An unusual discovery: a 19th-century doll shop

The discovery

Sometimes it's one of those days: unexpectedly you come across something special. That happened to museum director Dingeman Kuilman during a visit to the museum depot. In the run-up to "Worn Stories - Fashion and Costume around 1900," he made a discovery.

'Modehandlung,' or Fashion Warehouse, is written on the facade of this doll shop. After restoration by paper restorer Peter Kipp and textile restorer Marijke de Bruijne, the 19th-century children's toys now adorn the exhibition.

In the 19th century, children loved dollhouses and miniature toys. This miniature shop is a variant of the dollhouse and most likely made between 1860-1880. The fashion warehouse was donated to the Stedelijk Museum Foundation in 1935 by a Miss E. Loder.

Complete and detailed

The completeness and detail of everything involved is incredible. From the store fixtures and garments to the saleswoman, everything was made with great attention to detail. Zits, silk, lace, straps and cotton with a variety of motifs - textile restorer Marijke de Bruijne fell from one surprise into the next.

No fewer than 58 printed cottons, three sashes, two silk checks and one wool check: a total of 64 different fabrics! And that's just the "flat rolls. Even more fabrics were used on other rolls and also for the miniature clothing: skirts, shoulder coats, gowns and aprons and, of course, on the doll itself. The variety is enormous.

Most of the store assortment consists of printed cottons. Stripes, plaids, flowers and geometric patterns: everything could be found here. Very popular were small fantasy patterns that look strikingly modern. Extra special is that several motifs are present in various color schemes. You don't normally come across this in 19th-century clothing; it is actually always one color version.

Masterpieces

The masterpieces of the store inventory are two miniature gowns. One is made of a thin cotton, printed with a very small red motif barely visible to the naked eye. It comes with a shoulder sleeve in the same fabric and both are trimmed with a strip of lace. The other cream-colored miniature gown is made of thin silk with multicolored motifs woven in. The motifs of these miniatures are actually too small for an ordinary garment. It is possible that they were specially made for miniature clothing.

Further research

Much is now known about these beautiful toys. At the same time, the research also raises questions that may be answered by further research. For whom was the little store made? Is it a miniature version of a store that really existed? Where did the fabrics come from? How exactly did it end up in the museum and what can we learn from it?