Before I begin though, I want you to know you can purchase a book which also has the photographs (much better ones naturally). Here's what it looks like. It's called America's Doll House - The Miniature World of Faith Bradford, by Willam L. Bird, Jr.. I got mine at the bookstore inside the National Museum of American History; however, if you're interested, you might check through Amazon.Com or my favorite, Half.Com. All the information I'm going to give you came from Mr. Bird's research.
Donated to the Smithsonian in 1951, Faith Bradford's Doll House consists of 23 rooms, 1,354 miniature pieces, and is the home of Mr. and Mrs. Petter Doll, their 10 children, two visiting grandparents, twenty pets, and household staff.
This photograph was taken after Faith's first public display at Gadsby's Tavern, Alexandria,Virginia, in 1932. She won a Blue Ribbon for "Best Collection" and a George Washington Bicentennal half-dollar; both prizes are attached at the roof peak.
Here Faith Bradrod is showing a young visitor all the pieces she'd collected over the years! I was downstairs, looking at the Julia Child Kitchen Exhibit when Sherry and Isabel came up to me and insisted I had to go upstairs to see a special exhibit. Sherry knew I'd be completed taken in by it, and she was right! It took me ages to finally leave the place. I even managed to get all the children to stand back for a few minutes, while Sherry took a photo of me in front of the house. Unfortunately, I can't find that photo right now.
The Master Bedroom
This is Rose Washington Doll, checking on her youngest children, twins Jimmy and Timmy, asleep in their bassinette (to the right of Mrs. Doll).
This is Alice's bedroom
The Parlor. A game of chess is laid out on the gaming table (bottom right of photo). And the small white stand in the middle bottom of the photo is a small rectangle shaped acquarium, with three gold fish inside. The fishes' names are: Goldie, Wiggle and Dart (but no one can tell them apart).
No need to guess which room this is! The Laundry!
When I was little, one of my babysitter's had a wringer washing machine just like the yellow one pictured. I thought at the time that it must be great fun as I watched the clothes coming through the ringer, just having the water squeezed out of them. The clothes were all flat and squished together as they came out.
I hate to think now of the hard work required to operate one.
Mr. Peter Doll himself, in his special domain - The Study. His personal books are kept here and this is where he read the daily newspaper. He also has his personal typewriter ready to use (right corner).
The Kitchen! I have a sink like the one on the left in my own doll house. The stove is a coal and gas combination with a hot water tank beside it. I love the set of mixing bowls on the botton left shelf. Although hard for you to see in this photo, they are green, red and blue, with cream stripes running along the top rim. Loaves of freshly baked bread lie on the table; I think I have biscuits "in the making" on my kitchen table.
A beautiful room (in spite of my lousy photograph), this is the Library. There are real books in the breakfront shelves! This is the right side of the room.
Another view of the Library. Although you can't tell it, the lamp shade on the floor lamp on the far left is made from a paper cup, turned upside down, with lace glued to the bottom! I loved these special touches that Faith Bradford came up with. She truly loved this house and loved collecting and making lovely household items for it. She would disassemble the plastic housing of an electrical plug, then hang it up as a ceiling light fixture! She once commented "Everything looks like something else to me." I remember well those exact thoughts when I was working on my own doll house. You really do see everything around you with new eyes, because you're looking for things that will work in a much smaller space, even though they usually have nothing to do with their actual purpose in these smaller spaces. I've used a small enamel box (about 1/4 inch square) as a lady's elegant jewelry box; tiny twigs become logs for the fireplaces; a marble becomes a beautiful ball; and a small leather cuff link box (containing Nigel's grandfather's cuff links) makes a lovely leather trunk at the end of the master bed!
The Parent's Bathroom! I love the idea that they're separate from the children's bathroom! The wooden structure in the back left is a shaving stand. The guest bathroom (which I now realize I did not get a picture of) looks identical to this room's furnishings except for the luxury of the shaving stand. Also, instead of this shade of blue, it was done in the green color (the same as that of the children's bathroom). Another room I failed to photograph is immediately to the right of this room. It's the Sewing Room, in very "blah" colors, although it does hold an old black iron treadle sewing machine. My Grandma Hoffman had one of them! Because of the number of children, a lot of sewing was necessary. Mrs. Doll has a sewing woman come in for a fortnight (2 weeks) every spring and fall. Between these times, Mrs. Doll did the sewing and mending.
The Night Nursery where the children slept. From the book it states, "Ann and David are admiring the cat, "Mrs. Peerie," while Nurse McNab waits to tuck David into his cradle. Lucy and Carol sleep together in the big bed (partially shown on the back right) and Ann has her own little bed (not shown in this photo)."
