Me and Moritz: How we got together... a love story

Sans asked me in the last post to tell you what my feelings are  about Gottschalk houses and what I like about this house.I also want to welcome Grandpa home. He is a present from Shale. Grandma is VERY happy to see him. Especially with the Grandchildren here.Thank you Susan Hale! The grandchildren live in the puppenstube from the 50's or 60's and I will blog about it when I get to that era.(I think it's an Albin Schorrer).You can let me know what you think when we get there.

Back to Gottschalk. Thanks for asking Sans. My first dollhouse was made at the local dollhouse store to match our house. I decorated it in little replicas of furniture I had http://myrealitty.blogspot.com/2009/11/my-first-adult-dollhouse-was-purchased.html this is my second post on this blog and it was about that house.

I had wing chairs, it had wing chairs and my children would delight in any tiny item like ours. Even the dog.

About 4 years ago I started reading Sondra Krueger's website http://www.sondrakrueger.com/doll_houses.htm and I saw a whole new world of antiques. She had 2 Gottschalks listed and I couldn't fathom their high prices but her descriptions were complete and gave me my first lessons in  these antiques.

Then I saw a post on Cupajo's blog http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/ who is a writer in NewYork who has over 13,000. followeres. Yes that's right. (She recently had a baby, and like our own mini bloggers with small children it it fun to watch it impact her blog) She used to be a single gal...Know what I mean? Regarding how little children impact our work, I think my assistant (my grandchild turning 4) sat on the roof of my Marx Tin House and dented it...) I didn't see the crime myself... and I will need to call Minihouse CSI but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.Usually she and I are each other's alibi so we stick together, You know the t shirt "What happens at Nana's house, Stays at Nana's house...) Sorry about the digression. (not really) But she, Cupofjo posted a humerous post showing this model dollhouse from the FAO Schwartz catalog as an antique for $12,000 joking that was what she wanted for christmas!!! The design caught my eye.

Then came Ebay (sound of Trumpets!)

It truly was a whole new world.

Brief digression: My older daughter was President of her High School and for her Senior project she interned in Jerry Brown's office when he was mayor of Oakland. He lives up in the Hills near us and he is so intelligent he has all the votes in our 2 houses in his run for Govenor against Meg Whitman past CEO of ebay. (sorry Meg, but I hold you responsible for the invention of outsourcing American jobs, even if you made ebay rich)

I draw the line at boycotting ebay though...( can you spell hypocrite?)

There I began to see Tynie toy, tootsietoy, Strombecker, and Schoenhutt. etc.and expanded my knowledge of dollhouses and my greed expanded too.

One day I saw this house on ebay and decided to bid on it. It must have been an off day and I can't remember, but it must NOT have been listed as a Gottschalk, because I got it for several hundred dollars. As I mentioned in an earlier post there was no picture of the framed painting in it, either which would have given clues to what it was. 

I love the Gables. I love the porch railings. To me it it the heighth of dollhouse skill. Artistry. I am lucky to have found it and especially like the fold out garden. The furniture sends me too. The rich mahogony against the olive green silk! Oh my! It has a richness to it that speaks of an elegant past.I know the world   is filled with tragedy .I can't bear to watch CNN today because of the plight of the miners in South America, the floods in Pakistan and the East Coast. The mess of the BP oil spill and it is also the anniversary of Hurrricane Katrina and what a mistake was that by our government! But looking at this house makes me happy and I think it represents of the very best parts of dollhouse culture. C