An extra large antique Victorian painted brick dolls house manufactured circa 1890.

Owner’s comments:

This circa 1890 dollhouse originated in the United Kingdom in Leamington Spa.  It was shipped to USA and resides here with me.  It is 59 inches tall and 47 inches wide.  The two large doors with original glass open on each side.  The center staircase is not assessable from the front.  Inside each room is a side door that gives you access to the center staircase rooms.

Parlour room:
It is 18 inches deep and 16 inches across the front. The wallpaper and the faux marble painted fireplace surround are original. The carpet is a repurposed beaded chair seat. I made the hanging light fixture. The shelves on either side of the fireplace were added by me. The fire insert… probably Evans and Cartwright …is missing. The door on the left wall leads to the center staircase. The furnishings in this room are a mixture of Rock and Graner and Westacre. The chairs that flank the fireplace are Westacre as well as the settee and chair with the center pedestal table on the right side of the room. There is also a much smaller scale westacre sofa on the left wall of this room. It is much smaller than the Westacre sofa on the right wall but this show that you can mix different scales with good visual success. The Rock and Graner chairs are placed around the round table with the tea set. The book case at the front of the room is also Westacre. The painting above the fireplace is an original 1820 watercolor of a little girl in a blue dress. She is framed in a paper pressed frame.

Kitchen:
It is 18 inches deep and 16 inches across the front. The wallpaper is original and the cooker surround is originally hand painted to resemble marble. The cooker did not come with the house. It is made by Evans and Cartwright. It fit into the space perfectly so I am assuming the whole house was originally fit with Evans and Cartwright fireplaces, but they were not present when I bought this house. I added the shelving on each side of the cooker and filled the shelves with treen dishes. The door on the left wall leads to the staircase on the ground floor. The doll is what they call a rolled cloth doll. It is 19th century and made by rolling linen fabric to fashion arms and head. She has a delicate embroidered face and her pink dress is very nicely made. The best part about her are her hand made boots. The floor paper is original and covered by a hand knotted rug. The light fixture is a lantern with a candle for light. It is a 19th century Christmas tree ornament from Germany.

Dining room:
Its original wallpaper is a strong statement. The door on the right leads to the center staircase. The runner on the staircase is an 18th century textile…it probably was a border for curtains in a regular size house. The room is 18 inches deep and 16 inches across the front. The chairs are a homemade Victorian ladies project. The treen set table with sterling utensil service is made by Schneegas with 2 leaves. The tiny buffet at the back of the room is just that… too tiny… I am looking for a larger piece to put there that will help anchor the room. For now it holds matching treen to the set on the table with sterling completer pieces. To me, dollshouses are a work in progress. I am constantly on the lookout for that special piece to complete a room. The rug belonged on a chair seat at one time and is heavily adorned with beads. The painting on the back wall is a copy of a larger most favorite watercolor in my regular home. I sized it down to fit the miniature frame. I do this quite often as I collect small early 19th century watercolors for my regular home and am able to showcase them with appropriate frames in my dollshouses.

Study:
The floor paper as well as the wallpaper is original. Take note… don’t be too hard on yourself if you have missing papers. The left wall has no paper!!! The surround of the fireplace is original faux marble paint. The insert is missing and I added a much smaller fire for the moment. There are old tiny coats hanging on the left wall. The shelves are filled with old books and staffordshire. Tiny staffordshire like this is hard to find. The door on the right wall leads to the staircase which is roomy enough for some furniture. Mr. Grodnertal is getting comfy with his pipe and evening paper. The chairs are a large scale rock and graner. The table is homemade. A lot of these larger library tables work well when you shorten the legs a little bit. The violin is actually a broach and the leather case that houses it was originally a case to hold a cigarette holder. Little books, 1 to 2 inches fill the shelving but larger books are used on the bottom left hand side of the shelving and in front of the table [3 inch books]. The depth of the room is 18 inches and it is 16 inches across the front. I added the shelving on each side of the fireplace.

Top floor bedroom:
18 inch deep room with 16 inches across the front. The wallpaper is original with an original green painted fire surround. The original fire…probably Evans and Cartwright is missing so I added a cast iron insert. The furniture is blue tin Altof and Bergmann, an American tin toy maker in about 1860 to 1880. They mainly made tin wind up toys and only made a few sets of doll furniture. There is a sleigh type bed, wash stand, chest of drawers and 2 chairs of this tin furniture. I added a canopy and bed clothes to the bed so it is a little difficult to see. There is a tiny Staffordshire piece on the mantle with a very early sampler hanging behind the piece. At the foot of the bed I have used a very old ornate perfume box to showcase the white hand blown milk glass tea set which is as delicate and thin as tissue paper. The rug came off from a chair seat and is nice and muted and worn. The door on the right side of the room leads to the center staircase. The Grodnertals are very happy and cozy in this most favorite room.

2nd Bedroom:
The room is 18 inches deep and 16 inches across the front. The wallpaper and faux marbled fireplace surround are original to the house. The fireplace insert itself is missing. I have put a “ too small” fire insert in to fill the void. The red upholstered chairs and table are made from feather quill in about 1850. The door on the left wall leads to the center staircase. The floor paper is original. The mantle holds a tiny piece of Staffordshire with a hand sewn sampler hanging above. The tin clock on the floor is a lithograph penny toy. I loved the graphics.

Ref: LSS001