My Little Corner of the Net

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Petite Princess House

I recently purchased this Petite Princess Dollhouse by Ideal at a estate sale just a few miles from my home. I have accumulated 5 pieces of Petite Princess furniture since I started collecting miniatures and honestly, didn't quite know what to do with them. I have 2 floor lamps, a grand piano, a dressing table and stool, and a large kitchen stove.

I like the symetrical layout of the facade and the shadows that they added to the house, it really gives it a 3-Dimensional look, especially in the photos.


I did a little internet research and found a great resource website, called, of all things, petiteprincess.com I sent a picture of my recently purchased house to them to get some specifics. Linda, the owner, wrote me back to let me know that this Dollhouse is an Ideal Vinyl Dollhouse manufactured between 1966 and 1967 to house Ideal's Petite Princess Fantasy Furniture. http://www.petiteprincess.com/

The house is called the Colonial Mansion Dollhouse.  It is essentially a carrying case that opens to reveal a four rooms, in a two story house.  It is made from some sort of hard board that is covered in vinyl.  It is in pretty good shape and has a plastic handle and latch on the roof and a snap on each side that would keep the case closed.

This picture would not cooperate.  It shows the courtyard that the front of the house makes when it is folded down.

The Petite Princess website is hosted by a friendly lady named Linda Gant.  Linda and her friend Deborah Holman have written a refernce guide for Petite Princess and Princess Patti furniture and houses.  Deborah's website is at: http://dorettecreations.homestead.com/



Petite Princess furniture was, for the most part, made of plastic.  It was the next step in plastic furniture evolution after the 1940's & 1950's Renwal era of plastic furniture.
I has lots of gold colored trim, detail, mirrors and even glitter.


This floor lamp was the very first Petite Princess piece that I purchased.  I came across it at an antique mall in Bartlesville Oklahoma.  I had no idea what it was or what age it was. but I envisioned it in some 1920's 1930's kind of setting.  For now, I have a place to keep my 5 pieces of furniture.

24 comments:

  1. Be still my heart! It is a gem of a house. There is a great website that tells it's history
    and flickr even has it's own group devoted to Petite Princess and the Princes Patti line. xo CM

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  2. What a great house - and in such perfect condition. Lucky you. Petite Princess is pretty easy to find. I wonder if there will be a PP shopping spree in Tulsa soon. lol
    Susan

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  3. Ciao ..passavo da queste parti ..complimenti per le collezioni e per i tuoi lavori!!!
    Sarò ben lieta di seguire il tuo blog!!!
    Un bacio
    elvira

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  4. I have one with furniture from my childhood and might consider selling it...furniture and dolls included...

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    1. Let me know what you have, I may be interested!

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    2. i have 12 pieces still in the box never used 1964 petite princess dollhouse furniture if interested email me at smokethis55@gmail.com then i will send you pictures of them then you can make me an offer

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  5. Thank you for this post and sharing your resources. I just picked up a vinyl A Frame Swiss Chalet type house from an estate sale. It's made by Ideal Toys with a copyright of 1971. It's actually our first child's first toy. :) I'm trying to find out more information about it and these resources should help. Thanks again. (P.S. I used to live in Tulsa, it's a great city.)

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  6. From 1964-68, I used to do odd jobs around the neighborhood to earn money to buy pieces of this furniture! I had a great collection; sadly, I lost it all in '77 when our house burned down (along with 300 others) in Santa Barbara's Sycamore Fire. I found three pieces of Petite furniture in an antique store just today, and HAD to buy them. Great memories of my childhood...can't believe it's been almost 50 years!

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  7. have lots of the furniture that I would be willing to sell the duplicates at reasonable prices...I also would like to exchange for some pieces I need...let me know..

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    1. Sounds great! Let me know of a way to get in touch with you.

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  8. I have the dollhouse complete in the box from when I was a child. Interested in finding out the retail value to sell it....any ideas?

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    1. I will buy it. That's all I know :)

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    2. Denise, If for some reason, the collection is still available, I would be so excited to hear from you! I had this as a child, and as I posted further down, I only have a few of the pieces left because my Mom would hand down our toys to some less fortunate friends. I never knew how much these would mean to me but now that both Mom and Grandma are gone, recovering parts of my childhood would be such a joy. My email is jennysnewone@aol.com. Thank you so much!

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    3. i have 12 pieces of petite princess doll house furniture 1964 still in the box if you are interested in buying them make me an offer if interested i will email you with some pictures of them then you decide so let me know my email is smokethis55@bmail.com

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    4. sorry its smokethis55@gmail.com

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    5. sorry its smokethis55@gmail.com

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  9. In tears as I write this, what wonderful memories of my childhood! My sweet grandmother worked in downtown Indianapolis when I was little and she would purchase me a piece of this furniture with every paycheck. I still have several pieces and would love to replace them all! The bedroom was my favorite, but sadly I only have the vanity left. Mom was always handing down our toys to less fortunate friends as she thought we outgrew them. It would be incredible to replace my collection! I would be so excited to hear from anyone who has pieces to sell! My email is jennysnewone@aol.com...please put dollhouse in the subject line...I'll check it everyday! Thank you!

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  10. I still have the dollhouse as I mentioned above packed away at my Mom's. I received mine as a Christmas gift with all the furniture and the family dolls included-maybe it's a different one ? I have no idea of the value and have not yet put a price on it. If you would like to post an offer I would certainly consider it.
    THANK YOU for your interest.... Denise
    I accidently came across this post again so here is my email so you can contact me directly
    denisejpv@hotmail.com

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    1. Hey Denise, I just saw you posting on the Tulsa Tiny Stuff. I realize it is almost a year ago, but I was interested to see if you still had the house? I would be interested in buying it. Please let me know, thanks. Judy

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  11. Denise, I tried to email you (yahoo email address) and I'm wanting to make sure you got it. Very interested in discussing! Thank you

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  12. I have not received any email from a YAHOO address....try again using DOLLHOUSE as the subject.
    THANK YOU!
    Denise

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    1. Thank you for the quick reply! I resent my email with the subject DOLLHOUSE from jjenn279@yahoo.com. hope to hear back soon!

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  13. To being with.. Thank you, Troy, for the kind words you posted about me and my Petite Princess website at http://www.petiteprincess.com nearly three years ago! Wow! How time flies! As a result, I was led to your blog today by another Petite Princess Collector. As I see there are some PP Collectors interested in purchasing missing pieces from their collections, I would like to let you know that I have nearly all 30 Original 1964 Petite Princess Furniture pieces in Near-Mint Condition available to purchase. If interested, please contact me at linda@petiteprincess.com with your "Wish Lists" and I will get back to you with photos and price quotes on your requested pieces. As one of California's 37,000 laid off teachers, any potential sales would be appreciated! :) Linda

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    1. Linda, I have almost all of the Petite Princess line as it was what I spent my babysitting money on in middle school. Some needs repair. All has the boxes. Would really love to find someone to love and treasure this as I have no heirs - appreciation more important than $$$.
      If interested, please contact me margaretkhahn@gmail.com. I live in Michigan.

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