Jump to content

Hello from Chicago


CodyWHaul

Recommended Posts

Hi, everybody

My name is Cody, and I recently dragged my (disassembled) childhood dollhouse out of the basement to try to refurbish over the winter since I can't work on the renovations of my real house until I have a 2nd set of hands. 

I have no idea what the make and model of the dollhouse is -- my granddad built it from a kit in the late '80s and my Google-fu has failed to turn up a match. So, I'm going to be building it with no instructions... and this is my first and only dollhouse.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, havanaholly said:

Welcome to the little family, Cody.  Your photos look like parts of an elderly (1940s-50s) house with those lithographed walls.  Do you have the roof pieces?

Yes, the peak of the roof runs from side to side instead of front to back. It's made out of cheaper particle board than the walls. The top side has a plastic-y feel to it, and the shingles are just black lines printed straight on it at the manufacturer's. There's a plastic chimney cap that fits over the peak and just perches with nothing holding it in place, but I'm not sure what box it is in. The furniture kit (that I'm pretty sure came with the house kit) appears to be all balsa wood. The siding, floors, first story ceiling, and walls all have/had paper on them. The paper inside was attached with still-sticky rubber cement, so I think Granddad did it. The exterior is proving impossible to get off, so I think it came pre-applied. 

20211112_204852.jpg

Edited by CodyWHaul
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, Medieval said:

Is it metal like tin or wood?

It's heavy-duty particle board. I took a closeup of one of the window holes in the back wall so you can see the wall thickness. The base is sturdier than the wood my IKEA headboard is made from. The dimensions of the back wall are 40" long x 15" deep x 15" high.

20211112_204910.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it could be a  Strombecker  ......This site is awesome for finding antique houses.....http://www.mckendry.net/DOLLHOUSES/1890s.htm

Thanks for sharing the pictures.

https://www.blurb.com/b/10335570-strombecker-dollhouses-and-furniture-1931-1961

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/13/2021 at 12:14 AM, Mid-life madness said:

I think it could be a  Strombecker  ......This site is awesome for finding antique houses.....http://www.mckendry.net/DOLLHOUSES/1890s.htm

Thanks for sharing the pictures 

I'm going to call it a Strombecker until corrected. They went out of business 20+ years before the dollhouse was put together, so I can picture Granddad finding it in the back of a hobby shop. The furniture would have had to be a separate kit then - it is slot & tab and made from balsa wood. 

I've been trying to document what I'm doing as I go so I can show my family since they live across the country. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...