Vintage Dollhouses, Miniatures & the Stories Behind Them
Mystery solved! This one is a 1978 Assemble-By-Number 8 Room Wood Dream Dollhouse Kit with 26-piece furniture set!
I found this beautiful antique dollhouse in an older town of Evanston, IL.
Dimensions: 30″ H x 36.5″ W x 18″ D.
I asked Ann Meehan the dollhouse expert via email about this one. She replied that Dian Zillner wrote a number of books dealing with commercial and homemade houses. After finding a section in the books, Meehan dated it in the 1930’s – 1940’s as they were hard to work with open back houses – if you push them against the wall.
As much I wanted to give it a deep cleaning or give it a fresh coat of paint, it will only diminish the value and its true history.
I often wondered who the original owner was – and whatever happened to him/her. Because of the beautiful green & gold Art Deco floorings, was she from Europe? Ireland maybe?
Please feel free to comment – even I no longer have this house.
I bought this beautiful antique wooden lithograph dollhouse for only $50 via Facebook Marketplace in 2018. After my visit at the local library, it was an authentic R. Bliss – Colonial Mansion circa 1910. Unfortunately, the owner who sold it to me didn’t know the true value as it was left in their barn for years.
Because of extremely delicate illustrated paper lithograph (glued on wood), I had to gently clean every nooks and crannies by using dry soft toothbrush and Q-Tips. No water!
I contacted the dollhouse expert Ann Meehan and she thought it was a great find! She said if I put this on display at a miniature/toy show or eBay — it could bring about $500+. She suggested me to put it on eBay instead of an auction house (like Dan Morphy’s auction) because they (the auction house) would sell it at any price it brings and I’d have no control. Good tip!
The director of The Great American Dollhouse Museum in Danville, KY (https://www.thedollhousemuseum.com) has shown interest in having the dollhouse take part of their collection. But they would ask us to donate it.
So I ended up selling it for $550 on eBay – to a R. Bliss collector.
More information about R. Bliss Manufacturing Company: https://www.causeafrockus.com/2019/02/mini-history-of-r-bliss-manufacturing-co/
It is very rare to see a 1949 Walt Disney Marx Tin Lithograph dollhouse in such an excellent condition with bright and beautiful mid-century illustrations. It has shown age but NO rust. Very clean too.
The size is 25” L; 9.5″ W and 14” H. The house had a very minor denting to the roof with some scratches here & there. A rare find! (thanks to my friend Sarah Krause!) …And it got sold fast.
I’ve “holiday-decorated” a 1949 Walt Disney’s Marx Tin Litho Dollhouse once – with Mickey Mouse!
Watching Macy’s Thanksgiving parade on television is part of my family’s tradition every year. I was thrilled to see New York Life’s Toy House of Marvelous Milestones as their new float, designed by Joey “Powerkid” Ammons – a concept artist for the Macy’s Parade Studio. It has represented all the wonderful milestones in life, such as graduation, marriage, retirement and Thanksgiving dinner – through the eyes of paper doll inhabitants.
Rachel Coleman of Signing Time! shared on Facebook that she and her family watched Macy’s Thanksgiving parade from a room window – right there in NYC! She took an amazing shot of the Toy House! Go check this out:
