Friday, March 8, 2013

My Bliss dollhouse.....

Yesterday
I introduced you to that
lovely Victorian Dollhouse made by R.Bliss

Today I would like to share
my own little house with you...

 Research has been difficult.
I have only seen two or three others like mine.
One is the Clarke Museum in Eureka ,CA.
part of the Elizabeth Anderson Collection.
Rufus Bliss was the founder of the 
R.Bliss manufacturing Co.,
in Pawtucket, R.I.
from 1832-1914.
The company was purchased after his death 
and continued to manufacture toys until the 1930's.
The company was a pioneer in the manufacturing of
lithographed paper wooden toys.
The earliest ads for the company appeared in the N.E. business
directory in 1871...
If you simply web search Bliss Dollhouses
you will pull up all sorts of images .
The thing I think that makes mine special
is how well it was taken care of.
There is the small torn piece of paper on the gable
but other than that 
it has minor wear compared to the other houses I have seen.
The one that sold on E-Bay yesterday was full of water damage
stains and torn paper and cracklure everywhere.
Lets take a small tour of the 
Flower House
 The front door opens under the tiny plaque
with the manufacturers name on it...
Notice some of the details are printed and then there are also two
decorative spindles hanging from the porch.
 Look at all the lovely little details on the trims,brickwork , and even curtains.
Here is the inside...
A real piece of lace for the downstairs open window,
 and tiny hinges for the door ...
Some nice close ups of the beautiful papers inside...

When I purchased this a few years ago
I just knew there was something special about it.

I had one doll house when I was a child...
 This was me
Christmas Morning I believe in 1982?
I still have the furniture
 but  the house is gone.
I'm not necessarily a dollhouse collector,
I just buy something if I like it!
In the past few years I have grown to love the metal Marx Style dollhouses
and farms after I purchased a small dairy barn for my son
at a flea market.
I have been waiting for the right dollhouse for myself  to come along.
Funny thing is...
a few months ago my mother in law let me look
through some of my husbands childhood photos
and there he is with his little Marx Farm! 
(he still makes that deer in the headlights face when you take his picture sometimes ;)

I have really enjoyed having my little Bliss Dollhouse on display
but as I mentioned I will be putting her up for auction.
Time to let someone else enjoy her.
I know several of you collect dollhouses...
Do you have any particular ones or brands you really love?
I'd really enjoy hearing about it!
If you know anyone looking for a Bliss ..
tell them to keep their eye out for mine on E-bay!

Happy Friday everyone!

20 comments:

  1. Oh your dollhouse is ADORABLE! (The closest thing I ever had to a dollhouse was the Barbie airplane thing...and I just saw one the other day at an estate sale!) I didn't realize you were so much younger than I am...when you were sitting there playing with dolls in 1982 I had just started college! ;)

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  2. HA!I'm not THAT much younger ;) I secretly played with those dolls until I was in my teens ;) SO funny, I have always been a little more eclectic than my friends and even when I was young I wanted to sit and listen to or "play" with the "adults".

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  3. I looked at your auction on ebay. I might be wrong, but it seems as though you have it in the category of dollhouse furniture rather than the category of dollhouses. You might want to check that - I hope you get lots of money for it! :)

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  4. I appreciate the thoughts. I placed it in the same category as the previous one that sold so well. There was no dollhouse category specifically, it starts with Dolls and Bears and then sub-categorizes. I thought that seemed weird - but it worked for the last one! Thank You again for your concern.

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  5. What a delightful dolls house - never anything like the ones I have seen here in the UK. Many thanks for calling it - it is greatly appreciated. Just to let you know that you don't need to be able to sew to make a banner/bunting - here is a link to some that you could also easily make
    http://www.molliemakes.com/projects/tutorial-tuesday-a-quick-christmas-banner/

    An old posting of mine on Mollie Makes - these photos are 'allowed' elsewhere!!

    Thank you again
    Best wishes
    Jenny

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  6. I have one also to put up on auction. What do you think is a good starting price or reserve? Thanks

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