My "Play-Town" Cardboard Dollhouse

Play-Town Dollhouse 

No.200

Manufactured by the Sutherland Paper Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan

This house is 18" high X 23" wide X 12.5" deep and it put together with brass fold-tab brads.

  This cardboard house contains 7 rooms with printed floor and the front is removable.  The house dates from the early 1930's when it was marketed in catalogs for $1.  Here we are 75 years later and I payed significantly more. The house sold for $1.77 in 1934 with 42 pieces of Strombecker furniture ( see ad below).  This was the inspiration for me to start collecting the smaller scale painted Strombecker furniture to furnish it.

 

The front of the house 

Front view with the front face removed

The back side with the kitchen door

This view shows the side elevation 

This elevation shows the sun room

Here is a scan of the advertisement from the 

Montgomery Ward Catalog in the early 1930's

The Sun Porch

The living room

Dining room with Kitchen beyond

The green bedroom with bathroom beyond

The pink bedroom

 

Colonial House by Rich Toys

Colonial Dollhouse

 

I purchased this house on Ebay about a year ago and it has sat disassembled in a box until yesterday

I plan on working to restore the windows.  The house is by Rich Toys and was produced in the mid-1940's.  I plan on keeping my collections of Kage furniture in it for now.

  

 

more to come !

Remembering Dougless

Dougless Strickland Bitler

I came across some correspondence that I had with Dougless and thought I would post it.

Dougless was a regular contributer to Miniature Collector Magazine and I was a little sad to read of her death last month.  I first corresponded with her in September of 2006 after finding an old dollhouse in a local antique store and trying to figure out its age and value.

I became a fan of hers after receiving a beautifully hand written note with lots of information and advice and later my question and her response were publised in Miniature Collector Magazine in February 2007 in her monthly column.  I have posted her letter below.

Here are some pictures of the house, which is currently home to my 3/4" scale Strombecker Collection.

 

 

As it turns out, I found out the unmarked house is from 1946-47.  After doing some research, I found it in a catalog.  It is called: 4-ROOM JAYLENE HOUSE and sold for $22.05. 

The house is constructed of masonite and wood and measures 24" X 8" X 16".  The Jayline Toy company was located in Philadelphia PA.

 

  

 

Here is a scan of the her article:

 

Her contributions, advice, articles and humor will be missed.