Doll Houses and Miniatures

There are doll houses for children and then there are doll houses for adults.

Surprisingly (to me) it has only been in the last hundred and fifty years that doll houses were the realm of children's toys!

The earliest doll houses (or miniature homes) date back almost five thousand years to Egypt. Archeologists have found them, along with miniature furnishings and people and animals in the tombs of the Pyramids.  

In 16^th century Europe, only a few rich women in England, Germany and Holland could afford a dollhouse, which at the time was called a baby house. These were display cases that divided up inside into individual rooms rather than an actual miniature house. They were not for children’s playtime, but were for “show” for the adults. They housed intricately detailed furnishings, each created individually by master craftsmen. These baby houses, when complete cost almost as much as a full-sized house!

In the 18th century, smaller, more realistic doll houses began to appear in Europe, with Germany making the best and most collectible ones. By the 19th century, they were regularly exported to Britain and North America. The Industrial Revolution came along and toys went from being made by individual craftsmen to being mass-produced in factories. Once this happened, doll houses became more affordable for the middle class.

Debbie Young Collection - Quarter Inch Scale

Debbie Young Collection
Quarter Inch Scale

By the end of the 19th century the Bliss Company was making dollhouses here in America. Then early in the 20th century, dollhouse makers were Tootsietoy, Schoenhut, and the Wisconsin Toy Company. In 1917, The TynieToy company made authentic replicas of American houses and furniture. I imagine also, like in my own childhood, fathers handmade doll houses for their daughters. 

Early doll-house furniture and dolls were not made to scale. Several different sizes could be found in one house. Nowadays collectors have three main scales (here in the U.S.)
By order of popularity they are ~

One Inch Scale which equates to 1inch = 1 foot.

Quarter Inch Scale which equates to 1/4 inch = 1 foot.

One Half Inch which equates to 1/2 inch = 1 foot.

In the United States there are many miniature shows held annually where dealers and clubs display and sell their miniatures. Internet forums and clubs and blogs also provide information. The women and men that work with miniatures go to great lengths to create scenes that are historically accurate with the furniture, rugs, wallpaper, pictures and clothing of the era--right down to the bowl of fruit on the dining room table. 

That being said, there are also "fun" miniatures such as haunted houses, mermaids under the sea in Atlantis, and I've also seen a Hobbit house. 

I have had the good fortune to help with a miniature show in my hometown and came away just wishing I had the time to craft a miniature version of a scene from each of the books I’ve written. I can envision the lighthouse and cliffs of The Gunslinger and the Heiress and the windswept meadows and a small ranch from Western Spring Weddings  not to mention the mercantile from Familiar Stranger in Clear Springs.

The trouble with that is…then I would be busy playing with miniatures instead of writing!

Here are a few pictures from my weekend of miniatures... (please forgive the picture quality! These are really tiny!)

House of the Seven Dwarves

House of the Seven Dwarves

Merlin's Lair - complete with suit of armor and crystal ball.

Herta Forster grew up in Darmstadt Germany to a family of artists. In 1944
her parent's house was bombed by the Allies. After moving to the United States, she lovingly built a miniature replica of the home she left behind, complete with the furniture as she remembered it. 

Herta Forster Darmstadt Germany House

Herta Forster's Darmstadt Germany House

Since I write historical westerns, the last two pictures are of a western dance hall. This is One Inch Scale and so the detail is more pronounced. You could peek in from the open roof to see a large bar and a dance hall girl. Oh-la-la!

 To learn more about miniatures here are a few websites ~

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollhouse

http://www.mckendry.net/DOLLHOUSES/1890s.htm

http://myminiaturemadness.com/history-of-dollhouse-miniatures/

To see some fun miniatures on my pinterest page click here ~

https://www.pinterest.com/albrightfun/miniatures

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Kathryn Albright writes sweet western historicals for Harlequin Historicals.

Her newest release is His Springtime Bride in Western Spring Weddings Anthology.

You can visit Kathryn at her website:  www.kathrynalbright.com  to learn more about her books.

Happy 100th Birthday, Raggedy Ann!

2015 marks Raggedy Ann's 100^th birthday! Across the country doll clubs and organizations are celebrating her birthday. She certainly is a doll that has withstood the test of time and she looks very good for being 100 years old!

A little history on this beloved rag doll ~ 

Johnny Gruelle (1880-1938) was a cartoonist and writer at the time of Raggedy Ann’s conception. He found a faceless doll in the family home and drew a face on it for his young daughter Marcella. He chose the doll’s name from two poems written by a family friend, James W. Riley—“The Raggedy Man” and “Little Orphant Annie.”

(Of:  An’ the Gobble-uns ‘at gits you

                   Ef you

                      Don’t

                         Watch

                             Out!   fame.)
On September 7, 1915, Mr. Gruelle received a patent for the Raggedy Ann doll. In 1918, he released a book of stories named the Raggedy Ann Stories. Marketed together, the doll and books did very well in sales. In 1920, Raggedy Andy, dressed in a sailor suit and hat, was introduced as Raggedy Ann's brother. He was a doll and also had his own stories - Raggedy Andy Stories. 
At first, Raggedy Ann was homemade by the Gruelle family.  You might be surprised to know that the sweet, smiling stuffed doll with yarn hair was not originally a redhead, but a brunette! During her lifespan she has also had orange and even blonde hair! The original dolls had a real candy heart inside. Many old Raggedy Ann dolls have brown stains on the chest where children tried to taste the candy through the cotton stuffing. Her nose, eyes, and lips have gone through subtle updates, depending on the company making her at the time. Even her feet changed from sideways facing to forward facing.

She has had quite an extraordinary life (along with her brother Andy.) Apart from of extensive legal battles brought on by an overreaching woman who tried to wrangle the trademark away from Johnny Gruelle, she has had McCall’s patterns made for her (1940-1990), three film shorts, a comic book (Dell), an animated full length film, a Halloween television special, a Christmas television special, a stage play, a Broadway stage musical, an animated television series, a Macy’s Thanksgiving balloon, a jigsaw puzzle, an annual Raggedy Ann & Andy Festival in Johnny Gruelle’s town of birth and the Raggedy Ann and Andy Museum. Raggedy Ann even has her own Facebook Fan Page! In 2002, Raggedy Ann was inducted in the National Toy Hall of Fame. Just listing all that makes me think she is one tired little doll!

Besides all that hoopla, many, many books have had Raggedy Ann as their heroine, most of them were written by Johnny Gruelle. Some books introduced other characters that have enjoyed being famous by association such as the Camel with Wrinkled Knees, Marcella, and Little Brown Bear.

Raggedy Ann and Andy harken back to a simpler time—before the internet and before battery-operated toys became all the rage. I’m afraid Raggedy Ann has a lot of competition from technical toys nowadays and many young girls don’t know the joy and comfort of having a rag doll to cuddle and love.

Do you remember your first doll? 

What is one special gift you remember receiving when you were a child? Is it still around today?

Comment to have your name placed in a drawing for my book 

The Gunslinger and the Heiress 

 a sweet western historical! 

(Sweepstake is open to continental U.S. only and lasts until midnight 11/11/2015)

Kathryn Albright's newest book is a sweet western historical that takes place in early San Diego. You can pre-order Familiar Stranger in Clear Springs here.  Although there is no Raggedy Ann in this particular tale, dolls have been known to make their appearance in other stories by Kathryn. 

Visit with Kathryn ~

www.kathrynalbright.com
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