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8-11-14: Royal Privilege
OK, we all know it's good to be the King... until they drag out the Guillotine anyway.
Not only the King, but the entire, often extended, royal family. The Czar's kids had some cool toys, so did the Rajah's kids, but none can hold a candle to Britain's Royal families. You'd expect the children of the Royal's to have hot and cold running nannies, the best of tutors, and the latest comforts, however Queen Mary's dollhouse is over the top.
It seems a famous architect, Edwin Lutyens, was having a glass of wine with Princess Marie Louise, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, who asked him to build a dollhouse for her cousin, Queen Mary. When Royals tell you they want you to do something, is it still a "request"? On one hand you know they can afford it, on the other, if you screw up you might be a piss-boy for life.
| It took 1,500 artists and craftsmen three years to make the five foot high house. It has working plumbing, electricity and lifts, and a garage of cars with engines that run. The monograms on the linen took a seamstress 1,500 hours to sew; the buttons on the servants’ pillowcases are almost invisible; the Purdey shotguns break and load, the bottles and jars contain what their labels say they do—such as Ch. Margaux 1899, Oxford marmalade or sticks of barley sugar. There are even mice in the kitchen mousetraps. It contains scores of its household objects and features—wineglasses, mother-of-pearl, ivory and marble bathrooms, damask wall-coverings, a motorcycle and sidecar, a knife-cleaning machine and paintings on its walls and ceilings. It even has a well-stocked wine cellar. |
C'mon, you know I had to screen grab the garage.
You can take a virtual tour here.
Since Mary was born in 1867, crowned Queen in 1910, died in 1953, while the doll house was completed in 1924, I don't think she played with it much. But because of the fantastic detail, it's a wonderful record of British furnishings and treasures from around the empire, of the era's hoi polloi.
Diaphone Jim Monday Aug 11 07:21 PM
I assume the guy on the left is raising the outer walls so that the interior is visible.
I have an image of Margaret Houlihan screaming in the shower.
glatt Monday Aug 11 08:16 PM
That doll house was on display at Windsor castle when I toured it a couple years ago. My favorite part was the garage.
xoxoxoBruce Tuesday Aug 12 02:01 AM
It blows my mind that the shelves of books are individual books, the wine cellar had bottles of real wine, the bathrooms have soap and toilet paper. I wonder what it cost, even in 1920s money the budget must have been staggering.
Sheldonrs Tuesday Aug 12 11:47 AM
There was a PBS special about the royal family and they showed this house then. It has lots of storage drawers for the dolls, etc. as well.
And a sliding tray for the gardens.
xoxoxoBruce Tuesday Aug 12 07:47 PM
I forgot to check Wiki...
| Princess Marie Louise had many connections in the arts and arranged for the top artists and craftsmen of the time to contribute their special abilities to the house. ~snip~ It was created as a gift to Queen Mary from the people.. |
| ...and contains models of products of well-known companies of the time. It is remarkable for its detail and the detail of the objects within it, many of which are 1/12 replicas of items in Windsor Castle. These were either made by the companies themselves, or by specialist modelmakers, such as Twining Models of Northampton, England. |
| Queen Mary's purchases brought media attention to specialist furnishers such as Dorothy Rogers, who created needlework miniature carpets for the house. |
I'm not knocking this project at all, I think it's an incredible representation of the art/craft/opulence of the time... an undisputable historic record. But I'm always amused by the methods of convincing people they are just dying to contribute to a gift for someone who could buy and sell them.
SPUCK Friday Aug 15 06:18 AM
Really amazing. Over the top or at least 1/12th over the top.
xoxoxoBruce Friday Aug 15 11:54 AM
Maybe dollhouses are like bathing suits, the smaller they are, the more they cost.
Sheldonrs Friday Aug 15 03:51 PM
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Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce
Maybe dollhouses are like bathing suits, the smaller they are, the more they cost.
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xoxoxoBruce Friday Aug 15 04:02 PM
Damifino, I've no use for them unless they're cheaper than the balloons used to get kids in the van if the free candy doesn't work.
Sheldonrs Friday Aug 15 04:51 PM
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Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce
Damifino, I've no use for them unless they're cheaper than the balloons used to get kids in the van if the free candy doesn't work.
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xoxoxoBruce Friday Aug 15 05:01 PM
Damn kids kept stealing 'em, and the SPCA makes you pay for the damn things they were gonna gas anyway. Thought I could recoup by eating them, but when the little blighters stole 'em, it nearly bankrupted me. 
Sheldonrs Monday Aug 18 08:43 AM
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Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce
Damn kids kept stealing 'em, and the SPCA makes you pay for the damn things they were gonna gas anyway. Thought I could recoup by eating them, but when the little blighters stole 'em, it nearly bankrupted me.
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xoxoxoBruce Monday Aug 18 01:25 PM
Used a dead animal to trick the children into my soundproof padded van? 
You sick bastard. 
Sheldonrs Monday Aug 18 02:52 PM
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Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce
Used a dead animal to trick the children into my soundproof padded van?
You sick bastard. |
Gravdigr Monday Aug 18 05:02 PM
[George, walking toward the van] Is that van a-rockin'? [/George]
[Jerry] I wouldn't go a-knockin'... [/Jerry]
xoxoxoBruce Tuesday Aug 19 01:37 AM
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Originally Posted by Sheldonrs
I never said the van was padded, you wimp!!!
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Shit... no Tony, I wasn't trash talking the Sopranos, honest. No, honest to god, nothing about the family. Really, please, please no NO!
infinite monkey Tuesday Aug 19 08:57 AM
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Originally Posted by Gravdigr
[George, walking toward the van] Is that van a-rockin'? [/George]
[Jerry] I wouldn't go a-knockin'... [/Jerry] |
eta: I can picture that scene in my head, and see Jerry's bemused expression and almost hear him say it.
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