My Little Corner of the Net

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Dunham's Cocoanut Dollhouse

Since I have been collecting miniatures, I have been fascinated with the Dunham's Cocoanut Dollhouse, made in America in the late 1800's. The house was originally a wooden packing crate for Dunham's Cocoanut, a shredded confection used for baking, particularly as a cake topping. The crate was sent out to stores to hold and display several boxes of shredded coconut.


I came across one of these the other day at a local antique mall.  It measures 28 inches tall.  The houses are known for having a split in the paper on the interior where the two pieces of wood on the crate come together.


The wooden crate has it's original red paint and lithographed paper for the exterior, the floors and the interior walls.  It is a little rough around the edges, but still fun to see.


The first floor is a kitchen with a red checkerboard floor and a pantry full of Dunham's Cocoanut and some dishes and a clock.


The second floor represents a dining room complete with a mounted moose head, an aquarium with fish, shelves, paintings and and a bay window with potted plants.


The third floor is a Victorian parlor with a piano, some ferns, and lots of pictures on the walls.



The top floor is most likely a bedroom with some stained glass accents in the window and several wall pictures.  The paper on the floor is made to look like wood plank and has a large area rug.


Both the ends of the create are painted and embossed with this 


 The sides are papered to look like a stone exterior with windows.  The printed windows do not correspond with the windows on the interior.

13 comments:

  1. Es muy original,me encanta,que suerte haberla encontrado!!!
    Besos.

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  2. Woah! That's so cool! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. WOW!! So the inside came painted like that with the products inside?

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  4. That is fabulous. I have heard of the houses before but I haven't seen one in close detail like that. Thanks for sharing the photos.

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  5. Great find! I love these houses!

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  6. Please consider Facebook group vintage and antique dollhouse collectors club. We are secret. You have to be a friend of a member. I would be happy to add you! Maggie Martos

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    1. Hi Maggie, I am interested in joining your group,but I do not see it on FB ?

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    2. Can you add me to the antique dollhouse club. I have a dollhouse museum in my home in titusville pa.

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  7. Love your blog! I too am a member of the vintage and antique group on Facebook. Because it's secret, you friend a member and then they can invite you to join. That's the mechanics of it, and I suppose all secret groups. You can't see us because we're secret, lol. That keeps people from trying to join that are spammers, sellers, etc. Because we focus on original antiques not reproductions, as good as they may be. I'm in awe of the knowledge of the members, they're way ahead of me! I use my maiden name dorothea brooke however, I'm dressed in 1950s taffeta. We would love you to join if you haven't yet!

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  8. You could send a Facebook message to either me or Maria, above, and then we will friend and invite you. Given the content of my feed you may prefer her.

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  9. Hi Anonymous, can you contact me? I would need your email address. Troy

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