The history of the "baby house" or dolls house as it's known today
Originally dolls houses were actually aimed more at the grown ups than children! It was a hobby of the more affluent people in society to collect “baby houses” as they were known back in the late 17th and 18th centuries.
They were usually made to actually slot inside a cabinet. It would have the appearance on the outside of an ordinary piece of furniture but when it was opened it revealed an beautiful dolls house with many rooms. On the inside there would be furniture all scaled down to size and the craftsmanship was of a very high standards.
The dolls which were usually made of wood or wax are extremely collectible today.
Antique wax dolls are usually made by pouring wax into a mould. Wax does’nt really seem to be the perfect material for making dolls but they were less fragile than bisque or china and it could be tinted to give the doll a pretty and realistic skin tone.
It is sometimes quite tricky to accurately date these dolls because they were hard to mark and the only way they could do this was by labelling them.
It was in the 19th century that “baby houses” began to be known as dolls houses and were to be found in the nurseries of the children belonging to wealthy families.
They were often furnished with exquisite needlepoint rugs and furniture upholstered in silk. The furniture was usually made of excellent quality wood and was accurately cut down to scale.
By the end of the 19th century the dolls were made of glazed china and bisque. The attention to detail was amazing and often the dolls were equipped with their own gloves, purses, fans and even sewing kits!
In recent times plastic and metal dolls houses were introduced but undoubtedly it is the amazing craftsmanship of the early “baby houses” which have stood the test of time that remain firm favourites with miniature collectors today.
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