Something About a Life in Miniature

Make room for dolly.

Someone once told me not to sweat the small stuff. That's a decent enough recommendation. I thought about this phrase and John Bellairs's The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull (1984) because Johnny Dixon really does sweat about the small stuff. That's the small dollhouse room of the Childermass Clock and the titular skull. In this case, the small stuff matters. Also, don’t touch the skull.

I stumbled on the History...the Interesting Bits blog where, late last year, blogger Sharon Connolly spoke with Nicola Lisle, the author of Life in Miniature: A History of Dolls' Houses (2020). Lisle's book discusses the history of doll houses: why they exist, who created them, where you can find them, and more. Thus Lisle:

Dolls' houses have been around since at least the 16th century and originated in Germany, where they were known as baby houses. The first known dolls' house was made for the Duke of Bavaria in 1557, and it was a miniature version of his ducal palace. By the 17th century, baby houses had become popular in Germany, particularly in Nuremberg. The idea caught on in Holland towards the end of the 17th century, but instead of baby houses the Dutch favoured cabinet houses, which were grand, elaborately-carved cabinets containing exquisitely furnished miniature rooms. The earliest dolls' houses in England appeared in the late 17th century and were similar to the Dutch cabinet houses. By the early 18th century they were beginning to look more like houses than cabinets, and they were often modelled on the great country houses and created by estate carpenters. It wasn't until the Victorian era that they became regarded as toys for children, and mass production towards the end of the 19th century made them much more widely accessible.

Makes me wonder whatever happened with the Dolls House and Miniature Scene magazine article.