A Parade Of Little Fireplaces

Oh my goodness...is it really THAT long since I last posted on here, huge apologies! I have been here at KT Miniatures..honest (well most of the time), but life just lately has been non stop, plus there have been some little distractions too (ie. grandchildren and extra Grandma duties).  Many  gorgeous  treasures have come and gone off the website these past few weeks, and at times business has been brisk, but I have not been able to find the time to feature them on here.

Well today I decided I must make time for this blog, and this morning I have listed several fireplaces and related items to KT Miniatures website. They vary in age, scale, design and of course...price. 

Unknown Antique Wooden Fireplace

This unvarnished wooden fireplace is intriguing. I feel it is very old but I know nothing of its origin or maker. Judging by the style I suspect this was made during the inter-wars era, and probably homemade. 

Curiously there is a tiny letter F written in pencil in the hearth, so I suspect there was some kind of fire fret or grate over the top of this writing, but now it is long gone. It would not be too difficult to create a simple fire fret out of card. 

Two c1930s Tiny Toy Fireplaces

This mottled painted fireplace is instantly recognisable as a Tiny Toy fireplace, made in the 1930s. Various Tiny Toy furniture came in this speckled painted finish. 

The style of this fireplace is very 1930s in style. There is a simple painted wooden grate and fire insert plus a fixed hearth. 

Here is another Tiny Toy fireplace, and although it is the same shape as the other fireplace,  as you can see it has a very different finish. 

This comes in a varnished wooden finish, with decorative green painted strips around the surround. The wooden grate is very similar to the one seen in the mottled fireplace. This too has a very 1930s and Art Deco feel to it. 

All three fireplaces above are suitable for a 1/16th scale dolls house or old dolls house where scale does not matter. 

Unusual Vintage Wooden Fireplace

Here is a larger and quite substantial wooden fireplace, and quite unusual in style. Exact age or maker is unknown.  However there is what looks to be a possible price of 6/11 written in pencil on the back, which suggests that this could be from the pre-decimalisation era (1971) and that it was probably made commercially. 

The mantelpiece is unusually shaped and edged in wood effect wallpaper. Some lighter wallpaper is found along the top and around the lower central area of the fire surround. The hearth is covered in vintage brick paper which has been heavily varnished. 

At 4" high, this should be suitable for a 1/12th scale dolls house, and  possibly even a slightly larger scale dolls house too. 

Two early 1950s Dol-Toi Fireplaces

This green painted wooden fireplace (seen above) is by Dol-Toi and the pink painted wooden fireplace (seen below) also by Dol-Toi,  are so pretty and simply ooze nostalgia! The green fireplace is in a good played with condition. 

The pink fireplace is showing a little wear on the paintwork (there is a weeny bit of paper missing from the left side border of the printed lit fire paper image) but nothing too detrimental. 

Both these fireplaces date from the early 1950s and are suitable for a 1/16th scale dolls house. 

c1950s Yellow Painted Barton Fireplace

I really like this simple wooden fireplace by Barton, it reminds me of my childhood lounge fireplace. This particular model dates from the 1950s. 

This has been given a tiled effect finish by scored symmetrical lines, so very typical of the 1950s style fireplaces found in the UK houses at that time. In fact the tiled fireplaces were even found in the 1930s too. 

The Barton fireplace is in 1/16th scale. 

My childhood house that I grew up in was a 1930s house with a grey tiled fireplace in our lounge.  I remember watching the fire being cleaned out every morning (apart from in the summer), then the fire would be set with screwed up newspaper placed on top of the grate, kindling wood would be placed on top, and then one or two lumps of coal. This would not be lit until late afternoon. We had no other heating in the rest of the house, and as we never knew anything different back then, we just wore lots of layers of warm clothes. I would often wake up seeing the curtains frozen to my bedroom window. My kids who have been brought up in central heated houses, think that this is hilarious!! 

A Couple Of Old Fire Accessories

This old fender is of solid brass and is rather decorative along the top. 

It is quite compact in size, measuring just 3 1/4" in length and is actually in a relatively good played with condition which is nice. (Often these old brass fenders are seen discoloured or badly mottled). 

And finally, here is a 1930s Taylor and Barrett metal coal box. 

The small lid is removable, so  needless to say, there are many of these tiny coal boxes out there missing either the lid or the bottom half! So although the base is slightly damaged, it is refreshing to still have the lid with this coal box. 

 Yep, some previous little owner has clearly tried to poke their finger (or some implement) through the base, so it has split slightly but thankfully the damaged base is well hidden so not noticeable. Nevertheless though, I am selling this at a reduced price due to the damage. 

All items seen here are at the time of writing this blog are available for purchase and can be seen on the Living and Dining Room Page on KT Miniatures:

https://ktminiatures.com/living-and-dining-room/
 
Thanks for stopping by.

Celia

KT Miniatures