houses enjoyed their heyday as nursery toys in the Victorian era when machine tools and mass production made them more affordable. This boom gave rise to the production of miniature furniture, ornaments, china, utensils, drapery and soft furnishings. There are few period art nouveau dolls’ houses in existence today and Edwardian examples are similarly rare.
This Palladian mansion, made in 1730, sits on an arcaded stand
The most impressive interwar dolls’ house (it featured electricity, running water and lifts) was created by Sir Edwin Lutyens for Queen Mary in the early 1920s. Manufacturers in the 20th century produced houses in the prevailing architectural styles, in addition to replicas, and alongside the professionals there has long been an interest in home-crafted miniature houses, many of a very high standard.
Dolls’ Houses: A History And Collector’s Guide, by Moi Ali, is published by Amberley, priced £14.99.
A dolls’ house in the style of an English butcher’s shop, with carcasses and handcrafted butchers, from the 1880s; a grand dining-room scene, designed by Mulvany and Rogers, with a fireplace as its centrepiece and a collection of miniature glass and ceramics. Dolls’ houses enjoyed their heyday as nursery toys in the Victorian era when machine tools and mass production made them more affordable. This boom gave rise to the production of miniature furniture, ornaments, china, utensils, drapery and soft furnishings. There are few period art nouveau dolls’ houses in existence today and Edwardian examples are similarly rare.
This Palladian mansion, made in 1730, sits on an arcaded standThe most impressive interwar dolls’ house (it featured electricity, running water and lifts) was created by Sir Edwin Lutyens for Queen Mary in the early 1920s. Manufacturers in the 20th century produced houses in the prevailing architectural styles, in addition to replicas, and alongside the professionals there has long been an interest in home-crafted miniature houses, many of a very high standard.
Dolls’ Houses: A History And Collector’s Guide, by Moi Ali, is published by Amberley, priced £14.99.