Friday, August 24, 2012

Once in a lifetime thrill - Tynietoy Townhouse

On the way back from Pennsylvania last month my sister and I visited the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester NY.

On display in the dollhouse section was this Tynietoy Townhouse complete with garden and Tynietoy furniture and accessories.

Can you imagine the thrill of being in a museum and finding the same item that was waiting in the trunk of this white Jeep in the parking lot?

My white Jeep. With my new (old) Tynietoy Townhouse in the trunk.

It was like one of those dreams where you finally find a long coveted treasure after an arduous search and you actually get to keep it.
But this was no dream, even if it felt like one. Here is my Tynietoy house in the back of the car. rubbing shoulders with the Christian Hacker dollhouse and the red roof Gottschalk!!

It was surreal. I was telling the other museum visitors that I had that same house in my car! In the parking lot! Right now!!


They were very kind about being accosted by the crazy lady taking pictures of this house and rattling on about the one in her car.

I was so excited!!

My house is not quite so pristine as this Strong one, and of course, I don't have the incredible garden that one could buy for the house. But it was wonderful to see these elusive items in person and take pictures for comparison.
My house is missing it's front door, so it is nice to see an original here. I am lucky to have the over the door window though.
The garden could be purchased separately from the house for around $25, back in the 1930's. Isn't it lovely?
My house doesn't have interior doors on the main rooms, so I enjoyed seeing them on this house.

I love the design on yellow painted wing chair.
I still haven't managed to get any Tynietoy lamps so it was a treat to see a real one. Now I know what to look for.

The upper and lower halls are almost exactly like mine. I love the painting on the side of the stairs that represents paneling.
Another pretty bedroom with a different fabric on the canopy bed and a different design painted on the wing chair.
My house has the fireplaces on the back wall of the living room and dining room. This house has the fireplaces on the end walls.

The fireplaces also have paint to represent paneling.
Here is a shot of the stair paneling.

The kitchen is sparsely furnished with a Tynietoy sink, table, chair and stool.
The room above the kitchen. This room is often used as a nursery or a bathroom, but they have it as a third bedroom.



I hadn't been at the Strong museum in about 30 years. It sure has changed. Back then it was in a 1900 red brick building and it was called The Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum. All I remember from that visit wss the incredible collection of antique dolls.

Now it is an incredible place for young families. There are interactive programs and activities and family-friendly amenities. It also has the world’s largest collection of toys, dolls, games, and other items that celebrate play.

While our main interest was the antique doll collection and the dollhouses I was very impressed with the museum. I would recommend it to all.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Furnishing my Tynietoy Townhouse

 I have added furniture to my Tynietoy Townhouse. I am not sure that I will keep it this way, but here it is so far.
Xanthe and Hazel are about to have tea in the living room. Where is everyone else?

Only the cat and her kittens are in the yellow bedroom.

Grandmother is in the dining room making plans for dinner. She has forgotten about tea time.
In the upper hall the dogs are begging Grandad to take them for a walk. He is not even dressed yet! He says is looking for his reading glasses. Grandad, they are on your head!!

 In the nursery little Rose is annoyed with her big brother, Ralph. He wold rather play with Buster than her.

The maid should be bringing them their tea soon, and maybe a special treat too.
There is the special treat on the table, but the maid is busy day dreaming and has forgotten about the children. She had better not let Grandmother catch her.

No one is in the front hall. I still haven't put the stairs back. I am enjoying trying out furniture in the extra space.  I seem to have put two grandfather clocks in there. That can't be right.
In the second bedroom a Tynietoy peg doll, coincidentally named Peggy, watches over, Ella, a bisque, glass eyed tot, and an empty cradle. The china cat is contentedly cleaning her paws.

I am sure they will be going down to Tea soon.


I have noticed that each room in this house has two small holes in the ceiling. This is where the light fixtures would have been. Most Tynietoy Townhouses known to date had electric lights in ceilings of the rooms. Whether this one had them once and they were removed, or whether it never had them is something I will probably never know.

Some Tynietoy houses have interior doors on all the rooms as well. This one still has the doors to the kitchen and the nursery, but I have examined the doorways in the other rooms and I can't find any evidence of former interior doors. There are no holes that I can see for hinges.

All of the furniture and most of the accessories were made by (or sold by) Tynietoy between 1920 and 1940. All of the rugs are from Tynietoy.

I am sure I will be doing more posts about this house as I play with it. I hope you enjoyed the visit.
Hugs,
Susan