I don't go to thrift shops much anymore, but there is one near my hairdresser's. So, after my haircut this week I popped in to see what I could find.
I was barely through the door when I spotted this Madame Alexanderkins dressed as Scarlett O'Hara at the barbecue. It is not very old - her dress closes with velcro - but I love these little dolls, so I grabbed her.
A little further investigation led me to three bags full of a variety of dollhouse items.
They seemed to be all from the same place, but the age, quality and variety of the items ranged far and wide.
In this picture you can see a Kleeware Piano with its bench. Kleeware is the British manufacturer of Renwal type furniture circa mid-1960's.
The green highchair and orange cradle are from the Mattel Sunshine family circa 1973. The plaid covered lounge chair is soft plastic and looks 1960-ish. The small furniture at the front right of the is the type that goes with metal dollhouses from the 60s to the 80s.
The Renwal-type baby in front with the red diaper is a Made in Hong Kong knock off.
The metal dish beside the baby is marked "Imperial 1973" The little crocheted duck is like those handmade in China.
There is a ceramic bale of hay, a Mattel Littles doll from the early 80s, and several books and magazines that were sold by Shackman in the late 70s and early 80s.
In this picture you can see a set of Mexican ceramic dishes with a plate of tacos and a bottle of 1-2-3 pop. There is also a butcher's block with a cleaver, also late 70s - early 80s vintage.
I love the silver astronaut. He is dancing on a soft plastic table that is marked West Germany, as is the red and white cupboard in the back of the picture. Behind him you can see a joke bathtub ashtray that is a souvenir from Cedar Point. It features the Funway Skyride on one side and a locomotive on the other.
I was particularly pleased to get this garden swing, probably Lundby and early 1970s, and the Kleeware baby carriage (1960s-1970s). The little dog on the right is ceramic, but the one on the left is plastic. The dynamite is from recent years, but I thought it was a cute addition. The wooden plaque on the front left says Museum of Science and Technology, Chicago, Illinois. The white table is one of those things that they put in pizza boxes to protect he cheese from the box top.
Further back we can see a treasure chest sitting on one of those hard plastic cabinets that you put batteries in so you can plug lamps and things in the back of it. A smaller version sits to the left of it. A small metal carriage is on the right and in the foreground you can see a typical European painted chair.
The pink chair is newer (possibly late 80s-early 90s) and seems out of place in the collection. The baby in the green high chair is a recent Ari doll from Germany, and the hard plastic sleep-eyed baby in the cradle is a newer version of this traditional doll.
The little christmas packages are actually earrings. They weren't in with the dollhouse items, but I thought they were a great find too.
I am not sure what I am going to do with this mish-mash of miniatures, but it was fun to find it all in one place. I hope you enjoyed it too.
Susan
