The Eagle Hexagon Dollhouse

This the view of the top of the 1950 Hexagon Dollhouse by the Eagle Toy Company of Montreal, Canada.

This is the side view. The house has 6 sides and a central court. The top and floor are made of fiberboard, the walls are steel.

  Each room is different. This view is of the solarium or patio.

This is the view from the bottom. Notice the skylights. There are 4 plastic encased wheels. One can turn the house to reveal a new room. I called it "the spinning dollhouse", but really it does not move very fast.

It was made in the 1950's and is covered in Jennifer McKendry's History of dollhouses. http://www.mckendry.net/DOLLHOUSES/1950s.htm

She points out that it is more influenced by Mies van der Rohe, than the organic style of Frank Lloyd Wright, though it has a central hearth that was an important idea of Wright's work.

Her example has a plastic cover over the hole made from a salad container. Mine is missing. My friend Rebecca has one too and SHE has the real top! Truly she is a Doyenne of Dollhouses!

I have seen another version with less graphics and black and white checkerboard floors. I think it is a later model.

This is an introduction to February's house. It is inhabited by Grecon dolls. More to follow, Happy Valentines Day! CM

Sneaking ahead

Oh just sneaking into February and the Eagle Hexagon House. I had it set up and we were having fun playing with it and this just happened.

(Spot On couch and TV)

 There is that shelving again.
(Amazing Miniatures shelf, Texas Tiny statues, Reac chair, antique books, Spot On brown buffet cabinet)

 AH LOVE this toy!

A little 50's channeling.

But here is the point... WHO put that boy on the stove and why did I only notice 24 hours later!!!!! C

Getting ready for February

Mrs. Strombecker is unhappy in her kitchen. She hasn't made Valentine's cookies and hasn't gotten the kids valentines for school ready either... can you hum "Mother's little helper" by the Stones?

Don't worry, Mrs. S. we made ours and they are already eaten and forgotten! Maybe it is better to do it last minute...

Strombecker Dollhouse Bedroom Set

This is one of my favorite sets by the Strombecker Company. It is a children's nursery set. Notice the details of the colorful ball pulls. The duck rocker toy is cute too.

Here is the version from McKendry's Dollhouse history .

She dates it from 1938 with many more pictures that can be found at her website here:  http://www.mckendry.net/DOLLHOUSES/1930s-part_2.htm 

I forgot about this old picture on flickr. Thanks for reminding me, R. From 2009, C.

Louis Rich Dollhouse with Strombecker furniture

I love this tea cart.The dining room chairs and table and sideboard in the back are all the large Strombecker. The teapot and cup and saucer are vintage German painted gold.

The wallpaper came with the house and it was carefully applied.

The bedroom set has a lovely grain. The mirror is missing from the woman's chest set. The crib is vintage metal. The bedspread is a 1940's handkerchief.

The vintage bendy dolls have that stiff arm look.

Strombecker Kitchen

Alberta: the mother doll.
People seem to really like this bright kitchen with the 40's-50's feel to it. Did you know Wonderbread came out in the 1920's?

Credits: Strombecker refrigerator, stove and sink, I was told this is Nancy Forbes red wood and metal kitchen furniture but I have also seen it credited to Strombecker. The toy car is renwal, contemporary wood milk bottles and canisters. The wooden coffee set with red accents is German.

I had added a note when I put this on Flickr, "What could she be thinking?" and then was nonplussed when someone replied "This time I won't drop out of Clown School"   :O     C.M.

Last Easter.

Alberta after everyone is off to work and school. Dreams of the "Big Top"? The red striped wallpaper is Jennifer's printables. http://www.jennifersprintables.com/

When friends discover minis: The Thorne rooms

My good friend L. was in Chicago which meant a visit to the Chicago Art Institute. She emailed me pictures of the miniature exhibit there. Feel like a museum tour?

The following photographs are by L.W.

Are you familiar with the work of Mrs. James Ward Thorne? I received the book called " Miniature Rooms, The Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago" about her miniature room boxes from Shale when she visited me last summer. They were made in the 1920s and 30's when period rooms were all the rage and are housed now at the Chicago Institute of Art. My friend L.W. visited their exhibit and sent me these photos.

They are thought of as "representations of the social history of art as it was understood in the first half of the twentieieth century" according to Bruce Boucher, Curator of Sculpture, Department of Medieval through Modern European Painting and Sculpture, Chicago Institute of Art.

 The most striking reaction I have to these photos of L.W.'s is how small the rooms are. The book says, "drawings and individual objects included with entries are reproduced to actual scale and correspond to items visible within the rooms they accompany" editor's note. But really, you don't fully comprehend the size looking at the pictures in the book. One of Mrs. Thorne's greatest achievements was attention to detail. These rooms were early examples of realism in miniature. I never realized what an achievement that was without seeing something to compare the scale of her rooms to. Keep in mind it is not the cleverness of the miniature but the whole of the design presented that matters. I keep saying (with all due respect to Marshall McLuann) the medium is NOT the message. It is not about minuteness. It is about totality.

This is "the California Room" and I love how it shows the Monterey look that was popular in the 20's and 30's. If I could have any style of house here in California it would be the Monterey revival style. I have a Colonial revival...

Doesn't the fireplace remind you of Oese's current work of her cabin? http://raumfuerraum.blogspot.com/

Oese is a German artist pushing the envelope of these kinds of miniature representations. In her case, it is of current design.

Many conclusions are drawn from the miniature room box scenes made by Mrs. Thorne. One can only wonder what conclusions will be drawn from the rooms we preserve today.

Thank you L. for sharing your museum tour with me and my blogging buddies! C

Sister's room

Can you guess sister's name?  Dot..

This is the girl's room in the eves . I think the desk is small Strombecker but the green set is a different manufacturer. I think I saw it in Villner;s book, so I must go researching. It is just so 1940's to me.
Cheers, C

That's Rich! Mom sneaks a nap

I will be adding pictures throughout the day,

but I thought this scene might be replicated in many homes after the holiday season.

Many houses of this era use the black swirl design on the chimney and the grey sprayed painted rocks. The Louis Rich design has steel corners and contains no interior decoration leaving the decor up to the buyer. In my house a previous owner added shake shingles on the roof. The original house roof was plain masonite board.

The windows are plastic spray painted with a black diamond pattern

credits: Furniture Strombecker, Bendable vintage dolls, Renwal plastic toys, bedding in top picture is a 1940's handerchief and a little antique afgan of multicolored yarn.

And what did I get for Christmas?

This Tynietoy Marble Fireplace with the antique tongs and poker. Thanks, Santa.