"If you think of dolls houses as usually being period houses, it's time to think again! This compendium of miniature buildings looks at the many other styles of construction that are increasingly being created by miniatures enthusiasts, including cozy cottages, modern loft apartments, churches, garden sheds, lighthouses and windmills."--
Embrace the not-so-small world of minis! From teeny burgers and minuscule handbags to furniture no larger than a quarter, this mind-blowing collection of squeal-worthy miniatures features more than 250 of the tiniest creations from all over the world. Kate Ünver, a lifelong collector of nearly 1,000 items, has curated unique and extraordinary miniatures on her Instagram account, @dailymini, since 2012. In The Book of Mini, she selects hundreds of pieces of artwork--many of which have never been seen before--and organizes them into sections on tiny food, diminutive wildlife, petite pottery, and more. Also included are interviews with collectors and artists exploring their methods, influences, and how they came to adore everything mini. Featuring hundreds of photographs, The Book of Mini is a must-have book for the tiny lover in your life.
From the Star-Spangled Banner flag to Dorothy's Ruby Slippers, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History is home to some fascinating objects. In fact, one of the most fascinating of these, and one of the most popular, is itself a home. On the museum's third floor sits a five-story dollhouse donated to the museum by Faith Bradford, a Washington D.C. librarian, who spent more than a half-century accumulating and constructing the 1,354 miniatures that fill its 23 intricately detailed rooms. When Bradford donated them to the museum in 1951, she wrote a lengthy manuscript describing the lives of its residents: Mr. and Mrs. Peter Doll and their ten children, two visiting grandparents, twenty pets, and household staff. Bradford cataloged the Dolls' tastes, habits, and preferences in neatly typed household inventories, which she then bound, along with photographs and fabric samples, in a scrapbook. She even sent museum curators holiday cards written by the Dolls. In America's Doll House, Smithsonian Institution curator William L. Bird, Jr. weaves this visual material and back-story into the rich tapestry of Faith Bradford's miniature world. Featuring vibrant photography that brings every narrative detail to life, America's Doll House is both an incisive portrait of a sentimental pastime and a celebration of Bradford's remarkable and painstaking accomplishment.
In Miniature is a delightful, entertaining and illuminating investigation into our peculiar fascination with making things small, and what small things tell us about the world at large. Here you will find the secret histories of tiny Eiffel Towers, the truth about the flea circus, a doll’s house made for a queen, eerie tableaux of crime scenes, miniature food, model villages and railways, and more. Simon Garfield brings together history, psychology, art and obsession, to explore what fuels the strong appeal of miniature objects among collectors, modellers and fans, and teaches us that there is greatness in the diminutive.
Instruction for the beginner as well as the advanced craftsman; design settings; basic boxes; lighting; uses of such new materials as acrylic, foam, plastic, as well as fabrics, glass, ceramics, and metal. 700 photographs, including 23 in full color.
This beautifully illustrated book features the breadth and range of Mulvany and Rogers' architectural miniatures – commissioned by museums and private collectors – covering many historic periods and countries, and including projects as diverse as Versailles and an American colonial house. Mulvany and Rogers use techniques and materials, both modern and traditional, to re-create in stunning and minute detail the appearance and atmosphere of buildings, their interiors, room decor and objets d'art. Practical projects for the reader include creating marble floors and decorative details, constructing chimneys and domes, and step-by-step instructions for making a parquet floor. Clear step-by-step instructions describe the materials needed and the techniques involved.
Christine-Lea Frisconi explains how to make a beautiful miniature French country house with deep recesses, fancy panelling and wall niches to add character and instructions to make a range of French-style furniture, fittings and even flowers!
A “comprehensive and enjoyable” guide to the centuries-long history of dolls’ houses and how they illuminate our past (Books Monthly). Dolls’ houses are tiny slices of social history that give us a fascinating glimpse into domestic life over the last three hundred years. Through text and photos, Nicola Lisle explores the origins and history of dolls’ houses and their furnishings, from the earliest known dolls’ house in sixteenth-century Bavaria to the present, and looks at how they reflect the architecture, fashions, social attitudes, innovations, and craftsmanship of their day. She discusses the changing role of dolls’ houses and highlights significant events and people to give historical context, as well as taking a look at some of the leading dolls’ house manufacturers such as Silber & Fleming and Lines Brothers Ltd (later Triang). Included are numerous examples of interesting dolls’ houses, the stories behind them, and where to see them—including famous models such as Queen Mary’s spectacular 1920s dolls’ house at Windsor Castle. There is also a chapter on model towns and villages, which became popular in the twentieth century and also give us a window on the past by replicating real places or capturing scenes typical of a bygone era, plus advice for dolls’ house collectors, a detailed directory of places to visit, a timeline of dolls’ house history, and recommended further reading.
"Naricissa Niblack Thorne began collection miniatures as a young girl. Her fascination grew and as an adult, she gained world-wide recognition for hundreds of miniature rooms created with such exacting detail that they became educational tools for students of architecture and interior design. She left 68 of her rooms to the Art Institute of Chicago, where they remain on permanent exhibit in a Gallery devoted solely to Mrs. Thorne's masterpieces. Thorne Rooms are also in the permanent collections of the Phoenix Art Museum and the Knoxville Museum of Art."--Amazon.com.