Cash in the attic: Doll's houses

Most doll’s houses were made to resemble houses of the period. They either reflected a house a little girl was used to, or acted as an ‘ideal’ home to aspire to.

By the 1920s, the combination of urban sprawl, inner city slums and a nostalgia for rural values meant that most girls wanted the ‘Tudorbethan’ style of houses that were being built in London suburbs, including this 1930-1950 Tri-Ang wooden painted doll’s house pictured above (41cm high), valued at £60-£90. Such houses combined traditional architecture with spacious homes, a garden and the convenience of town-living.

A Modernist or Art Deco-style house would have been too avant-garde for most so would have sold less, meaning it’s worth almost four times as much as traditional houses today. This 1930s Tri-Ang Art Deco house (74cm wide) - complete with roof with sun lounge - is valued at £350-£450.

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