As the name suggests, the dollhouse is a miniature toy home. For centuries, the dollhouse was a popular play component for children. However, in recent times, the toymakers of The Little DollHouse Company are witnessing an interesting surge of collectors as well.
You can trace the history of the dollhouses to four hundred years through the baby house display cases of Europe. Smaller dollhouses came into existence in the 18th Century. Even though the earlier dollhouses were handcrafted, people started to mass-produce the dollhouses after World War II.
The Historical Facts about Dollhouse
The earliest sign of a dollhouse that historians could ever find was five thousand years old and discovered inside a tomb in Egypt. However, historians think that the miniature figures and furnishings were created for religious purposes.
Baby houses of the 16th century are the earliest known dollhouses. These baby houses were filled with miniatures furniture and household items and were solely meant for the adults. The name baby house was given to describe the size of the house rather than its intended demographic.
The smaller dollhouses started to appear in Europe in the 18th century.
The manufacturers of the dollhouses started mass producing them after world war II. Before that, most of the European dollhouses were made of wood and exquisitely handcrafted.
With mass production, the intricate details of the dollhouses become less and less common. Companies started to make dollhouses with painted sheet metal along with plastic furniture. That reduced the price of the dollhouses greatly and made sure it is available to people of all walks of life.
Standard Scale
According to the toymakers of The Little DollHouse Company, the baby houses of the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as the dollhouses of the 18th and 19th centuries, were not built maintaining any scale. The concept of scale came in the 20th and 21st centuries. The dollhouses and the miniature furniture that were made during this time were built according to 1:18 or two-third inch scale.
The toy house accessories that are meant for collection maintain the 1:12 scale. However, the toymakers of the USA maintain a 1:24 scale while creating the accessories for dollhouses. These days, you can find furniture that is built maintaining 1:48 or 1:144 scale. The latter is known as the dollhouse for a dollhouse scale.
Construction
There are two types of dollhouses available in the market. According to the toymakers, the USA-style dollhouses come with a fancy front and open back. The English-style dollhouses are, however, made with a hinged front that you can open to reveal the rooms.
The dollhouses meant for the children in the 20th century were made with fire boards, plastic, metal, and wood. Mostly, the furniture and accessories of the dollhouses are made of plastic.
The contemporary kit and the fully built houses are generally made of plywood or medium-density fibreboard. According to the toymakers, these toy houses are generally lightweight and are available at a substantially low price. However, these dollhouses often require sidings or other related exterior treatment to make sure that they look as realistic as possible.
Doll Houses Made for Adult Enthusiasts
As the trend of collecting the dollhouse increased, the chances of finding different types of dollhouses for the enthusiasts also were on the rise. The miniature objects that are used for decoration inside the dollhouse include interior decorations, furniture, dolls, pets, plants, etc. Items like books, wallpaper, couches, kitchen furniture, and even clocks and light settings can also be easily found these days.
While you can buy almost every accessory that you can think of from the stores like The Little DollHouse Company, some enthusiasts like to build the components on their own. There are kits available in the market that help the enthusiasts create the doll furniture that they want for their dollhouse. Every year, hundreds of different trade shows are organized across the world where the enthusiasts meet, display, and sell their products.
Collections of Vintage doll Houses
Instead of making the dollhouses on their own, some enthusiasts like to collect the antique dollhouses of the yesteryears. These collectors across the world share their tips, expertise, and information about the antique dollhouse and some of them have even opened museums that are dedicated to the dollhouses.
Women and doll Houses
In the 17th century, as the popularity of the dollhouses enhanced, the shift of the dollhouses became more feminine focussed. From the collectible male-oriented artifact, the dollhouses became the female-oriented model of domesticity. The focus of the dollhouse again shifted in the 20th Century and children came to the focus.
All in all, there is no denying that the dollhouses serve an excellent purpose of keeping the children engaged while stoking their creativity at the same time. It does not matter whether you want to collect the dollhouses for yourself or want to purchase them for your children, make it a point to always purchase them from reputed stores like The Little DollHouse Company.
