Pit-a-Pat Cake Stands

I recently discovered, through information given by my friend Jenny to the Dolls' Houses Past & Present website, that Pit-a-Pat made two very different types of cake stand.

The one on the left is the Pit-a-Pat cake stand I was aware of and have owned for a while but I had no idea that the company also made the one on the right. It's made from some form of plastic and wire, which is not at all what you would expect from Pit-a-Pat, which is known for its wooden dolls' house furniture and accessories.

Here they are without the cakes.

And these are the labels.  The wooden one is earlier - Marion Osborne dates the label on that one as 1934-39.

The label on the yellow one is clearly visible peeping out from under the shop's label. Marion Osborne dates this label to the end of 1939-40/41 so it was one of the last pieces produced by Pit-a-Pat before toy production ceased.

It was a lucky coincidence that, just a few weeks after learning about the plastic version, I saw one for sale on eBay and I very excitedly snapped it up.  

I was, however, left with a bit of a dilemma - the style of it is so different from all my other 1930s furniture that it just didn't look quite right sitting alongside it.  And then, last night, I had a little brainwave (or as close as I ever get to such things!)...

...and here it is looking very at home in the sun trap of my Triang 53 (Ultra Modern)!  I'm sure you will be familiar with that warm, happy feeling you get when you find just the right place for a piece.

Until next time,

Zoe

Two Blissful Dolls' House Days

Friday was a special day for me as my friend and fellow vintage dolls' house collector, Jenny (another Jenny!) came up from London to visit.  Jenny has a wonderful collection of Triang houses with contemporary English furniture that I was lucky enough to view earlier this year.   She also illustrated this enchanting story, written by her brother - a must for all dolls' house enthusiasts, though it does seem to be quite hard to come by now:

The afternoon and evening whizzed over in a blissful blur as I showed Jenny my own dolls' houses and we discussed the finer points of their furnishing etc.  Jenny held nothing back and I was firmly instructed to remove one or two incongruous or ill-placed pieces of furniture from various rooms, which was brilliant as she was absolutely right and the rooms look much better for it - sometimes it's hard to see the wood for the trees.

She did also mention that I had far too many animals, particularly dogs, in my houses, so clearly there are limits to her judgement too and not one of them was removed, ha ha!

We also managed to sort out my dilemma regarding the bedroom in the Triang Princess 2. Having employed my other friend Jenny's suggestion of looking at the front of the house as a whole, I had decided that continuing the Pit-a-Pat theme into the bedroom was definitely the right thing to do, but I still had the problem of what to do with the big Triang four poster.  I was convinced it was too big for the attic room of my Triang 81 but Jenny thought not and insisted (and I use that word advisedly!) that we try it. And look! She was absolutely right, it looks great in there, not too big at all!

Here is the Pit-a-Pat in the Princess 2 bedroom.  I think it suits the cottage much better than the Elgin/Triang, though there is a lot to be done in both the 81's attic room and this room to make them properly habitable.

So, having put my mini world to rights on Friday, Jenny and I were up bright and early yesterday morning to go to Leeds Dolls' House Fair, probably better known as Pudsey Dolls' House Fair.  After meeting up with my other friend Jenny, who very kindly drove us to the fair, the three of us had a fabulous day sniffing out vintage treasures and marvelling at each others' finds.  This is what I came back with:

These are all die-cast metal. The sentry box is for Bert the Grecon guard, to make him feel more at home.  The little bee hive is for Ophelia's garden. The chicken in her nesting box will probably go in a kitchen somewhere (yes, so unhygienic!)

The Britains bushes have gone here, outside the Triang DH/D, at least for he time being.

These little vintage or vintage-ish bits and pieces will add a bit of clutter to my houses - as if they need it.  I particularly like the flower trough which I'd never seen before. I love the Scottie dog too - Jenny just rolled her eyes!

I also bought a smattering of new and nearly-new bits and pieces.  Jenny found the dog-paw doormat which I had to buy for my pooches. The beautifully-made building blocks in a box and tiny hand-knitted hat, mittens and golly are by Emma Jane Miniatures and the crates are by Harlands of Hedon.

