Monday, May 4, 2009

Dora Kuhn folk-art style German furniture (and more Erna Meyer dolls)

Here is some sweet folk-art style furniture, which I believe was made by Dora Kuhn, a southern Bavarian firm, possibly in the 1960s. I have furnished a German 1960s roombox with them.


The roombox has a floor, two side walls and a back wall; this one can be put together and taken apart by means of little plastic tabs (as on the end of the left wall here). (The blue you can see above and below the roombox are the shelves of the trolley it's standing on.)

The furniture is not marked, except with numbers stamped on the bottom of some pieces. However, I have seen identical dolls' house furniture on ebay (German, and often also the US), described as made by Dora Kuhn.


The accessories and tiny dolls house are all made in Germany too, though I do not know the maker - they were ebay finds. The dolls are by Erna Meyer, who has produced dolls dressed in traditional German costume as well as up-to-the-minute fashion, historical fashions, as fairytale figures, etc.
Two of the dolls seem to be dressed in regional costumes; I've moved them to the front in this photo:


Perhaps Oese or another reader might recognise them?

13 comments:

  1. So nice to have dolls that goes so well with the furniture - or vice versa!
    I really like the dolls, and though folk-art style usually isn't quite my cup of tea, I love your plates and jugs and the chest of drawers is a beauty!
    The tiny dollhouse is great and so is the small rooster!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Shure, I had a "Schwarzwaldmädel"-doll like this. Mine had red balls on her hat, i loved it very much. I travelled to Austria with my parents for holydays and every summer spent in Austria I got a new one of this "Trachtenpuppen".
    I learned a new expression: it isn't my cup ot tea!

    Regards
    Oese

    ReplyDelete
  3. Folk-art isn't my cup of tea either, but I wanted these dolls to have a nice home! And I like it in small amounts in miniature. The rooster is great, isn't it - I was so happy when I found it on ebay!
    Thank you Oese - you must have had quite a collection of dolls!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think I had four or five. I was glad, that we wasn't too often in Austria, because as I child I don't like the Mountains. In the other years we spent our holiday in France, I love the sea and the Riviera!

    ReplyDelete
  5. The rooster reminds me of a full size ceramic rooster we had when I was groving up!
    Got to think about it I'm quite sad it's lost.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've seen full size roosters like this, too. I don't know where this one was made - I bought it on US ebay, for $5!!! I have a porcelain rooster in the Triang 52, and also roosters painted on egg cups! but none in my full-size house.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have two small wooden figures left. One is Jack in the Beanstalk and another is a smaller elf looking figure. I had a school master with a desk with papers on it. They just eventually disintegrated. Anyway, these sold at a high end kitchen and novelty shop. I wonder if anyone knows who made them or what the company name is in order to find more on ebay?

    ReplyDelete
  8. You could try searching for Erzgebirge. This is not a company, but a region in Germany where a lot of wooden toys were made. Maybe you'll see something similar to your figures :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. These dolls and the furniture go so well together. I quite like folk art, but only in small doses.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I do as I say and look what I find ..... surprise surprise!! You know, this furniture is very very similar to some I have just purchased but beautifully painted green with designs etc, but has ROSS stickers on the bottom which is odd as it's al like things I am seeing now I know the correct spelling for Dora Kuhn!! See you somewhere else perhaps! X

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Dottie Lottie! Yes, it's a small world ;-)I hope you'll show us some pics of your ROSS furniture - it sounds lovely, and it's a new name to me!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have a one-room chalet which originally contained the large bed, wardrobe, small dresser, cradle, table and chairs. The table and chairs got lost along the way, but the rest remain. I am certain from my research on line that they were made by Dora Kuhn as they are blue with the hearts and flowers on them. The room itself is a bit worse for wear but the furniture is in good shape.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I just took our Dora Kuhn doll house out of storage to give to my great-granddaughter. It's a 1970's version with 3 levels. We had it in a commercial storage locker and the first day I saw all the pieces there. the second day I went back for it and several pcs of furniture were missing plus all the great accumulated kitchen ware. It broke my heart. this is the 3rd generation to be able to pass it down to and the kids always love the worn dolls. Glad to find your site. Do you know of anyplace to write for replacement parts unavailable in the States? Expensive? Yes, but great grandma is willing.

    ReplyDelete