Friday, October 24, 2014

A Charming Tudor Cottage from GeeBee


The GeeBee logo on the base of the house.


My newest house is a GeeBee DH/8 Tudor Cottage, possibly from around 1965. It is hard to tell which year it was made as they used this form for several years with many variations of paint colours and architectural details

Rebecca Green of Dollhouses Past and Present has written a wonderful and comprehensive article on the GeeBee company. Check it out. There are many examples of houses in the article.

Rebecca tells us "They were made in Hull (England), and they were called GeeBee because they  were set up by two men called Goodeve and Bell. They started in 1946 and ended in 1981 (the last 3 years under Humbrol), according to Marion Osborne... (who) collected ... information over many years of searching trade journals and catalogues."
Jenny and Johnny Dol-Toi are just arriving home from school.

The kitchen is furnished with tin pieces from "My dolly's kitchen series". These were made by Brimtoy in Great Britain in the 1950s. You can see these pieces and more in Dian Zillner's book (International Dollhouses and Accessories 1880s to 1980s). I have the stove, sink, ice box, washing machine and dresser. I think there are a few more pieces as well.
The table and chair came with the house and were made by Dol-Toi

The cleaning supplies were sold by British dollhouse companies of the period

A closer look at the ice box, sink and washer. The sink inset is plastic 

The ice box is full of yummy painted food. All foods are red...

The stove and the sink have working doors, as does the under sink cupboard.

All the Brimtoy items are marked Made in Gt. Britian

Jennny and Johnny burst into the living room an wake up little Jeremy
who was asleep on Granny's knee while she watched her stories.
The stairs are made of tin and are original to the house.
Dol-Toi was a British brand of Dollhouse furniture, dolls and accessories. The items in this post are all a small 3/4" of 1/16th scale.
Father is standing by the fireplace as a good master of the house should. The sofa and chair are from Dol-Toi, as are the dolls. I think the lamp is too, but the TV is Lundby and the fireplace is an unidentified piece.

Poor Mother is busy vacuuming with her wooden and fabric Dol-toi vacuum. 

The bedroom furniture came with the house and I think it is Dol-toi.
Click on these links to see some previous blogs where I have Dol-Toi furniture in my houses.
Dol-Toi Furniture?
The Barton Model Home