Dollhouses throughout History

Although widely viewed today as children's toys, dollhouses throughout history did not originally start off as such.  The earliest known examples of miniature homes were found in ancient Egypt as grave goods in the tombs of pharaohs and high officials dating from the Old Kingdom era, created nearly five thousand years ago. These small wooden representatives of servants, furnishings, boats, livestock and pets were thought to aid the deceased live well in the afterlife.  

In the Chinese culture, while the full-sized terra-cotta figures that were buried along with the Emperor Chin (from nearly the same time period as the pharaohs) immediately come to mind, evidence from other royal tombs unearthed in the last 30 years have shown that as early as 60 years after Emperor Chin, there were other successors who buried armies of smaller sized figures, made of wood and dressed in the clothing fabrics of the day).  In recent years, evidence has come to light that some miniatures may have been placed in graves that date back to prehistoric times, such as those items found in the graves of individuals who were buried in the eras of the Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons.

Dollhouses, in the form we know today, appeared in Europe sometime during the 15th century, and each unique creation showed interiors idealized by their owners (usually the rich who specifically commissioned individual craftsmen to manufacture each hand made item contained inside), complete with extraordinarily detailed furnishings and accessories.  These dollhouses were solely made for/by adults, and off-limits to children, not because of safety concerns for the child, but for the dollhouse.

Such “cabinet houses” were actually trophy collections owned by matrons living in the cities of Holland, England and Germany who were wealthy enough to afford them. Oftentimes, when fully furnished, the houses and collections were worth as much as a modest full-sized house's construction. 

Although these houses, some on exhibit in museums around the world, were not made specifically to capture an era, activities performed in daily living are shown in such great detail that in some of them the viewer is able to take away some insight into the domestic life of the times portrayed.

By the end of the Industrial Revolution, there were several companies which commercially produced toys and games, including dollhouses and the furniture to furnish the inside.  Although by the end of the 19th century, there were manufacturers located in the United States which made dollhouses and their furnishings, the most prized of these were imported from Germany, which suffered after his involvement in World War I. 

Following World War II, dollhouses started being mass produced by factories on a much larger scale.  The item is placed inside less detailed craftsmanship than ever before, and by the time the 1950s rolled around, the typical dollhouse sold commercially was made up painted sheet metal filled with plastic furniture.  These houses were cheap enough to finally bring them firmly into the realm of children's toys, allowing a vast majority of girls who lived in the western countries which were not struggling with rebuilding following World War II to own a dollhouse.

In the modern era, owning a dollhouse appeals to both adults and children, and there is a good range of different kinds available, from the smaller 1:1 scale variety, up to those known as "Playscale" or 1/6 scale, suitable for dolls like Barbie, and even large dollhouse many feet high!

This is an original news article © The Kids Window

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