Windows From A c1930s Tri-ang No.53 Dolls House Available

Just gone up for sale recently are these metal windows from a c1930s  Tri-ang No.53 dolls house. The No.53 was part of the Ultra Modern Series (the flat roof art deco type).

These have all come from a totally dilapidated dolls house that could not be saved, and  rarely come along. They have all been over painted in blue, there is no acetate glazing, but are in a solid condition. The ones seen above are the smaller version.

There are some corner windows too, which are basically the smaller windows that have been bent at a 90 degree angle.

Then there is this large metal window.

Plus another large window that has been slightly curved as it has come from the bay window.

All of these are currently available and can be found under the "Restoration" section, on the following link:

http://ktminiatures.com/old-tri-ang-dolls-house-restoration/

There was a sun room that came with these but it was snapped up straight away, unsurprisingly due to its rarity.

There are one or two other components from the same dolls house including doors...which will go up for sale shortly.

Celia

A New KT Miniatures Website In The Offing....

Being a non techno' minded person, anything to do with computers, websites and well, basically technology in general, frightens me to death when problems arise.

And yep folks....KT Miniatures website is in trouble. 

Even though my current website is only 3 years old, a new website is needed and it is becoming ever more urgent due to the impending changes that "Wordpress" are bringing in which will create incompatibility issues that can no longer be ignored. 

 I'm  just going to have to grab the bull by the horns and learn a whole new method of website editing. 

A meeting is scheduled for today with a local IT company who, fingers crossed, are going to help create a new KT Miniatures website. They will need the patience of a saint!

Having listened to feedback from various sources with regards to the current website layout, I am considering changing the whole constructional format of how the antique and vintage dolls house items are displayed, in order to make it more concise and less complicated. 

However, we are still in the very early stages of discussing/planning so this is going to take quite a while to sort out.

Wish me luck!

Celia

Am Back From Travels - KT Miniatures Is Open Again!

Sorry to all of you who have been trying to get hold of me this past week or so.....have been away to Bruges  for a wonderful few days  break (a birthday present off family), but am now back and raring to go. I have just finished catching up on the backlog of emails. 

As I work from home, for obvious reasons I cannot broadcast beforehand when I am away. 

Thank you for your patience. 

Celia

Best Birthday Present Ever!

Well, followers of KT Miniatures will know that I have been awaiting the birth of my granddaughter for weeks. She had been giving her poor mum a real hard time from day one, it had not been an easy pregnancy. There have been a few dodgy moments, particularly at 28 weeks, and we all expected her to come early. Then the due date came and went, and the days rolled by. As my mega big birthday loomed on the horizon, family and friends would titter and say that wouldn't it be funny if she was born on my 60th birthday. But then we all thought no, she would definitely come before then surely:)

Ha ha, but guess what......9 days after the due date, on the afternoon of my 60th birthday last week, little Josie was born. Mum and baby are doing just fine. So my birthday plans were slightly amended last minute, and I spent my birthday evening at the hospital cuddling little Josie. The best birthday present ever....how could anything ever top that from now on!!!

I have been undertaking extra Grandma duties for her big brother and partaking in birthday celebrations ever since, but normality has now returned and I'm back at my computer once again.  Apologies for any slight delay in replying to emails and queries.

Celia  

Unusual Art Deco Furniture Identified As Austrian By Wallach & Co. Of Vienna

I love a mystery!

So when these three unusual dolls house pieces came in, I did my utmost to try and identify them...but to no avail. They remained a mystery.  Then they went up for sale on KT Miniatures website, and I could only describe as seen. I'd been coming around to the idea that they were possibly Japanese, and had discounted them from being British or German, for various reasons. 

Clearly all were in the Art Deco style, so I surmised that they were from the 1920s/30s. I have to say that whatever the wood is, it is very similar to some of those c1920s/30s Japanese pieces of furniture that have the inlay of Mount Fuji. 

Also the gold coloured decorative handles are very different from anything I have seen before.

And then, as so often is the case, a lovely person came forward and identified them for me!! Apparently I had the information here at my fingertips...on page 123 of Marion Osborne's "A-Z 1914 To 1941 Dollshouses" (now well out of print). However, the reason that I did not pick up on it is that the tiny photocopy image of this furniture in my old and well thumbed copy of this book, was far from clear, in fact quite blurred...so it had literally just passed me by all these years, I had never noticed it there at the bottom of page 123.

But Marion Osborne has forwarded the above image from her original book and kindly given me permission to use it in this blog posting, so thank you Marion! 

As you can see from the above information and the photo on the left, I can now definitively state that these two wooden sideboards and table date from the 1920s and were made by Wallach & Co of Vienna. It appears they are not British, not German, not Japanese but Austrian! They were sold by a continental American company that went by the name of Hyman Brummer, whose office and showroom were based at No.1 Amber Street, Shudehill, Manchester (UK). They were listed as being not just the agent and sole distributor for Wallach & Co, but for several other manufacturers too. Wallach & Co were advertised as a toy furniture manufacturer of artistic designs. 

Artistic designs they certainly were and I have not seen sideboards particularly made quite like this before! The larger sideboard is quite complex in design.

 All the doors and drawers open. 

It measures 6 1/8" wide x 2" at deepest point x 5" back height, and would say that it is probably nearest to being 1/16th scale.

The decorative veneer inlay is quite attractive, although it appears to have buckled slightly on the larger sideboard. 

The smaller sideboard is different again and has two unusual smaller upper shelves that are supported by metal rods. 

All the doors and single drawer open. 

This sideboard measures 4 1/8" wide x 1 1/2" deep x 4" back height. 

The table's pedestal support is quite unusual and has strips of the decorative veneer inlay around all four sides. 

The veneer inlay is also around the table top too. Height of the table is 2 1/8" so very much in the 1/16th scale. 

So there we are, mystery solved. 

The larger sideboard has already been snapped up but the smaller sideboard with table are being sold together, and are currently available. These can be found on the following page:
http://ktminiatures.com/living-and-dining-room/