Friday, October 15, 2010

Two Little Girls in a Little Doll House

 One, two. Two little girls ...
I recently brought home Betty and Mickey, a lovely pair of Tiny Town dolls, and their house full of wonderful furniture and accessories. I believe everything is original to the late 40s-early 50s era that the dollhouse was in use as a plaything.


This is Betty, dressed for a party, or maybe a regular day at home. She stands very well on her metal feet. She has a wire frame covered with felt and her face is hand painted.

 I know her name is Betty because it is printed on the bottom of her foot



 Her roommate Mickey is also identified by her name on her foot, and some hair I see now that the photo is bigger.








Mickey has her original hat and her adorable felt outfit with striped t-shirt.

















The girls live in this gorgeous fully furnished 1948 Keystone dollhouse.
I don't think it was played with much, or at least not vigorously. Everything is in mint condition with the exception of the family dog. One of his back legs is broken off. He doesn't seem to mind though and the girls love him just as much as ever.




The house came with Strombecker furniture in the bathroom and bedroom. A Renwal washing machine and changing table were added, for convenience I would imagine.


The living room and dining room are furnished with beautiful Lynnfield pieces. We will probably explore these in greater detail later.




There are two semi-lune tables, a piano and bench, a clock, armchair, settee and secretary with a brass cornice. The furniture seems a bit grown up for Betty and Mickey, but they have been taking good care of it.




The kitchen and nursery have beautiful wooden pieces that I have been unable to identify so far. I have seen it in books, but no manufacturer was listed with it. I do know that similar pieces are in Faith Bradford's dollhouse in the Smithsonian in Washington DC. The crib and the sink for instance.



The little glass dishes on the kitchen table are marked corning glass.

I am thrilled to have Betty and Mickey and their home in my collection. I will post more as my research into this house continues.

Hugs,

3 comments:

  1. Wow! Lucky you! I have never seen these dolls before - they are wonderful and what a great house they have to live in.

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  2. Wonderful. I am also interested in Lynfield. I will have to look it up.The dolls names are priceless. C

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  3. Betty and Mickey are so sweet! And in excellent condition - Mickey is in Marcie Tubbs book, but there she's lost her hat (or just taken it off to dance, perhaps).
    The house is terrific too. I wonder whether Betty or Mickey inherited it from an aunt, or whether it belongs to parents who are overseas - it does give the feeling of being furnished by an older person!
    I love the bedspread - I guess that's made by the original owner?

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