'Tis So Good To Be Creating Again....

At long last I have been able to get back to my workbench once more, after a considerable absence of doing so....and it feels great!

 

I had the theme of our next weekend's workshop in mind as I created these items (an Edwardian room in the throes of being wallpapered). Various furniture and specific relevant items covered in old sheeting as the wallpapering is taking place! However they could just as easily suit a spare room or even attic too.

 

 

These will be unveiled properly at next Saturday's workshop sales table (24th November)....and then what is not sold, will be listed on KT Miniatures soon after.

Please Respect My Copyright

 Yep...this little chestnut has raised it's ugly head again.
 

PLEASE by all means, enjoy the photos and content of both KT Miniatures Journal and www.ktminiatures.com

but

please do also remember that they are protected by copyright.
 

It is both polite and a legal requirement to ask and be granted permission first before you use my photos and content. To "lift" my photos and text to put onto another website without my knowledge/consent is a clear breach of my copyright! 

You will find that there is and always has been a Copyright Disclaimer to the right of this KT Miniatures Journal and also within Terms & Conditions on every KT Miniatures web page.

So yet again,  this is a polite request to please respect my copyright.

Thank you

Celia

An Old Miniature LMS Train Time Table....And Two Other Rare Treasures.

I have had some rather special miniatures come in these past few days, some of which were snapped up immediately they went up for sale on Monday....I will show you those lower in this posting. However first, I want to show you something that I listed late yesterday and something that I have never seen before. It is amazing.......

A very old LMS Time Table....in miniature!

 LMS, for those who don't know (I didn't fully and had to Google it) stands for....London Midland Scottish Railway....which was one of the main railway companies that I understand commenced in 1923 and then ended when it was nationalised at the beginning of January 1948.

So this is old....exactly how old, I don't know. It measures just 1" in length and has simply LMS printed on the red front and back cover. The spine says LMS Time Table. There are a lot of pages in this little book....far too many for me to count, but every page appears to have a different time table and information. I even got my very big strong magnifying glass out to see if it was possible to read any of it but nope.....the print is too weeny and my eyesight is not quite what it used to be. I guess this was created as a novelty marketing item for the railway company.

I am also surmising, that due to material shortages during and after the war, that this wouldn't have been printed in the 1940s and am assuming that this was printed either 1920s or 1930s. It is in excellent condition, with just some staining on the lower edge of the pages....hardly noticeable. This has been sitting up in a loft for decades, untouched, along with the other items that appear below.

How cool it would be to have this sitting on your old dolls house sideboard or table! Could also appeal to railway enthusiasts. Can be found on KT Miniatures Antique 1/12th General Page.
CLICK HERE TO SEE FULL DETAILS


And now for a couple of very special little items that came with the timetable and which were listed on KT Miniatures website on Monday but then which were sold almost immediately.

THE SMALLEST DOLL IN THE WORLD

First up is this teeny wooden doll that fits inside a wooden egg. These are around and if you look on the internet alone, much can be found out about them....but dating seems a little sketchy....anything ranging from late Victorian to the 1930s. This one appears to originate from the 1920s and has been stored away in an attic for decades, untouched. I have never handled one in such wonderful condition before, I don't think it has ever been played with.

 

 Isn't she lovely! The tiny doll, with jointed limbs, measures a mere 5/8" long.

RARE 1924/25 CHIVERS & SONS LTD.  JAM & BRITISH EMPIRE EXHIBITION ENVELOPE

 

 This envelope says it all really, doesn't it? 

This tiny strawberry jam ....and yes folks, I believe there is real strawberry jam in there, was made by Chivers & Sons Ltd. as a reproduction of the ones supplied to Queen Mary's Dolls House. The dolls house was actually on display at the British Empire Exhibition which took place at Wembley in London from 1924 to 1925.  The craftsmen and tradesmen who contributed to the dolls house, ranked amongs the very finest of the era.

As you can see on the front of the envelope, it tells us that this would have been purchased from the Chivers & Sons Ltd stand at the exhibition....

absolutely wonderful and a little piece of social history.

Rare French Dolls House With Musical Toy Carriage!

First of all.... I would like to extend a very warm welcome to several new Followers who have joined us on here just lately. I hope you'll enjoy KT Miniatures Journal and stop by regularly!

 Ok....now to these lovely items.....when I first set eyes on this old house with all its contents, I couldn't take my eyes off it and just stood there trying to take it all in! I have never seen anything quite like it before, let alone the iron musical carriage that comes with it. Even now, when I go back to take a look, I'm still noticing things that I hadn't seen  previously. 

I was told that it came from a Parisian attic and was from the early 1900s but those tin windows (probably German) suggest otherwise and is much more likely to originate from the 1930s at the very least.  But there is no doubt that it is quite old.

 I understand that this house was made by the head of a French household with the furnishings and accessories made by the females of the family, including the four little dolls. Then this has been passed down through the family, much played with and added to over the years.

The house comes with a real diversity of fixtures and fittings from the various eras eg. a Victorian framed photo of a gentleman, possibly a family member, sits above a fireplace and in complete comparison, there are a couple of 1954 Lundy Island triangular pictorial stamps of all things,  fixed to the wall above dresser shelves....how wonderful is that!

