Below stairs at Tynietoy Manor

Last month we visited Tynietoy Manor aka the arts and crafts bookcase in my living room.

Below stairs the cook is making tea and the maid is working on a fresh green salad. Both are for the servants' lunch.

As soon as the butler joins them they can eat.

 The bookcase had been used to display antique cameras. I collected several of them when my daughter was in university, majoring in photography. I thought that the past technology in the field would help her understand the concept and I was right.

She had some fun doing shoots with the antique cameras and developing some of the films that came with them.

She graduated five years ago and left the cameras with me when she flew the nest. I decided that the bookcase could be put to better use.

With the door closed you can't see the kitchen. Ideal for below stairs, don't you think?

You will probably also notice a few strangers in the house. Most noticeable is a giant Prince Philip in the dining room. This Peggy Nesbit doll is waiting for the royal suite to be prepared - somewhere. Truth is I have no place for him. I just put him in here to keep him from getting dusty. You would think the Grandparents would have offered him a cup of tea by now.The butler is also in the dining room.

In the library is a lovey artist doll dressed as an 1820s lady. She looks right at home there. In the chair beside the piano is a 5 1/2" unmarked bisque head doll with glass eyes original wig & clothes.

Molly and Polly are in their rooms on the top floor.

I hope you enjoyed the visit.

200 Followers!!! Let's have a Draw to celebrate!!

I have finally reached 200 followers. I hovered around the 196 mark for ages. I was beginning to wonder if new readers would ever find me.


So it is time to celebrate all my wonderful follwers and reward their visits to me with a giveaway!!

Here's Bridey, a Flagg doll from this post and this one too.

She has caused enough trouble for Bob and Betty Flagg, so we have decided that she can come and cause trouble in your dollhouse.


If you would like that please leave a comment below and I will make the draw on Valentine's day. Appropriate for a bride, don't you think?


Hugs,
Susan

Built-Rite Furniture

I showed you this Built-Rite house a couple of posts ago, but it didn't have the original furniture in it.

The box tells us that the house comes with 27 large furniture pieces, and there is a picture of the furnished house in the top right and a picture of the actual size of the furniture in the bottom left corner.

The bedroom, living room and kitchen furniture came with the house on flat, pre-punched, pre-scored card stock. The furniture is punched out and assembled with slots and tabs.

Here is the furniture in the house. I think it is slightly too large for the house, but I am sure a child wouldn't mind.

The living room is a little small for all the pieces, so I put the living room desk and chair and the ironing board in the garage.

All the pieces were included except one - the back of the couch. I have used the piece it was punched out of to set up the couch. I will eventually find or make a replacement. The living room had a couch, two end tables with side shelves, a radio, a magazine stand with magazines, a coffee table, a desk with matching chair, a feminine arm chair with matching ottoman, and a more masculine green chair with studs on its sides.

The yellow and red kitchen has a sink cabinet, a stove, a fridge, a hoosier cabinet an ironing board complete with iron and shirt on it and a table with two chairs.

The bedroom has twin beds with blue bed coverings. The design of the room is Art Deco.

The other bedroom furnishings include an arm chair, a vanity with stool, a dresser and bed table and a large wardrobe with a mirror on it.

There are all sorts of extra accent pieces included - mirrors, placemats, a radio, rugs, pictures, magazines, and more.

 And of course the car and the baby carriage. This set was ready for play. It was made in the early 1930s and would have been more accessible to families hit by the great depression than a wooden dolhouse. I am delighted that it has come to me in such wonderful condition. 

Hugs,

Susan

Darkest Peru for Daphne

In Peru Daphne visits the edge of the Amazon rain forest.

She once heard of a bear who came from Darkest Peru, and she wonders what it is like to live here.

 Although most of the exotic plants are huge, Daphne finds flowers that are just her size. How she wishes she could grow these at home.

The forest is so lush and green.

Daphne gets the feeling that there is someone other than her photographer in the forest with them. Who could it be?

Peru has 2,873 known species of Orchids. Daphne knows nothing about them except that they are beautiful.

While admiring the pineapple Daphne gets that feeling again. This time Daphne catches a glimpse of the stranger. He looks very familiar?

How curious.

There are more adventures waiting and Daphne has to leave the jungle before she can solve the mystery.

Did you notice anything strange?

We all want our tiny houses Built-Rite

Built-Rite structures were made by Warren Paper Products Company which was founded in 1921 by Donald M. Warren. It started out manufacturing paper boxes for producers of candy, apparel, jewelry, and other items.

In the early 1930's the company began producing dollhouses made of paperboard, colorful picture puzzles, paper forts, gas stations and other paper toys.

