Tasha Tudor Birthday Celebration 2013!

Pumpkin House!

Pumpkin House

August 28th, 2013, would have been Tasha Tudor's 98th birthday.

My daughter Sarah and I were so blessed to have Tasha for a friend.

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Tasha Tudor's Birthday Celebration is more than just a one day celebration. It is, to us, every day kindred old fashioned tasks and the seasonal celebrations all throughout the year.

We had many kindred interests in common with Tasha such as spinning, weaving, knitting, natural dyeing, dolls, corgyn, goats, birds, gardening (flowers, herbs, and vegetables), old fashioned clothing and frocks, fireplace and woodstove cookery, canning, sewing, quilting, old books, and the old ways of living.

These daily things remind us of Tasha.

How grateful we are to have been her friend and kindred spirit!

In celebration, we have for this post, chosen a gathering of our photographs that we think are reflective of what we and Tasha Tudor loved! We hope you will enjoy them here at the Corgyncombe Courant!

Last Autumn we acquired an old dollhouse. We had seen the dollhouse on Susan Branch's blog when she visited Rustology Antiques. Susan was imagining how fun it be to would decorate it!

When we first saw the large golden dollhouse in person there were pumpkins on either side of the door. Thereafter we always called the house, "Pumpkin House"!

Because several of the windows on the front were missing, we drew on just some quick window divisions to get an idea of how the house would look with four panes.

This dollhouse is special! It is large, over five feet tall, almost six feet long, with lots of depth in the rooms, and a place out front to play, too! Up top there are two chimneys. It is old, so the boards are substantial, the golden color of the house and the painted stonework are wonderful. The center door is framed by an elegant portico with columns and there is a beautiful fan above the door. The front of the house is on its own base with rollers, and can be rolled away so you can play inside. There is a fireplace in the parlour, pretty carpets upstairs, and a stairway that goes through all three floors.

Some of the photographs and some of the writings on this post are from previous Corgyncombe Courant posts that can be found here on the Corgyncombe Courant.

 The Tasha Tudor "Around the Year" exhibit last year, 2012.

What a delightful exhibit it was!
 

   "The Dolls' Christmas" written and illustrated by Tasha Tudor
 
Tasha Tudor wrote and illustrated books inspired by her own dolls and dollhouses, "A is for Annabelle", "The Doll's Christmas", "Thistly B", "Becky's Christmas", "The Night Before Christmas", and she illustrated "The Dolls' House" written by Rumer Godden.

 In "The Dolls' Christmas", one can see the dollhouse in the illustration was taller than the children, who are having a delightful time playing with their dolls! If you love dollhouses and Christmas festivities, you will love this book! To the left of the smallest girl, on the floor just outside the dollhouse, is a crock, a yellowware bowl, and a copper teakettle. Inside you can see a cupboard full of dishes with a chair along side.

Kitchens were Tasha's favorite room in a dollhouse, they are mine also!

In "The Dolls' Christmas", the dolls made thimble cookies for the Christmas party.

The dollhouse in "The Dolls' Christmas" was called "Pumpkin House". In Tasha's rough draft, that was on display at the "Around the Year" exhibit last year, 2012, Tasha had written about the dollhouse, something like: "It was called Pumpkin House because it had been given to them by their Godmother and you know what Godmother's can do with pumpkins, especially magic ones." This was omitted from the final book but it gives insight into interesting Cinderella-like thoughts about the dollhouse.

We have always loved dollhouses! Last Autumn, we had had dollhouses on our mind, our friends have dollhouses and in researching a story we looked at another old dollhouse display.

 
Our Izannah girls love dollhouses, too! After visiting the old dollhouse display and hearing about the two little girls who first had the house and loved it, the Izannahs were even more excited about the idea of finding their own dollhouse to play with their little doll in!

 The old dollhouse display looked so much like one they had seen in a old storybook in their home library at Corgyncombe.

 This old dollhouse was given to two little girls for Christmas. The little girls looked forward to decorating it each year at Christmas time.

