Wandering the Web--Sociocultural Hobby Sites: Acquisitions and Decoration of Dollhouses and Minature Displays as a Fun Educational Tool
2013; Yale University Press; Volume: 25; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês
10.7771/2380-176x.7440
ISSN2380-176X
Autores Tópico(s)Digital Games and Media
ResumoIn 1959, I was gifted my first dollhouse, a shining, aluminum wonder, with its lithographed wall scenes redolent of the USA's post-war prosperity: a nursery overflowing with out-of-scale toys; two-dimensional kitchen counters with a garish basket of fruit; figurative representations of bright bathroom fixtures and luxurious towels; and an attached garage, with walls portraying every tool the plastic father of the house possibly could need to maintain his tin kingdom.I still own my second dollhouse, a 1961 Christmas present.The Rich Toys brand, a Colonial mansion, is a masonite house proudly displaying four white, Doric columns that extend to the second-story front overhang.Even as a five-year-old, I realized the two chimneys, with no actual fireplaces inside the domicile, and the painted-on front door were pale shadows of a "real" house.Also, it did not go unnoticed that some of my friends' older siblings owned dollhouses from over a decade earlier that had actual staircases and functioning front doors.Still, my dollhouse lent me hours of pleasure and allowed my imagination to soar.I affixed black-flecked, turquoise-colored adhesive paper on the bathroom walls, attached pieces of eyelet lace above plastic window inserts with Elmer's glue, and crudely laid self-sticking drawer liners imitating wood grain in the kitchen and living rooms.I now look in horror at these innocent enhancements, knowing as all fans of PBS's popular Antiques Roadshow know: Do not ever embellish antiques, especially with nonremovable adhesive papers!All this being said, I would like to state unequivocally that my early experience with collecting and decorating dollhouses was a magical and educational activity, providing immeasurable joy and a strong sense of cultural awareness.Acquiring and creating miniature displays can be a learning tool, teaching the collector much about our current culture, as well as about the history of past decades.Today's collectors of vintage dollhouses are true social historians, carefully choosing the décor that evokes the essence of their favorite period, be it the 1950s with its acquisitive ambiance, the 1920s' through 1930s' cozy interiors with lead-based Tootsie Toy furniture, or more exotic -and far more expensive -wood and paper Bliss dollhouses from the advent of the commercial dollhouses era.Modern collectors have a loyalty and zeal for their hobby of choice.They passionately compose Websites on the Internet for others' amusement and awe.They write blogs with photographs of modern dollhouses they have created from Crate & Barrel wooden tissue box covers or of early 20th-century homes accurately decorated with priceless miniatures and antique bed linens.In this article, I hope to share some of these excellent Websites, blogs, eZine articles, Flickr or Pinterest photo albums, DIY videos, hobby club links, and even a stop-photography site of an early British dolls' house television series.This article will not include the proliferation of online commercial miniatures supplies dealers, as these are stores, rather than bona fide hobby sites.May you find as much joy in browsing through these collectible dollhouse and miniatures display sites and do-it-yourself Web pages, as I have enjoyed compiling them for you and your library patrons!-LM
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