A HISTORY OF DOLL HOUSES

Mark this as a must for anyone who's interested in dolls or doll housing. From the historical, social and geographical points of view as well as the literary, it's a honey of a book for it tells most of what is known or can be guessed about western world doll housing- from the ancient Egyptians on- in a balanced yet pungently anecdotal style that is a pleasure to read. Along with the chronological organization which is later separated into different European countries and America, and still later, into famous collections- there is mention of especially noteworthy houses. The first information on that score is about the plague pit rocker found near London. It had to be exhumed but turned out to be a milestone in miniature architecture by establishing that the rocker was not originally Colonial American but mid 17th century English. France, Germany, Holland, the colonies- all are covered. There are chapters on types of rooms- the kitchen, the shop etc. There is a bibliography of helpful magazine articles on building and collecting; Mrs. Thorne's Rooms, Colleen Moore's Castle are but two of the show places discussed. Splandid outline of evolution, with photographs from many sources.