An old book at the Corgyncombe Library, about a little girl receiving a dollhouse for her Birthday. How delightful!  The dollhouse in the book reminds us of the old dollhouse display above. Both dollhouses have dormers, chimney, and drawers along the bottom.

So we and the Izannah girls were excited when we saw two dollhouses for sale! We saw the large golden dollhouse and another, smaller, old dollhouse on Susan Branch's blog when she visited Rustology Antiques. (Both dollhouses were at the same antique store.) We loved them both, but the large one was so expensive! So we went to get the smaller dollhouse because I loved that one so much! Later we found out the smaller dollhouse was a miniature 863 Park Avenue.

As I was anticipating going to get the Park Avenue dollhouse, I was also thinking about the big golden dollhouse. I said enthusiastically to my daughter Sarah, "What will we do if they offer to sell it for half price?" My daughter told me "It won't happen!" I thought, well it could! (Sarah says that I still think like I'm six years old.) The Izannahs overheard and thought dreams can come true, it could happen!

We arrived at Rustology Antiques to pick up the smaller dollhouse 863 Park Avenue.  How we love it! We knew we couldn't get the big dollhouse, the price was so high, but of course we had to look at it! It was impressive! Before having it at their shop, the large golden dollhouse had been at shows and admired by many. Everyone loved it and could imagine how fun it would be to have it, fix it up, and decorate it.
 
 Without us even having to ask for a lower price, the shop owner offered it to us for less than half price! Perhaps he saw how much we loved and appreciated the first dollhouse. The incredible had happened, now what do we do?! We took some measurements, I told them I would think about it and let them know. When we got home the Izannah girls were pleading and trying to persuade me. After a couple of days, I decided whilst milking, where I do some of my best thinking, what was I waiting for?... the house had a wonderful look, it was made of good material, the color was perfect! We could use it with our dolls for our stories!
 
The Izannahs were thrilled!

Eliza, one of our Izannah Walker inspired dolls made by Margaret Flavin. Adventurous Eliza was the first one to climb up with their doll "Little Dear One" and Tillie Tinkham the seamstress mouse at Corgyncombe, to see Pumpkin House close up when it arrived.

  The Izannahs call their little doll "Little Dear One".  They placed Little Dear One on the front porch and she ran in, running as fast as her little feet could go from room to room up and down the stairs, through the doors and looking out the windows!

 Eliza and her sister Bridget looking up at the front.

It is sooo big!
 

 The dollhouse looks like a big ship!
 The ropes are for keeping it in place whilst traveling in the moving vehicle!
Izannah Walker inspired dolls Eliza, Bridget, and Emma, and their lovely clothing were made by Margaret Flavin.
 

 Tillie the mouse is excited, too!
 She can set up house under the floor boards in the cellar.

 Eliza talking to her cousin Emma about all the fun they will have! Tillie has climbed up into Emma's lap, whilst Little Dear One is looking down out the window.
 

This dollhouse was found in eastern Massachusetts and its portico resembles the portico of an old house in Salem.

  Eliza standing in front of the beautiful house.

  I found the little table that reminded me of Jane Austen's writing table exhibited at her house in Chawton, England. Atop my table is a writing slope, which is a portable desk that folds up into a box. Jane also had a very similar writing slope of her own. Jane's writing slope is now at the British Library.
 
How nice and cozy and inspiring, writing next to the
863 Park Avenue dollhouse!

 The dollhouse floors of Pumpkin House were covered with dust and you couldn't see what the wood looked like underneath.

 The dolls and I understand each other, when I was a little girl I had a playhouse to play in, too! A place to sweep and make tea and play dollies!

Emma and "Little Dear One" dusted and mopped and cleaned Pumpkin House. They put some furniture in the dollhouse that we already had. This is just the beginning!
 The dollhouse is in good shape, but some of the wallpaper will need to be replaced. What fun it will be to decide on wallpaper!

The playhouse that my Daddy made for me when I was a little girl. My playhouse had rose curtains, a line for my wash, a brick chimney that I insisted it needed, and a porch that eventually had window boxes for flowers, with picket fences up hill and down.

