Dollhouse Size

A dollhouse is a toy home, made in miniature. For the last century, dollhouses have primarily been the domain of children; although their collection and crafting have also fascinated a large number of adults. more...

The very same dollhouses often appeal to both groups, but because of choking hazards, very young children (age 3 years and under) should be restricted from access to the great majority of these domestic replicas.

Today's doll's house traces its history directly back about four hundred years to the "baby houses" of Europe. The baby houses were cabinet display cases made up of rooms. The cabinets were built with architectural details and filled with miniature household items. These dollhouses were solely the playthings of adults, and quite off-limits to children, not because of safety concerns for the child - but for the dollhouse. Such cabinet houses were trophy collections owned by the few matrons living in the cities of Holland, England and Germany who were wealthy enough to afford them, and, fully furnished, were worth the price of a modest full-size house's construction.

As time went on, smaller doll houses with more realistic exteriors became evident in Europe(.

The term dollhouse is common in the United States and Canada. In UK usage, doll's house or dollshouse is usual.

History

Miniature homes, furnished with domestic articles and resident inhabitants (both people and animals), have been made for thousands of years. The earliest known examples were found in the Egyptian Tombs of the Old Kingdom, created nearly five thousand years ago. These wooden models of servants, furnishings, boats, livestock and pets placed in the Pyramids almost certainly were made for religious purposes. The earliest known European dollhouses are from the Sixteenth Century. These baby or cabinet houses showed idealized interiors complete with extremely detailed furnishings and accessories.

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