Here is my German Gottschalk Butcher Shop. I've included it for one of my new Blog friends who likes such things. These detailed and graphic toys were certainly different from any you would find today for little girls to play with but then many of these toys then were "teaching" toys designed to instruct little girls for life's work ahead. This is one of my favorite pieces.

I've added the magic lantern slides to the top ridge of the shop and they depict a particularly charming and quaint old town that is most certainly right outside the door of this equally charming butcher shop. The butcher himself was a treat I bought myself while in England. He has that "butcher" look about him and of course he is wearing the striped apron of his trade. There is a sad looking stray dog watching patiently and hoping for a handout when the butcher gets to chopping the meat.

Everything is old except the butcher and a few of the sausages on the counter. The bluish colored chopping block is a "mystery" piece. I can't decide if it is actually old or just made to look aged but I thought it fit nicely in here.

Enjoy and WELCOME to my new blog followers! I look forward to checking out your sites as well!

One of my "side" favorites (besides dollhouses and miniatures) are old glass slides like this one. They are so fun and the ones I love the most are those that have "movement" in them. Although we're having a very wet winter here in northern California right now, this lovely slide takes me back to the years when I grew up in New York state. Snowball fights, sleighing, cozy, furry hand muffs and a red chilly nose all give me a wonderful feeling of the fun it was when I was young. Hope you enjoy this slide. I try to work them into my dollhouses whenever I can. Soon I'll post my Gottschalk butcher shop and I think I've been successful in using two of them with that lovely piece. Happy Winter to everyone!

Pipherville School House - well, it is a new year and everyone is back to school!
The dolls, except for Miss Neyhart, furniture and accessories are all vintage and antique. They have been collected over many years and happily come together to make this inviting one-room school.
This lovely classroom came from Germany and it boasts a real electric bulb that is suspended over the room and a working electric school bell on the right wall! The wallpapers are fantastic! I love the borders and the wall wallpaper itself. I fell in love with the line of black rabbits or hares parading along the side borders.
The wood seats and podium are German as are many of the accessories. The children are all old and two of the girls are having "bad hair" days as you might notice!

The lovely Miss Neyhart is right in the middle of her geography lesson while one little one sits "in the corner" awaiting his DUNCE cap!
The giant school bell on the wall really rings when you push the button on the outside wall!
Miss Neyhart is a new artist-made doll while everything else in the room is vintage or antique.

Everyone is listening to Miss Neyhart give the geography lesson. The little boys in the back room have something else on their minds though! The one is peeking at his friends answers while the friend is looking out the open window dreaming of going fishing after school!

There is a fun "professor" type of doll in the back of the room working on his soft metal desk from France. He's probably trying to figure out the electrics on the wall!