These two hand-stitched rugs were a snip at £20 and £4.50 respectively, given the work that must have gone into into them - I marvel at the skill and patience of anyone who can make these themselves.  The photo on the right shows the larger one siting happily in the new Pit-a-Pat bedroom of the Princess 2.  I think the smaller one will go nicely in one of the nurseries.

I'm always a happy bunny if I find Grecons at a fair and yesterday I found these two.  I'm particularly pleased with the lady on the right who is a nice early melon footer. 

She was surely made for my Austrian chap, Ludwig! Does this spell disaster for his wife Gloria and their children I wonder?

So, after a fabulous day at the fair, the two Jennys and I returned to my house for a swift bit of serious dolls' housing before both Jennys had to head for home.  What a treat to have two like-minded enthusiasts for 'important' dolls' house discussion and to have a giggle with.  Thank you so much to both Jennys (both very lovely ladies) for a brilliant couple of days!

Until next time,

Zoe

Placing and Pondering

Yesterday, I spent a very pleasant hour or so 'placing' a couple of the items I've bought in the last few weeks - some might call it playing!

Isn't it disappointing when you buy something with a particular place in mind for it but when you try it out there it just doesn't look right?  Luckily, the opposite was the case with this Colin and Yvonne Roberson plant trough, I added a couple of plants - kindly donated by Ophelia from her walled garden - and put it in the porch of 'Agar Hall' (my Triang No.81) and I'm pleased as punch with it.

I also 'won' this Pit-a-Pat fire screen in a job lot and have added it to the living room of 'Y Bwthyn Bach' (my Triang Princess 2) which should probably have a change of name to Pit-a-Pat Cottage as it's steadily filling up with furniture from that range (the china cabinet, fireplace, mantle clock, round coffee table and green suite in this photo are all Pit-a-Pat) which seems to suit it to a tee.  I also added these finely crocheted antimacassars by Carol Snow to the suite for a nice homely touch.

The developing Pit-a-Pat theme in the house led me on to pondering the bedroom. I'm not sure why, but I've never been entirely happy about the bedroom.  I do love the furniture, especially the big Triang Jacobean Period Furniture four poster which was a very lucky find, but I can never make my mind up if it is right for this house. Rita, the lady of the house, has never been entirely comfortable with it either, she feels it's a little too grand for a cottage and for her too, given her humble background.  

I do have this lovely brown Pit-a-Pat bedroom suite, currently on trial in the attic room of Agar Hall. The matching twin beds don't yet have bedding so these two dressed beds are standing in for them at the moment.   The question is, do I put the Pit-a-Pat into the bedroom of Y Bwthyn Bach where I do think it would look nice.   BUT, if I do that, where will the Elgin for Triang furniture from there go? The four poster certainly won't fit in here.  AND, the Pit-a-Pat does fit this room quite nicely.  Decisions, decisions..  I suppose I'll just have to do a bit more pondering and 'placing' until it all works itself out - quel domage!

Until next time,

Zoe

More from Wallington Hall

A few more photos from Wallington Hall, as Jenny reminded me that we spotted a few other 'firsts' for us when we visited on Tuesday:

It isn't a great photo - some of the rooms were dark and frustratingly, some were completely unlit too - but this is the Chippendale Period Furniture four poster bed made for Triang by Elgin of Enfiled from 1921 to 1922 (Marion Osborne - 'The Book of Tri-ang Furniture').  Even harder to see in the photo are two chairs from that suite too.  I don't think the bed drapes are original as they're nothing like either of the two examples shown on the CD that accompanies Marion Osborne's book.

Again, it's not a great photo, but we thought that this was the round table from the same set.  

Other 'spots' included this beautiful Westacre lamp in the 'French House'.

 

And I didn't actually notice this lovely Westacre book trough until I was reviewing my photos this morning!

Other little highlights for me were this [presumably] cold-painted bronze tiger rug (and dog!)...

...this wonderful fire screen...

...and these gorgeous painted plates, all in Hammond House.

