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section 6: sleeping, washing, dressing: bedrooms 1880s to 1920s (and the nursery) images & photography: Jennifer McKendry © home page GALLERY of IMAGES 1 GALLERY OF IMAGES 2 GALLERY OF IMAGES 3 GALLERY OF IMAGES 4 GALLERY OF IMAGES 5 INDEX of GALLERY History of Dollhouses article THE BEDROOM
1878 typical, upper middle-class, American houses; bedroom floor level including closets and a bathroom; Bicknell's Village Builder
tall ceilings, pronounced cornices, wall papered walls (12 inches high representing 12 feet); coal-burning fireplaces, in this case, with a vivid marble surround and colourful tiles; gilt-framed paintings -- a Romantic landscape flanked by ancestral portraits, emphasizing the importance of the family and the significance of lineage (note: the red tape is part of the rooms' hinging system)
specially painted, panelled doors probably into closets or dressing rooms; branch motifs wander across the upper, as well as the lower panels, as if glimpsed beyond the dividing stiles; a framed motto hangs from a visible cord at the level of the door tops in order to allow room for a tall headboard of a bed or a dressing table or chest of drawers with a mirror
woven carpeting with individual rose
and blue flowers positioned within a diaper pattern formed by vines; small Oriental rugs
are placed in front
c1900 bedroom of McLoughlin's Garden House with a set of German furniture
1921 By the time of this bedroom from the 1920s, colours have been toned down, furnishings are derived from the classical style of the late 18th century and lighting made more even with electrical wall fixtures and bedside lamps (toy cardboard 4-room apartment, New York, 1921-23)
1872 furniture from Stevens & Brown, Cromwell, Conn., USA painted cast-iron bureau (available
with or without a mirror and in a variety of sizes), sidechair and cradle (below);
these push the limits of credulity when one considers the bureau and cradle would
have been made from solid wood in real life, but this is more than made up by the charming
designs
small, painted, cast-iron bed with scrolled ends attributed to Stevens & Brown; Empire style; just over 4½" long
below 1872 tin set of bedroom furniture by Stevens & Brown; painted in oak grain; displaying the busy spooled and scrolled forms associated with "Victorian style" or more specifically a revival of Elizabethan or Tudor
above this 1872 American "Chamber Set" included a bed, chest of drawers (bureau) with mirror, small table, 2 sidechairs, washstand and towel rack
this 1874 "Chamber Set", also of painted tin, included 4 sidechairs, a mantel with tools and a grate, sleigh bed in the Empire style, wall mirror, towel rack, washstand and chest of drawers; catalogue of Althof, Bergmann & Co., New York; likely German in origin
c1880 set of oak bedroom
the sidechair, 3½" high, has a dull blue, flocked velvet seat trimmed with a fringe; the front legs are scrolled in an odd pattern
the chaise lounge has a single scrolled end with a wood decoration (representing the end of a round cross-piece) and squat legs with very wide turnings tapering to tiny feet
the beds, each 5½" long, have their original mattresses and triangular bolsters, made of cardboard and covered with striped linen; the mattresses are stuffed with wood shavings and tacked through with heavy thread; the head and foot boards have handsome crests with very thin wood strips representing inlay made of dark and light coloured wood; the side rails are scalloped where they meet the end boards
sidechair with false-grained back and gold lines representing inlay; metallic, thin, pressed seat trim; legs with wide turnings and tiny feet
c1890 headboard of the Biedermeier bed shown below; imitation gilt "inlay" on "rosewood"; the actual wood is a lighter colour with a large grain; bed 7¼ inches long, 5½ inches high detail showing one of the side-rails below overall picture
c1900 bed with Art Nouveau impressed designs in the cresting of the head and foot boards; golden finish on wood; sold by the Schwarz toy store in Philadelphia; attributed to the maker Schneegass, Germany; old pillows, modern hand-made quilt
c1900 cheval glass with impressed Art Nouveau design on cresting; red stain finish on wood; attributed to the maker Schneegass of Germany German lady with blond hair in a bun; original dress painted metal tabby cat
