Estate Sale Dollhouse

I came across this dollhouse at an estate sale this week.  I did not purchase it, but I may go back later in the week and see if it is still there.  This company typically marks down prices by 25% each day to move the inventory out.

I liked the straightforward clean lines, and the attention that someone had paid to the small details.  The house definitely needs some attention, the floors are a little warped and the plywood is starting to de-laminate in a few spots.  The front face is removable - it is on the floor to the left.

 The windows were in pretty rough shape, but each still had its original curtains.

The kitchen still has a few items left by it former tenants.  It had a great linoleum floor complete with colored borders.  The wainscot was also made from linoleum.

I am guessing the bathroom had been remodeled at some point.  Real tile was used on the floor.

The living room has a great fireplace.

Here is a view of the entry hall and the stairs.

I was fascinated by the shingles.  They were pieces of wood cut so that you could see the grain, and stained all different colors to give the appearance of slate.

Around back there was a switch for the lights and a hidden door into the attic which concealed the transformer and all of the wiring for each room's light fixture.

each set of wires of carefully laid out and labeled.  I am guessing the house is from the 1940's - possibly earlier. If you have any ideas, I would be interested to hear them.

Thonet Bentwood Parlor Set

I came across this antique Thonet Bentwood parlor set this week at an estate sale.  I was surprised at how good the condition was.

From what I can tell, this set dates from the late 1890's and was manufactured in Germany.  

The Settee measures approximately 5.5 inches tall by 4.5 inches wide. The Table measures approximately 2.75" tall x 3.75" long x 2.5" deep. The Chairs measure approximately 4.5 inches tall.

The seats are a piece of wood that is uhplostered and trimmed with gold and red ribbon on the edges and each piece is attached with small nails.

The set came with a small footstool which I have not see with any other sets before.

 There were also these two similar chairs -note one is missing a leg.

The bright red backdrop is also an estate sale find - a giant piece of red velvet for only $1 - I couldn't pass it up and figured it would be something I could use on my Victorian project.

NYC Weekend

I had the pleasure of spending a few days in New York City this last week.

My wife is a high school choir director and her choir was invited back for another performance at Carnegie Hall.  I literally took 100's of pictures and have posted a few here from the trip.

I have read about miniatures and dollhouses from FAO Schwarz and even have a few in my collection.  FAO Schwarz is the oldest toy store in the U.S. founded in 1862. It is near Carnegie Hall, so I stopped by to see what it was like.

There is a great old drawing in the Carnegie Hall Museum of a cross section through the building.  I am a sucker for great architectural drawings.

Here is a picture of my best friend and wife after rehearsal inside the iconic Isacc Sterm Auditorium where they performed.

Our tour group did a walking tour of lower Manhattan.  We started here at this bronze model which shows the colony back when it was a Dutch settlement called New Amsterdam 

Here is a close up to see some of the detail.

Our walking tour also included St Paul's chapel at Trinity Church founded in 1697.  This is the pew used by George Washington who worshipped there. 

There is also a banner inside from the people of our home state of Oklahoma.  A gift of hope after the 9/11 tragedy.

We also went to the observation deck on top of Rockefeller Center.  On the way up, we stopped by this great architectural model which stood nearly 8 feet tall.

This trip was also special because my daughter Carolyn and co-blogger was part of the choir this year!

Recent Acquisitions

I have picked up a few things recently at estate sales.  These pictures and picture frames were actually at different sale.  The metal frames with the decorative bows are actually metal pins that could be worn.   The middle frame has a stand and is metal also.

The "portraits" are plastic and have a convex plastic dome over each of the images.  I will have to figure out who the images are.  If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.  Perhaps they are some type of ornaments?

I also came across this unusual rectangular tray with plates and mugs.  Most of the paint is missing, but each used to have a red border.  I have not yet decided it if will take it the rest of the way off, or restore it.  The tray measures about 1 inch by 3 inches.  It is porcelain and not marked.

1940's Rich Southern Colonial Doll House

I took the opportunity to replace the windows in my other 1940's Rich Colonial Doll House today.  This house is slightly smaller than my other Rich house and porch is much less grand.

I did some research and the closest house I could find was in an advertisement for Christmas 1946. ( see below- top right)

The advertisement states "Two story, 6 room Southern Colonial type dollhouse with stairway.  Finished with black, green and red stenciled design.  Blinds and roof are green, porch floor is red with white columns and roof.  Painted floor with flocked rugs and stenciled linoleum.  Made of Gypsum Hardboard.  29-1/4" long, 21-1/4" high and 16-1/4" deep.  $4.69"

I found a currency converter online and $4.69 is roughly $100 in today's dollars.

 The existing windows were in really rough shape.  Its hard to tell from the photos, but they are cracked, starting to curl and the paint is cracking off them.  They also have years of layers of glue and cellophane tape.

 The photo shows the new replacements from the vinyl sign company

 I began by peeling off the cardboard backing ( shown in blue)

 I then placed the sticker on the sheet of mylar that I had cut to the correct size.

 Once the sticker was in place, I burnished it down with a plastic scraper.

Once the sticker was firmly adhered to the mylar, I peeled of the protective backing.

Voila! a shiny new window.

This detail shows the "linoleum" floors and the blue flocked rugs upstairs and the green flocked rugs down stairs.

The view shows the new windows in place.

 Some of the details I really like about this house is the circular cut-out on each side and the fluted columns on the front porch, along with the great printed graphics.

1940's Rich Colonial Mansion

I had some time this weekend to work on my 1940 Rich Colonial Mansion.  Some child long ago had some fun with circus stickers that I have been wanting to remove and the cellophane windows were long since gone as well.

The ad below from 1942 shows the house for sale for $15.  The ad photo also shows a lantern hanging on the porch.  The porch is what originally drew me to this house.  I love the large white round columns.

 I was reluctant to use chemicals, but the interior of this house is in pretty rough shape anyway.  I applied the chemical with a rag, let it sit for a few minutes and the old tape and stickers scraped right off.

I ordered a sheet of vinyl stickers to re-create the windows from a local vinyl sign company.  I ordered a couple of extra just in case!

 I applied the stickers to some sheets of clear mylar, then peeled off the backing and cut to a size that would allow for overlap and glue inside the house.

 I glued the new windows in place.  Up next I plan to apply some wallpaper, baseboards and window coverings.

 The porch has a red and white lithograph pattern that looks like tile.

 The floors were painted over at some point, but originally contained flocked rugs painted on the floors. Green on the first floor and light blue on the second floor. The stair banister lithograph is pretty detailed.

I put some black and white scrapbook paper with a checkerboard pattern in the kitchen.  It is a lot cleaner and crisper than the original floor which is also black and white checkerboard.

 The house has great graphics.

The house is currently where I keep my 1" Strombecker Walnut collection.  It can be seen by clicking HERE

Strombecker-walnut-1inch-scale

Strombecker-1-inch-collection

My 3/4" Strombecker collection can be seen here:

3/4" Strombecker collection 

Recent Aquisitions

I visited a couple of fruitful estate sales this past week.  At one, I happened upon this display of chairs, all scales and all sizes and styles.  Can you guess which ones I picked?

These are the two I selected.  They are close to 1"=1'-0 scale.  The metallic twisted wire one may be homemade?  I was drawn to this arch back spindle chair too.  It is made of medal and has nice lines.

Last week I came across a few miscelanious minis.  I broken coffee grinder, a toaster, a toilet plunger, a wooden hanger, and a letter holder.