The house itself is created in wood very much like a trunk....in fact it could well have started life out as a trunk then been adapted into a dolls house. It has big heavy metal catches and hinges, opening out into two halves. There is a gorgeous rich red/terracotta ghesso type finish on the outside. The previous owner wiped the exterior down with a cloth and simply gave it a coat of wax polish...which has brought up the detail beautifully. Some rather lovely brickwork has been painted on the frontage and further details around the edges. There are three metal windows on the front with ticking canopies draping over each one.

The front door seemed so familiar and then the penny dropped (as they say).....of course it's an old Tri-ang dolls house door! On close inspection one can see a redundant swing catch on the edge of the front so I would suspect the original front door was wooden and swung outwards.

 There are four rooms and most of the furnishings plus accessories are fixed down, including one of the four homemade dolls.

As you can see, there are some very clever touches of food, plates etc made from buttons and material embellishments......amazing.

The wooden sink is laden with all sorts....including an old metal washboard and button plates waiting to be washed up.  Can you see the old hook coming out of the wall to represent a cold water tap.....nice touch!

 

The pillow on the bed is amazing...probably created from some sort of uniform badge. As you can see though, this house has been greatly played with and the fabrics are well worn and frayed, in fact quite threadbare in places such as around the bed. However, I don't know about anyone else but to me, the wear and tear simply adds to the charm.

But then, as you know, KT Miniatures is a huge fan of the "aged and much loved look".

 

And then there is this carriage, made out of iron and tin.....and incredibly heavy! If you wind the key underneath it plays O Sole Mio...yes honestly!  Like the dolls house, this has also been much played with. Only one wheel now goes round and the red velvet upholstery interior is in a poor condition where bits and pieces have so very obviously been glued in and then removed..... but nevertheless....this is utterly extraordinary. I have never seen anything quite like this before and have not been able to find out anything about it's origin. The only clue is a FOREIGN label stuck underneath. The music I understand was composed in 1898...so that's at least a marker to begin from!  I am assuming that it's the same age of the house .....but regardless of it's origins, it is amazing.

These two wooden headed dolls with wired limbs and, I suspect human hair, are in a sitting position so are intended for the carriage. It has been suggested that they could be a bride and groom?  There are two other dolls, one which is permanently fixed down to a round wooden plinth in the kitchen and a tiny pipe cleaner dog.....very sweet. All have been created in the same way.

Here is a short video of still photos of this house and toy carriage....please put your speakers on to hear the actual music from the carriage and enjoy!

This old house and carriage is now being offered for sale.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL INFO

GOOD NEWS FOR POSTING DOLLS HOUSES... OVERSEAS & IN UK!

Am thrilled to bits.....but first of all I must thank my lovely customer in Miami who, without her persistence and enthusiasm, this gem of a company would never have been found. I received a phone call from this intrepid lady a few days ago with the news that the two old dolls houses had arrived safe and sound, fully intact and that I could now breathe a huge massive sigh of relief...in fact she could as well....yay!!!!



Yay...time to celebrate indeed!

If you have followed KT Miniatures over the years, you will know that after some not nice experiences in shipping old dolls houses....I finally put a block on posting my houses outside the UK once and for all....to protect not just my own sanity but KT Miniatures' finances too....as insurance proved to be a joke.

However.....my lovely customer from the States came up with a proposition that if she could find a carrier who would come, pack the dolls houses themselves and deliver - taking away all responsibility and risk from me over packing and carriage......then would I consider selling her two dolls houses....... I found myself very nervously agreeing!

She found a brilliant company called Williams & Hill Forwarding Ltd. who I understand have an office in the States and UK. From the very beginning their service was incredible. Communication was excellent as James my UK contact regularly emailed and rang with updates.  My customer told me that the dolls houses arrived in a very large crate with a huge amount of packaging....so they had been well protected.

 I have to say that even the two gents that came to collect, handled these dolls houses with great care and I was very impressed. People who know me well will tell you that I am not easily impressed....in fact I can be incredibly pernickety!!! But impressed I certainly was. This company are used to dealing with high value antiques and works of art so they have to be expert at packing.

I know from communication received from overseas customers that it has been a source of irritation that I would not post big, fragile dolls houses outside of the UK-so hopefully now we have found a solution. However please remember that every single transaction will be different as all kinds of criteria will need to be considered including destination, size and weight, as well as whether it goes by air or sea.  But to have this now tried and tested service available for KT Miniatures' large and  fragile dolls houses, is to be celebrated!

So folks, if you are overseas and would like to purchase a dolls house (or two) from KT Miniatures then as long as you are willing to make your own arrangements with William & Harris Forwarding Ltd for collection, packing and delivery - this is now an option available to you.

 For UK Delivery

This same company will deliver within the UK too so for those of you who are not able to collect a big, old and extremely fragile dolls house in person from me here in Thame, Oxfordshire, this option could be available to you.

 If anyone would like more info about exploring the possibility of purchasing one of KT Miniatures dolls houses and using this delivery service, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me or visit their website: 

Williams & Hill Forwarding Ltd.