The Meccano Doll’s House
To celebrate London Open House Festival, Tales from the Toybox takes a tour behind the facade of a doll’s house from an unexpected maker, Meccano.
This colourful doll’s house was created in 1936 at the Binns Road Liverpool factory in an attempt to attract girls to Dinky Toys, which was already a famous maker of so-called “Boy’s” toys like diecast cars, trucks and vans. It was called the Dolly Varden Doll’s House, named after Dolly Varden, a bright, fashionable young woman in the Dickens’ novel Barnaby Rudge.
The doll’s house was constructed from leatherboard cardboard. This was a strange choice from a company that had worked with metal production for years. The house was described in the publicity advert as being “as strong as wood” and it was designed to be taken apart and put together using cardboard tabs. In reality, these tabs often fell apart in use. The doll’s house was awkward to place, as access to the four rooms inside is from the back, so the beautiful and attractive half-timbered front and brickwork could only be seen if the doll’s house was not positioned against a wall. The cardboard garden was enormous in proportion to the house, with a tennis court, and wide paths leading to a rockery and flower beds. No garden furniture or equipment was ever manufactured to go with it, so it was up to the child who owned it to fill the space. I am lucky enough to have one of these amazing doll’s houses and, like others, I keep it on show without its garden for practicality. The house was only made for six years, as the war stopped production in 1940, and it was never restarted.
Despite being short-lived and difficult to place, it is nevertheless a gem. The four rooms are decorated in an attractive 1930’s style. The dining room has yellow-ochre walls, with dark olive-green panelling. On one wall is a brick fireplace, with a mirror above; on the opposite wall hang two plates and a stag’s head. It has green curtains and an elaborate green and purple carpet.
The kitchen has a green tiled floor, yellow and turquoise-green walls and a black lattice window with yellowy curtains. On the walls are painted a green clock, a sink with taps, a saucepan unit in green and purple, and two high green wooden shelves. On these sit an array of striped blue and cream plates, dishes and bowls, typical of the time.
The turquoise and cream bedroom has a wall heater, a wall light, and two small paintings, one of boats and the other of a windmill. There is a beautiful patterned green carpet and purple curtains to match. The bathroom has wonderful stylized decorations of fishes, eels, a seahorse and water plants on the green walls, situated above purple bathroom tiles. The floor is also tiled with a large green mat. The green window has a purple lattice with purple curtains.
The cast metal 1/24 scale Dolly Varden furniture was made to fit perfectly in the rooms as “true-to-scale modern furniture”. It had hinges to allow doors and drawers to open. Meccano claimed the furniture “is far superior to anything of its kind that has ever before been produced for the delight and pleasure of young people”.
The furniture for each room was available to buy in boxes, sets 101-104, to fill the house. The dining room furniture was walnut brown, the bathroom available in green or pink, the kitchen in green or blue. The opening doors and drawers and should have given hours of play… except the company had used a zinc and aluminium alloy, to give a more detailed casting than was possible with lead. This alloy has since often suffered from metal fatigue, sadly blistering and deteriorating over time. There is even a company now that produces replica furniture to match the original, as it is so hard to come by! (TalkModelToys at DinkyClub.com – search their site for “Dolly Varden”).
This treasured Meccano doll’s house has become a collector’s item. The house has remained popular with both sexes, but it was one of the rarest of Meccano’s products, so very few have survived. The charm of the decor has not faded as a record of the 1930’s and the tiny, detailed furniture that has survived is delightful.
Pollock’s Toy Museum now has a wonderful Meccano doll’s house on show at Croydon. Come and see it for yourself: the museum is open every Saturday from 11.00am to 4.00pm, and additionally on Sunday 14 September for the London Open House Festival.
Information sources consulted: doll’s house books; Meccano leaflets; Brighton Toy and Model Museum, Dolls’ Houses Past and Present.
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