Remember this modernist, 3 storey house which was offered twice on ebay UK, the year before last and last year? Oese also made a miniature version of it . (If anyone can remind me which blog or dolls house website we discussed the second sale on last year, please do! I know it's there somewhere ....)
Another house in this design was listed on ebay recently:
this time with a label:
"An O.D. Product
Made in Scotland"
around a drawing of a thistle.
(See redrickshaw on flickr for better photos of this house.)Made in Scotland"
around a drawing of a thistle.
Coincidentally, at about the same time, Rick posted a query on Dolls Houses Past and Present about another house with the same label - this one a more traditional two storey house with lattice windows, pitched tile roof, and entry porch on the right.
So I did a bit of sleuthing in the old British telephone directories*, and found an O.D. Construction, Woodworkers, at 2 Wellington st. Paisley (ph PAIsley 4533) from 1956 to 1958. (Paisley is in south-west Scotland, very close to Glasgow.)
In 1958 there is also a listing for O. D. Products, Toy Manufacturers, at 20 Blythswood st C2 (ie, Glasgow Central) (ph CENtral 5584). From 1959 to 1970, the only listing is for O. D. Products in Glasgow - O. D. Construction in Paisley doesn't continue after 1958, and O.D. Products is not listed in Glasgow after 1970.
So I suspect that they started in Paisley as general woodworkers, found their toys were very successful, set up in Glasgow as toy makers in 1958, and ceased the general woodworking business after that. The dolls houses with the O. D. Product label probably date to between 1958 and 1970.
Are there more designs out there? What other toys did they make, I wonder? And who was the genius who designed this 3 storey dolls house?
(They're online at Ancestry, which is subscription only, so I can't link to it.)
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I love this building. Have never seen another by this maker. Well done with your detective work! Lizzie
ReplyDeleteI LOVE when you find these clues! It is so cheerful a mystery! Beautiful label. CM
ReplyDeleteThat's such a great house, and I'm still hoping more of their products will show up online soon!
ReplyDeleteyou are a sleuth.. and you are so good at it, you missed your calling!!! did you check out anna maria's blog? i seem to recall her lusting after one of these.....
ReplyDeleteThere was a small OD Product on US eBay in June...small like Triang #60 house. All white, maybe 2 rooms, door opening to side. I was overbid! If I kept a pic of it, I will post. I was surprised to see this 3 story house with the same OD Products label when it appeared on UK eBay. I think we would all love to have this house! thanks for the info, Rebecca!
ReplyDeleteWOW!!! Great sleuthing! I remember seeing the first one on ebay and missing it. But didn't post about it until it was up the second time. I posted a few pictures of Oese's 1:144 houses, but I can't remember where the other discussion was. I love this house. Thanks for tracking down all of this great information!!! :D
ReplyDeleteI loved the house last year, and I love it now!
ReplyDeleteAnd how nice redrickshaw bought it! I'm excited to see how she will furnish it! Thanks for sharing and for digging up more info! As I said in my response you (and this blog) alone are a doll's house wiki! I really hope you will join in on the wiki!
Btw, I posted the letter with the fabric sample two weeks ago, I hope you get it soon! Since this is my first letter down under I don't know how long the post from Europe to Australia usually takes.
Thank you all for your comments!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks Rick for sending the photo of your house to DHPP, otherwise I wouldn't have known about it and started the detective work. Have you had any response from the Scottish Museum of Childhood at all? Maybe I should send them this info?!
@Lizzie - thanks! And whenever you have time, have a look at the Triang 60 lookalike on DHPP - though it's much less exciting than this house.
@CM - yes, isn't the label beautiful? Glasgow being the home of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, I guess they decided to use an Arts and Crafts type font. And a thistle of course - though described by the seller (based in Scotland) as an acorn!!!!
@Christine, yes, it was Anna Maria who blogged about it the year before last - just can't find who first posted about it last year!
@Florine, yes, as you've realised, the house like a Triang #60 is now Rick's. I hope there are lots of this model out there, and some more like the Triang #60, so we can all win one!
@Mini Dork - yes, I thought you had posted about it last year, and looked through your blog - but couldn't find it. Looked through several others too, but it's hiding!
@Pubdoll, thanks! I will certainly look more at the wiki, and probably join in - so many sites to keep up with, though! But I'll post about it too, I think, and maybe you will too? Don't know how many people know about it.
Please keep your eyes peeled for more O.D. Product houses, and share them if you come across any - surely there must be other models.
And wouldn't it be wonderful if someone made this model again? It surely wouldn't be hard, as the back and sides are quite plain - all the detail is in the two front wings.
Rebecca - this is a brilliant bit of detective work, well done! I too saw the lovely house on Ebay and fell in love with it. Sadly I forgot to leave a bid before I went on holiday! Oh well....maybe next time!lol I would imagine one could have great fun in furnishing it! Celia
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, Celia! Well, another one may well come up, so good luck! I'd love to have one too, but shipping from the UK is very expensive.
ReplyDeleteOne characteristic of O.D. Product houses - based on these two examples! - built-in, painted wooden fireplaces, quite simple design - and wooden stairs, if there are stairs. If you come across any other designs, let us know!