c1900 chest of drawers and mirror decorated with impressed Art Nouveau design on cresting; red stain finish on wood; attributed to the maker Schneegass of Germany German man in original suit
c1910 undated French postcard and detail showing toy sidechair and wardrobe, the latter with attractive door panels in Art Nouveau style, pierced work in cresting
WASHING AND SUCH
1889 advertisement from Montgomery Ward catalogue
c1880s although too
large in scale for most plumbing was unreliable and bathrooms often inconveniently located and chilly in the winter; toothbrushing and spot washing at a washstand in the bedroom, along with the convenience of a night chamber pot, continued well into the first three decades of of the 20th century
below 1914 metal painted and enameled washstand; complete with mirror, soap, sponge, towels, jug, basin and bucket; just under 9" high; Marshall Field catalogue
c1910 "red stain" chest of drawers with separate swing mirror; chest with paper label "Germany" c1920s painted tin washstand with mirror and metal basin (missing metal jug and side towel bars); 4½" high
1921 in the 1920s, bathroom fixtures finally became a standard offering in dollhouse furnishings (particularly in metal by Tootsietoy and Arcade - see History of Dollhouses, link at bottom of this page); something of the novelty is captured in the rhetoric of this 1921 Sears Roebuck ad (above) for a white enamel, wood set: "Has your doll house a bathroom?"; the set has metal faucets; tub about 6" long; toilet (right) about 4½" high with metal pipes and a toilet paper holder, which permits the "roll" (made from unpainted wood) to spin
pedestal sinks and free-standing tubs
on feet are typical at this time, as seen in these images from a real plumbing catalogue
THE NURSERY
large metal painted bathtub on stand; 10" long; Marshall Field catalogue
left painted metal baby's tub on substitute stand; 3-lobe faucet to drain tub; tub 4½" long; German maid in original uniform and baby
c1910s painted metal half-canopy child's bed with original drapery; little girl (in recent dress) on metal rocker
1901 although far too large for a dollhouse, this metal 18" long bed with a half-canopy shows how beds were dressed, including tie-backs for the curtains, which reach only to the mattress level; there is an upwards slanted, rectangular, open frame on which the draperies hang (such a frame is visible on the1922 doll's bed below sold by Sears Roebuck, lengths ranged from 14 to 30"); behind the metal headboard is more drapery (the head cloth); the bedspread (counterpane) is tucked in to allow the side rails to show; Youth's Companion
complete canopies and curtains on high post beds were no longer practical once central heating was available; the half canopy was a token remembrance of a past era, during which textiles were highly valued as part of a family's assets
right 1922
1905 baby carriage in pewter representing wicker; Wiemann & Muench catalogue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
right 1925 folding go-cart (stroller) in bronze finish over metal by Tootsietoy, an American firm; Tootsie catalogue # 46 by Dowst Brothers, Chicago
below 1925 folding metal go-cart, 3" long in open position; bisque little girl (2¾" high, original clothes) and pup, both marked Germany
c1920s folding go-cart, bronze finish over metal, 2½" long in open position, (not marked with maker's name or country); bisque toddler in original clothes and hair bow, 1¾" high; painted metal dog
MORE BEDROOM FURNITURE
c1900-c1920s, painted, soft metal Penny Toys; "brass" bed by Simon & Rivollet of France, 2½" long; some pieces are marked France; bisque girl with moulded bonnet and original cloth dress, 2" high
1905 pewter bed in Wiemann & Muench catalogue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1903 oak bed with a tall head board
1905 oak bedroom set (Montgomery Ward catalogue) including 2 sidechairs, a table and a rocking chair; the chair backs will evolve into a type popular into the 1920s but here the chairs retain the older form of turned legs and fringe trim; the chiffonier has the old fashioned, wide, turned feet; the table with a base composed of two flat, cut-out, thin, spliced pieces of wood continues in the next decades -- compare with the advertisement below
