Dolls' Houses

Description

The earliest known dolls' house was made in Bavaria in the mid-sixteenth century. Like most of those built in the following 250 years, it was designed not to be played with, but to be a perfect representation in miniature of a princely house, and to reflect the wealth of the owner. This book outlines the history of these little buildings.

Author description

Halina Pasierbska has worked for the Victorian and Albert Museum since 1969, spending thirteen years at the National Art Library before in 1982 she transferred to the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood. There she became involved in the study of developmental toys, in 1988 setting up the Learing Toys Gallery, which she has since revised.

Table of contents

Early German baby houses; The Dutch cabinet house; The English baby house in the eighteenth century; the dolls' house in the nineteenth century; The dolls' house after 1900; Further reading; Places to visit