The  architectural details and room furnishings reflected the styles of the time. The buildings were designed to be easily assembled and disassembled by children.

Many houses were built as replicas of actual homes and were marketed though Life Magazine as a selling tool for the magazine's house plans.

I was lucky enough to acquire three of these lovely houses recently. They came in small flat boxes, and the bottom of the box is the base for the house. The smaller one-room houses have printed carpets on the box bottom surrounded by a flower strewn lawn. The large houses have the floors, lawn, driveway, etc. printed on them

The first three pictures show the box tops.

 These houses are all 1/2 inch scale. The large house has two stories with a garage. I have seen pictures of this house with another room where the garage is. It is advertised as having five rooms which all open at the back.

This house has only three rooms as the upper floor is not divided and is one big room.

A cardboard car was included with this model.

 The smaller houses have one room only. The stucco one is complete except for one piece of the chimney. I love the Spanish feel to this house.

Each of the houses has movable shrubs and pets that fit into slots in the base.

The inside of the Spanish house has plain cardboard walls. The windows and door are cut in the cardboard and scored so that they open.

Mr. Man-About-Town is lounging on the Tootsietoy sofa while he chats with his cloche-hatted hostess. He is painted bisque in a felt tuxedo, and she is an all bisque doll with a molded, glazed hat. She is wearing her original dress and still has her wrist tag that says "Made in Germany".

I love the daffodils on the base of the box.

The red brick house appears to have a tile roof. The box top shows a wire haired terrier on the lawn, but it is missing. I borrowed this cat from the big house next door.

I used Tootsietoy kitchen furniture and a couple of 1930s dolls to furnish the inside of this house.

It looks like it has marigolds on the base.

Here is the back of big house. I love the dog house and hollyhocks on the back of the garage.

I choose furniture for it from the Rooms-in-Miniature sets that were sold in the 1964 Sears Christmas Catalogue. The furniture is wood and fabric. It was made in Japan for the Miner Industries.

I have stacked the wall units on the left wall of the dining room to create a shelving unit. The original plan was to glue these to the walls. They would look something like those Ikea hanging shelves you can buy today.

The furniture is very Mid-Century-Modern.

These little Grecon dolls are just the right scale for the furniture. This young man is chatting with Grandma Grecon while he waits for Gayle to get ready for their date. Grandma is telling him all about the cats and their cute habits. He is wondering how much longer Gayle will be.

Gayle is upstairs getting ready. She is trying to remember why there is no bathroom up there.

Finally they are off for the evening in the cardboard car.

Here is a page from the 1964 Sears Catalogue showing the Rooms-in-Miniature.

Happy New Year From Peru!!

 On the last morning of 2010 Daphne is in Peru. As soon as she wakes up checks the weather. Today is a very special day.  Today Daphne and her traveling companions are visiting Machu Picchu.

Peru is such a beautiful country. Daphne happily poses for a couple of pictures before they begin their journey.

Machu Picchu can be chilly even in summer, so before they get on the train Daphne checks out the Ollantaytambo street market for some warmer clothes.

She is happy to find this yellow hand knit sweater and a traditional Peruvian knitted hat. She bargains with the stall keeper until she gets both for just 3 soles (about 90¢)

Inka rail takes visitors from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu village where a bus will take them the rest of the way up the mountain. Daphne thought the hats were such bargains she bought more than one. She trys on the brown one on the train.

At the train station in Machu Picchu village Daphne and the others look for their guide.

It is an interesting mountain town. Daphne finds it very different from home.

Machu Picchu at last. It is breathtaking and a dream come true for Daphne and her friends.

Machu Picchu is in the cloud forest and is very misty. The Inka believed that the gods lived in the clouds and visited Machu Picchu everyday.

Daphne climbs higher (despite a bad case of altitude sickness in her traveling companion) and can't take her eyes off the view.

Daphne waits patiently on a wall while her traveling companions finds her breath in the rare air.

After several happy hours exploring the beautiful site the gang must descend to the village. It's getting dark and the town below is preparing for its New Year's Eve celebrations.

The village square is alive with music, fireworks and revelers. There is great excitement and lots of singing and dancing.

Daphne decides to try the famous Peruvian cocktail the Pisco Sour. Pisco is a grape distilled brandy similar to Italian Grappa. It has a bit of a kick.

 Which Daphne finds out very quickly.

 On the first morning of 2011 Daphne is still in Peru. Apparently coffee is her best friend this morning.

I wish all my wonderful blog friends all the best in 2011. May all your dreams come true this year.

Big hugs to all of you
Susan