1914 bedroom set in varnished walnut finish including a picture, cradle and "serving stand" (fitting on the bed); the fringes and turned legs or feet have been abandonned in favour of sawn wood; Montgomery Ward catalogue
1919 on left and 1921 on right, which includes a sofa and desk; both Sears Roebuck catalogues
unusual painted wood bed with pronounced curves
metal bed with cherub head on end board
left 1914 Butler brothers catalogue
1914 painted metal with mesh mattress support; Marshall Field catalogue
1905 although only one of these chest of drawers is small enough to fit into a dollhouse (upper left corner), they are a good indication of styles then popular; despite the use of curves and scrolls, there are also straight lines, sometimes appearing like reeding, as on the lower left chest's mirror, extending to the edges of the boards, as seen in Charles Eastlake's Hints on Household Taste of 1878; Wiemann & Muench catalogue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
c1920s; "Made in Germany"; note use of parallel straight lines
stamp on back; (top horizontal board replaced); part of a set (see also The Parlour in section 5); 6" high
c1910-20 dressing table and stool, marked "Germany", painted green with impressed floral design on drawer, swing mirror
false-grained over tin; 3¾" high; signed on bottom but difficult to read
PLEASE RETURN AS NEW SECTIONS WILL BE ADDED! top top of page home page history of dollhouses dolls for dollhouses 1 references on dollhouses & miniatures GALLERY of IMAGES 1 GALLERY OF IMAGES 2 GALLERY OF MAGES 3 GALLERY OF IMAGES 4
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above
1894 the American firm McLoughlin produced a set of 4 rooms with lithographed
walls showing the furnishings and decor enjoyed by the urban upper classes; the main
bedroom was elegantly decorated and furnished; by the 1890s, bathrooms, large closets
and/or dressing rooms were standard in well-to-do houses (right) but
were not necessarily incorporated into dollhouses; German furnishings c1880s-c1910s
of each door; tiled hearth -- of a sort British designer Charles Eastlake
might have approved, below are samples made by Maw & Co. and illustrated in Eastlake's
Hints on Household Taste
The walls and curtains of the room are strongly coloured in red and greens
repeated in the Oriental carpet; the latter's exotic aspect is reinforced in the strange
screen in the arch over the end wall's bay window and in the pillows and window seat -- as
if expecting reclining members of a harem -- in contrast with the very Western
neoclassical fireplace and mirrored overmantel
incorporating hearts, lattice-work and scrolls; spooling (Elizabethan
Revival) on the corners, however, was found on real bureaux of the period
furniture: bedside cabinet, pair of single beds, wardrobe
(missing finials at top corners), sidechair and chaise lounge, likely German
1889 this bedroom set has 8 pieces, including 2 beds, a
cabinet, 4 sidechairs and a table with a six-sided top and turned centre pedestal,
possibly with lithographed paper coverings in the Biedermeier style; it shows how such
items were tacked onto the bottom of a fancy cardboard box when being presented for sale;
Montgomery Ward catalogue; likely German in origin
c1900 an austere set relying on straight lines emphasized
by black bands (representing ebony) and solid bases; the swirling wallpaper lining the
inside lid of the washstand comes as a surprise, with an interior piece cut-out to receive
the basin from a toilet set ; only 1¼" deep, all the drawers open in the chest of
drawers
dollhouses, this toy toilet set shows the range of items found in expensive sets,
including perforated covers for the soap and toothbrush dishes; unmarked, likely English
in origin; gilt decoration added freehand as borders and in the form of leaves and
stems for the 3-dimensional "roses" or knobs; longest lid 3" in length; (basin
substituted from another set)
left 1905
tin washstand, 6 inches high; his and hers? -- two faucets for two jugs and
basins; the draped material is perhaps toweling; Wiemann & Muench catalogue,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
of the Robertson
Company in Toronto, Ontario, pre 1920; however, tubs sitting flush on the floor are also
illustrated and will soon take over, as built-in appliances and counters are a growing
trend in the 1920s and '30s
below 1914
