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

Thank you Diepuppenstubensammlerin! Everybody read this!

Thank YOU! Go to this blog:

http://diepuppenstubensammlerin.blogspot.com/ by my friend diepuppenstubensammerlerin for the roots to this month's Gottschalk dollhouse.

Nana visits the Gottschalk...

This one is for you "Doll Mums".

The children have been sent out to the garden to wait for Nana's visit.It is hard to wait!

 The cake smells so good!  Yay! Nana is here!!!Nana stopped at Anthoula's Candy Store, the childrens' favorite! The toys are forgotten.Then Nana reads us a book. We are getting sleepy! it is almost naptime.

Finally we all fall asleep in our little attic room.Nana and Mama talk late into the afternoon.Nana makes Mama laugh by reminding her how much she like sweets as a little girl.

Author's note: (If my prose is simple, I think it is the influence of my reading list lately. Such as "Go dog, go" etc.)

Gottschalk kitchen

I bought this kitchen set and found it was the larger scale. I only put a few

pieces in the kitchen area of the house. It is pictured here in the German Kitchen room box because I love the tiled wallpaper.The cabinet.I have S. Mehreen to thank for pointing out to me that the faucet really works. When you fill the top with water it trickles out the faucet into the basin then into a bucket.The table is worn. I have noticed little children love to set the table.The chair is quite large for the Gottschalk house. The blue decorations seem to be 1920 art deco, perhaps.I can only fit 2 pieces in the kitchen area. I love the blue kitchen utinsils, They are probably from the '60s or more recent as they came on a pink card. I am happy to have the other pieces for my German Kitchen roombox which frankly Mrs. Santa resides in... and you now how she gets about baking...

Kitchen furniture from Milkweed Antigues on RubyLane.

Basin from Antikhaus Antiques

Gottschalk red furniture

This is the livingroom furniture. It is a rich deep red with gold accents and olive green silk ulpholstery.Love the staircase!Love the wallpaper too!I am REALLY lucky to have this picture. It is very rare. I think the only reason I received it is because it is very well glued to the wall. It looks like someone tried to remove it and started to rip it. I have only seen an empty frame like it once on RubyLaneAntiques. It is funny too, because it is crooked, as if a child glued it. CFrom book about Gottschalk showing this furniture.

Gottschalk opened up

This is what the dollhouse looks like when you unlatch the face of the dollhouse. It opens, down to form a garden.

Antique Korbi German wicker chair and table set, antique blue treen dishes, 1920's Gottchalk kitchen, red couch and desk. Original picture glued to the wall in red leather frame. German bedroom set of undetermined age. French tin washstand, straw rug mat, contemporary blue chair, wooden antique candle on bedside stand, various antique pitchers.Gottschalk original catalog showing house. Black and white photos.