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Robin and Christopher's Room. Robin is in the room now, with his dog and his pet rabbits (on the floor in front of him). This family definitely had lots going on!!
This is Peter, the oldest of the children, "admiring his tame white rats." Yuck!
This is Nurse's Room. The glass globe lamp on the bureau on the right is particularly rare!
The Trunk Room. I wonder if these trunks would fit in today's airline baggage holds! Ha Ha
The Children's Bathroom.
"With so many children to bathe, Mrs. Doll installed an old-fashioned "towel horse," excellent for holding many towels. Her work finished, chambermaid Christina Young is going downstairs."
The Butler's Pantry
"Filled with cupboards and cabinets containing the family china, silver and glass. You can tell evening is approaching by the way Gadsby (the butler) is dressed."
Yes, in those days, you dressed for dinner!
The Attic - Right Side View
"Filled with articles temporarily out of use, pieces in need of mending, inherited treasures, "white elephants", and household discards still too dear to be thrown away."
The Attic - Middle Right View
I love the little glass enclosed flowers and the aqua and brown trunk on the bottom right of this photo.
The light fixture hanging down in the background is a chain from a necklace and a tiny pearl for the bulb.
The Attic - Middle Left View
I love the old Victrola - forerunners of our modern CD players!
I have to admit - it was fun decorating my own doll house attic because I was able to use pieces I'd accidentally broken when working in other areas. It is also a great place to add those odd pieces that just don't seem to fit anywhere. And if they don't match the "age" of your house, just paint them!
The Attic - Left Side View
My favorite piece is the little sail boat in a bottle! The two photographs are real (just resized). I believe they are photos of Faith Bradford's brother and sister.
The Day Nursery - Right Side View
"Christopher rides the rocking horse while twins Lucy and Carol play with dolls. The children's toys and books, as well as implements for a tea party or a bedtime snack are kept here."
The Day Nursery - Left Side View
Here you can see the dolls and the girl twins Lucy and Carol.
The Guest Bedroom - Left Side View with Grandmother Doll
"Temporarily occupied by Grandfather and Grandmother Doll. The room is furnihed with beautiful inherited furniture dating from the Colonial Period. (Extremely rare, as you can imagine!)
The Guest Bedroom - Right Side View, with Grandfather Doll
The Drawing Room- Right Side View
When I was a young girl, I always wondered why people needed a room just for drawing pictures!
Here you see Woodthrop, the Parlor Maid, finishing her dusting for the day.
The Drawing Room - Left Side View
I love the little "bear skin rug" on the far left, underneath the window.
The Dining Room - Right Side View
"The weathered oak furniure in the room was popular at the beginning of the twentieth century. Cut glass sparkles in the china cupboard and a spoon holder rests on the table.
Dining Room - Middle View
The Dining Room - Left Side View
Notice the picture of George Washington on the wall!
The Pantry
"This room contains shelves of stores and food. Martha, the cook, is examining food in the ice chest refrigerator. An ice cream freezer stands in the corner (left front).
A new "Hoover" (vacuum cleaner) stands amid the clenaing supplies."
Overall View - Right Side
Overall View
Middle View
Kids insisted on getting in my way! I couldn't quite figure out why they kept staring at me,
as if I were old enough to know better!
Unimpeded Middle Overview
Right Side View
Left Side Overall View
Faith Bradford was born in 1880 in Rochester, New York. Her mother, Ellen Knight Bradford, was a social worker, teacher, poet, author, songwriter of hymns, and an amateur theatrical pageant producer. Her father, James Henry Bradford, had been a Civil War Chaplain with the Connecticut Volunteers. After the war, he occupied various administrative posts at state reform schools in Massachusetts and Connecticut. In 1881, the year after Faith was born, he moved the family to Whington, D.C., eventually becoming an auditor at the Bureal of Indian Affairs. Faith had one sister, Mary Knight Bradford, and two older brothers, Harry Bonnell and Horatio Knight Bradford.
Faith graduated from Mount Vernon Seminary (now Mount Vernon College) in 1900, and began her career as a librarian with the Washington D.C. Public Library in 1903, but resigned after a few years for unspecified health reasons. Regaining her health once again, she began employment with the Library of Congress Card Division in 1908. In 1942, Faith Bradford became the head of the library's card catalog. When that office became the Serial Records Division in 1944, Faith became the first woman to head a library division. Faith passed away in 1970, at the age of 90.
Hope you enjoyed the tour! Do try to visit it if you're in D.C. The detail is quite stunning, especially considering this was gathered and created in the early 1900s!
With Love and Blessings to All, Jan
