Dollhouse Museum - Puppenhausmuseum

1950s Dollhouses – A Reflection of German Domestic Culture

I am working on translating all my pages into English. In the meantime, simply enjoy the beautiful images on the German pages.

This passion for collecting was sparked by a love for the shapes and colors of the 1950s and the discovery that the design of that era—as seen in furniture and architecture—is reflected in a remarkably vivid way in the microcosm of the dollhouse world through miniature versions. – The virtual toy museum focuses on dollhouses, miniature furniture, and toy stores from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, but visitors can also find other vintage toys, ranging from knight’s castles to “fairground toys” and East German toys, all the way to a toy nuclear power plant. Thus, both enthusiasts of the German Economic Miracle era and children of the 1970s can discover memories of their own childhood, as well as “typically German” everyday culture and contemporary design. – Special emphasis is placed not only on preserving historical toys but also, whenever possible, on preserving the associated memories of their original owners.

It is important to me to view old toys first and foremost in the context of the people and times in which they were made. For me, this means that I do not view historical toys—as is unfortunately often the case today—primarily as commercial items with a more or less high material value, but rather as what they were originally produced to be: small pieces of the mosaic that is childhood and, thus, the development of a very specific individual.

It is therefore undoubtedly most rewarding when I receive items directly from their original owners, who can tell me something about the history of their toys. These are often not spectacular stories or anecdotes at all, but rather a firsthand sense of the respective era—be it the 1930s, 1950s, or 1970s. In any case, however, a firsthand account of children’s lives, their outlook on life, and the little things of everyday life is far more important to me than researching manufacturers or market values.

For example, if I’m lucky enough to receive a dollhouse from its original owner, I always leave the toys in their original condition. Normally, I set up the dollhouse exactly as the child who owned it originally furnished and played with it. If pieces of furniture or little dolls were added as gifts over several years and don’t match the taste of a “style purist,” that doesn’t matter to me. In these cases, I simply want to document them as museum pieces.

By the way: Signs of play, even significant ones, are part of the experience for me. And I even believe that toys that have never been played with have failed in their purpose!