I placed a stupidly low online bid on an antique dollhouse...and then forgot about it.
When the enormous box containing the tiny house arrived a month later, I decided I'd like to share the moment.
The house itself, made in the early 20th century, is a nice specimen of an American innovation in mass-production: the use of lithographed paper over wood to quickly and inexpensively give the look of rich architectural decoration.
The most famous manufacturer of these toys was R. Bliss of Rhode Island-I dream of having one of their houses.
This house, though often misidentified as Bliss, was actually produced by the W.S. Reed, a manufacturer of many sorts of litho-on-wood toys whose history is a mix of pluck, determination, resourcefulness, factory fires, and never quite catching up to Bliss in either popularity or quality...
That's the way the cookie crumbles, eh?
Since the house is here, I might as well put it to good use. It will appear in the Foxe and Boxe book (for more on that project, visit foxeandboxe.com) as a cozy, respectable flat for sisters Miss Pond and Mrs Puddle, and possibly stand in for other locations as well.
If you enjoyed this video, you might like to join the jolly band of Patreon patrons whose names appear in the credits. Check us out at / franklinhabit .
Some of my favorite books about dollhouses:
Dollhouses: From the V&A Museum of Childhood
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The Doll's House (a wonderful short novel by Rumer Godden)
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The music in this video includes "At Dawn" by Ever So Blue and "Little Memories" by Megan Wofford, both licensed from Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com).
27 июн 2021