This super-beardy Grecon grandad with hat also caught my eye - he'd be a fabulous candidate for my friend Rosemary's 'Beaver Club'!

Anyone who knows me will know that I'm not a fan of Dol-Toi dolls, however, we came across this Dol-Toi gentleman and I have to admit that he does look quite handsome. Certainly worthy of a photo.

Many of the houses in the Wallington Hall collection contain pieces of the relatively more commonly-seen Elgin and early Triang pieces as well as Barton, Twiggs, Kensal Craft etc., and Grecons, Tomacs and Doll-Tois pop up all over the place, which makes it great fun for geeky dolls' house spotters like Jenny and myself! Next time we go we will be sure to take torches and who knows what else we'll find...

Oh and finally, this is the photo Jenny thanked me for not posting - I'd only forgotten!! 

By way explanation, there's a charming little children's corner in the dolls' house room at Wallington, accessed via a ladder and with a sign stating that adults may only enter if accompanied by a responsible child - of course we rebelliously disregarded this.  Once you have climbed the ladder, there is a lovely little 'mouse house' which can only be viewed through the two keyholes seen in the photo and a 'Tom & Jerry' style floor-level mouse hole - great fun for children but quite challenging for those of us adults who don't want to miss anything!

Until next time,

Zoe

A Day Out to Wallington Hall

Yesterday was a real treat - I went to Wallington Hall with my friend, Jenny.  It's just over four years since I last visited and I had forgotten just how lovely the collection is.  We spent over three hours perusing every inch it!

The star of the show there has to be the stunning Hammond House which has thirty six rooms! The house had recently been emptied and dusted so it was in good order and well-lit. This is one side of it...

...and this is the other side.  

I took lots of photos but as it's a well-documented house I won't bore you with them all today (though I reserve the right to do just that at a later date, ha ha), but will just offer a glimpse of a couple of my favourite rooms, starting with this one of the nursery.

Then this very pink room!

The kitchen - one of them!

And a bedroom.

I was a bit alarmed to come across this bed in one of the rooms. Some very unsympathetic restoration going on here I think, probably by a well-meaning but uninformed volunteer - I hope it's a one off!

Not in Hammond house, but another highlight for me was getting a glimpse of some of the very rarely-seen Adams Period Furniture made for Triang by Elgin of Enfield. The shorter, glass-fronted cabinet in this photo is from the drawing room suite, produced from 1921 to 1922 (Marion Osborne - 'The Book of Tri-ang Furniture').

This chair is from the same range, though I think the back seat pad has been added as the back would originally have been open.

And finally, I can't leave out this lovely scene which we came across in the bedroom of what looks to be a renovated early 20thC G&J Lines - Jenny informed me that the Grecon grandpa is about to perform a striptease for his Tomac granny!! 

Until next time,

Zoe

Grecon Arrival

Well so much for blogging every day!

Never mind, I'll make a start today by introducing you to some recent Grecon arrivals:

I was lucky enough to buy this little lot a couple of weekends ago.  I was excited about their arrival because they all looked quite early but I did wonder what on earth was going on with the blond lady in the strange and voluminous black dress.

It didn't look original and lo and behold, look what she was wearing underneath!  The years have fallen off her.  I think someone might have added the black dress many moons ago to hide her unravelling right knee.  A bit of surgery and she'll be right as rain.  She's quite chunky, with melon feet and and is probably1930s.  I think the others are probably all 1940s

The rather puritanical-looking granny also has melon feet.  I can see her clashing with one or two of the grannies already resident in Grecondale.

This snazzy dresser has Larger Oxford feet and strikes me as being an imaginative and idealistic type, though he might just have been dazzled by the camera flash.

Whatever his disposition, his wife clearly isn't happy with it - this very smartly 

-dressed lady is the saddest Grecon I have ever seen!

And finally, what would a Grecon influx be without a pair of little madams... oops, I mean twins.  Who upset them?!!

Well, what a bunch - I'm excited to see how they get on in Grecondale. You can look out for their arrival there and follow their progress at: www.grecondale.com. 

Until next time, 

Zoe