The famous and
priceless Queen Mary's Dolls' House is on public display at Windsor's Castle.
It stands five feet
tall and was built by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens who also designed the
Cenotaph. This magnificent dolls' house was built for Queen Mary, the wife of
George V. It is six-storey high, has a well equipped servant quarters, fully
landscaped gardens and basement big enough for five cars. It was built in 1924
and never been played with.
When looking into
the tiny chambers it feels like being transport back to a by-gone age.
Everything was built to minute details and scale. It spells magic. It is a
fantastic time capsule of British history preserved in tiny contents - one inch
to one foot. Nothing was missed out of that life whether it is the Lux flakes
in the kitchen, Rolls Royce Silver Ghost in the Garage, library containing
original works from Rudyard Kipling and Arthur Conan Doyle - the size of two
postage stamp - electricity, running water and a lift.
ONE OF THE STAIRCASES
THE STATE APARTMENT
The dolls' house is
much more that just a toy with which to play. It is the ultimate of
craftsmanship and a showcase of talent. All put together in a time capsule of
the life of British aristocracy. It was built just after the First World War as
a memorial of continuation of that kind of life.
Princess Marie
Louise had the inspiration to have it built for Queen Mary. Queen Mary was a
well known and obsessive collector of 'tiny craft'. It was to be an
appreciation for the support during the war. Princess Marie Louis asked her
friend Lutyens to design it and it can be filled with all the small treasures
collected.
Lutyen started with
all the enthusiasm to design and built this dolls' house and his idea
was to show generation to come how the King and Queen of England
lived at the beginning of the 20th century.
The dolls' house has
a collection of 750 works of art. Amongst the artist are Paul Nash, Edmund
Dulac, William Nicholson and Frank Raynolds, the art editor of Punch magazine.
25 composers were
asked for musical scores and included Gustav Holst but not Sir Edward Elgar. He
thought that King and Queen are incapable of appreciate any art and thought it
an insult to do such a thing.
THE LIBRARY |
The walnut-panelled
library has 200 original literatures. Princess Marie Louis sent to writers and
musicians tine blank volumes for them to write in. A leather bound,
hand-written story from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, How Watson learned the Trick,
Rudyard Kipling submitted a 4x3cm book, hand-written poems, some unpublished
and with his own illustration. Mr James wrote the haunted Dolls' House, Thomas
Hardy wrote seven poems and Robert Grave five.
THE DINING ROOM
It is a document of
social history and a bygone age which makes it more and more valuable and
interesting.
On the kitchen
table you will find a tin of Colman's Mustard and Lea and Perrins
Worcestershire sauce. By the sink tiny tins of Lifebuoy, sunlight soap and Lux
flakes.
The five bathrooms
and lavatories have running water. Each lavatory has a shiny Bromo paper.
The famous cigar
and pipe manufacturer Alfred Dunhill supplied miniature cigars, cigarettes,
pipes and custom built tobacco.
Carties built a
longcase clock for the marble hallway. In the strongroom behind a gate are
crown jewels weighing 1.5lbs instead 1.5 tons.
In the wine cellar
are 200 bottles of Chateau Lafitte 1875 and five dozen bottle of Veuve Clicquot
to name just the most important ones.
The nursery is
decorated with fairy tales murals by Edmund Dulac. It also contains miniature
gauze pneumonia jackets, to retain the body heat, which were used up till the
time when penicillin were discovered.
The garden was
designed by Gertrude Jekyll who was a famous gardener of the day. It also has a
functional lawn mover. In the garage stand six horseless carriages which
include a Daimler limousine and a Rolls Royce.
The Dolls' House
was handed down the present Queen and is on show at the Windsor’s' Castle.
SUMMARY: Queen Mary's Dolls House is famous because of the highest
craftsmanship in miniature which is harder to do then a full size furniture
etc. It is an outstanding example what a craftsman of the highest capability
can achieve. It is also a time capsule of by-gone age and a world we would
never see otherwise. To see it in real is an unforgettable experience
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