The. Collector,'s History of DOLLS' HOUSES

Inbunden bok. St Martins. 1 uppl. 1983. 598 sidor.

Nära nyskick. Skyddsomslag i mycket gott skick. Engelsk text, rikt illustrerad.

This book offers the most complete and fully researched history of the subject that has been written and is an ideal complement to the author's acclaimed Collector's History of Dolls.

The author's introduction sketches the history of dolls houses and miniature dolls from their origins in the ancient world to the products of the 1980s. This book is international in scope, with American, British and continental examples being discussed and illustrated. There are major sections on the early German Dockenhäuser and Dutch cabinet houses; a chapter on American and British babyhouses is followed by a discussion of the stately nineteenth-century British houses. A further chapter gives details of the elegant French salons, the ingenious Swiss inventions and the simpler Russian creations. All types of structure are considered, from the humble domestic dwelling or trader's premises to the intricate models of royal palaces, embracing all levels of production from simple wooden and paper creations to the finest examples of craftsmanship in cabinet-making, crystal and silver-ware.

The erudite technical and stylistic information is set against the strangely contradictory social history of the doll's house: at times considered solely the province of children, and at others crafted for sophisticated adult appreciation. The author links the changing style of miniatures with important economic and social trends. She thus draws out the role of the doll's house as a uniquely valuable source of evidence to the social historian as well as revealing its abiding fascination for the antique collector.

CONSTANCE EILEEN KING was born in Wales and trained as an art teacher, but gave up teaching in 1971 to become a writer. Since then she has contributed articles on general antiques to magazines in America and Britain as well as writing many books, including The Collector's History of Dolls. Ms King has also appeared on television discussing antiques and she lectures on the subject.