Gottschalk Dollhouse with Pull-Out Garden - Antique dollhouse

Today, I would like to share my German Red Roof Gottschalk Dollhouse with Rare Pull-Out Garden from circa 1921

It is a lovely little dollhouse with a big bay window in the front and a side veranda.

Inside there are four rooms if you can count the entry hall and upstairs hall as rooms

The garden slides out from beneath the house like a drawer. Steps to the garden are in the drawer as well

I wonder if the green areas were for specific pieces of furniture.  There are other styles of Gottschalk  houses with pull out gardens. Some have different shapes painted on them

Here is the furnished garden complete with trellis, fountain and sundial.

The house looks very good with the garden extended. 

Here is the upper hall. I have used Gottschalk furniture form the same period as the house in most of the rooms

Since I don't have an appropriate bed for this house I made this room on the second floor into a study

Most Gottschalk houses of this period have a water closet under the stairs. This one retains it's original toilet. The door into the house from the veranda is on the maids right.

I was excited to find this wonderful green pressed paper furniture suite for the parlour of this house. It is the same type of furniture that is in the garden and meant to represent wicker. The garden furniture is quite common, but I have never seen these pieces before except for the table. The sofa and chairs are of a different design and the large piece in the back of the room and the sewing stand are unique in my experience.

Two more pieces of the suite are in the bay window. I have seen the plant stand in a different colour, but not the little bench. Can you see the little white feet of the peeping tom in the window? She is not actually a tom, but she is curious. Lily was trying to figure out what I was doing during the photo shoot.

FAO Schwarz Mystery House from the 1890s

As I continue to downsize my collection of antique dollhouses I am realizing I need to send some of my favourite treasures to new homes. I sold my smaller FAO Schwarz Mystery House today. The new owner was so happy to get it and I am sure she will love it as much as I did. Still it almost broke my heart to part with this wonderful house.

I did a blog post about it here when I first got it.

 

The house was repainted by a former owner, but they didn't touch the wonderful floors. 

I also let some of my antique furniture go.

Antique Dollhouse made in Quebec

I recently sold this wonderful antique house. I hated to part with it, but I need to downsize my collections. It is beautifully made with wonderful details. I hope that the new owner loves it as much as I did. I posted about in 2010 here: 

Antique Dollhouse revisited

 

Adorable Antique Dollhouse

I need to downsize my collection and I am making the hard decisions about what to let go.

I bought this adorable little house in southern Pennsylvania several years ago, but I never did anything with it. I posted it online last week and had many queries. One lucky young woman came to pick it up and seemed very happy with it. I hope she enjoys it for many years to come.

This sweet dollhouse was hand built about 100 years ago. It opens from the sides and has one room with a beautiful hardwood floor. It has a light fixture inside, but no cord. Dimensions are: 24" wide, 20 " deep and 15" tall.

1895 Antique Doll House

I spent the weekend at my sister's and we had a happy hour or two furnishing one of her antique dollhouses with furniture from her collection.

This house was a Christmas present for a little girl in 1895 and was displayed each succeeding year near the family's Christmas tree for the next several generations. Eventually the newer members of the family discontinued this tradition and my sister was lucky enough to add it to her collection.

The house was originally built with four rooms. The kitchen was added a few years later

Prince Albert, a recently purchased Christmas decoration from the Victoria and Albert museum, is visiting.

The family is waiting in the parlour for the Prince to come down to tea. They are excited to have such a prestigious isitor.

The mother dog and her puppies are playing in the dining room. The furniture was made by Tynietoy in the 1920s. They will be shooed out if the maid catches them.

The children are playing in the nursery totally unconcerned about the royal visitor in the room next door

In the kitchen addition the cook and the maid are listening for the tea bell. The kettle is boiling so the water will be nice and hot for the Prince's tea.

My sister got this lovely tin stove at the Paris flea market last fall.

Someone has left his tools on the dresser.

This is such a wonderful antique doll's house

The family is waiting for Prince Albert to come down for tea

What could be keeping him, Mother wonders

Prince Albert is wondering why tea hasn't been announced. He is getting peckish.

In two of the  rooms there is fun and play

In the other two worry and expectation.  But I'm sure it will all work out. Thanks for visiting!

Small Stories - V&A Dollhouses at the National Building Museum in Washington DC

A few weeks ago I visited the National Building Museum in Washington DC for a special show titled Small Stories: At Home in a Dollhouse.

This is a collection of 12 doll's Houses from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood.

It was wonderful to see these exquisite houses in person. I had often gazed longingly at their pictures in books, so seeing them in person was like walking in to a room and seeing Paul McCartney or Benedict Cumberbatch standing there.

Below are some pictures I took at the exhibit, but to see much better pictures go to this article:
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/national-building-museum-dollhouses. 

My photos have been taken through the protective glass surrounding the houses and the interior lighting makes everything look green in the photos. Still, I am delighted to have my own pictures of these rock star houses. 

The Building Museum itself is a beautiful space.