Through the windows, one can see a lovely view overlooking the Autumnal hills of Corgyncombe Country.

One can see the stairway through the doorway. See how nicely the floors cleaned up? The floors shine and there was even a design underneath all the dust!
 


On my desk at the Corgyncombe Library, "A is for Annabelle", illustrated and written by Tasha Tudor. It is about an old fashioned doll and some of her belongings from A to Z, such as her quilt, her hat with a feather, and her nosegay. "A is for Annabelle" is one of our favorite Tasha Tudor books! I placed real rose geraniums and forget-me-nots, some of the illustrated flowers in the border, on Tasha Tudor's illustration of Annabelle's skirt.

The inscription that Tasha wrote to me in the "A is for Annabelle" book:
 "To clever Diane, how I envy your spinning abilities!
 Tasha Tudor"
 

 A pretty scented geranium in bloom at Corgyncombe.

Emma gathering lemon verbena from the garden.

In her wheelbarrow Emma has gathered chamomile, sage, basil, calendula, borage, thyme, and feverfew.
 

The daisy-like flowers are chamomile.
In Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", chamomile tea is what Mother Rabbit gave to the ailing Peter.

 Emma hanging some herbs on her drying rack.
 

Tasha Tudor in her kitchen at Corgi Cottage.
 Tasha took her little basket out and collected herbs from her garden to season the chickens that she was preparing for our supper.

In "A Basket of Herbs", edited by Mary Mason Campbell and illustrated by Tasha Tudor, the chapter about Sage includes  Tasha's drawing of a lady preparing a turkey using herbs that she had collected. Several corgis are nearby anticipating turkey dinner.

At peony time, one pauses to give thought to Tasha Tudor.
 Tasha loved peonies!
 

 On the art stand, "Queen Victoria's Dolls" by Frances H. Low and illustrated by Alan Wright. When she was a girl, Queen Victoria collected small peg wooden dolls and the book has drawings illustrating their many fashions.
 

 A ribbon commemorating Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee.

A photograph of an old English drawing done by Kenny Meadows. The lady in the drawing reminds us of Jane Bennet in "Pride and Prejudice", though the lady's fashion is bit later in time. The lavender was gathered from my garden of herbs.

Sweet Izzibeth, an Izannah Walker
inspired doll made by Paula Walton.
September 25th marked 196 years since Izannah Walker's birth.

High Dumpsie Dearie is an old English receipt for jam made with apples, pears, and plums with some bruised ginger. There is an abundance of apples this year at Corgyncombe. I made one batch of seven pints this year, now I am going to make another seven pints. High Dumpsie Dearie on toast is delicious!

Our Lydia Corgi in last winter's snow.

Eliakim May Corgi at tea time, sniffing muffins made from a receipt that Tasha gave me. Eliakim is named after my 5th great grandfather Eliakim May who was 1st cousin to Louisa May Alcott's great grandfather Samuel May.
 

I made the above photograph of Sarah and Tasha Corgi into a Valentine card that Tasha Tudor was delighted to receive. After Tasha received the card she illustrated the scene. The illustration appears in the book "The Art of Tasha Tudor". Tasha Corgi was named after Tasha Tudor, and Tasha Tudor was very honored and declared herself to be Tasha Corgi's Godmother. We have had six corgyn: Tasha Corgi, Katrina Corgi, Ethlyn Maria Weaver Corgi, Emily Jane Jones Shepard Corgi, Eliakim May Corgi, and Lydia Rebecca Sly Corgi. We are so grateful to Tasha for showing us through her illustrations how delightful corgyn can be!

Emily Corgi amongst the leaves.

Ethlyn Corgi playing in the leaves.
  

Katrina Corgi
 Wool blankets that Diane wove are warming on the rack by the stove.

My photograph of Sarah and her friends setting just outside the sheep pasture, having cupcakes and May Day punch, in between going round the Maypole at one of our May Day celebrations.

Tasha Tudor drew "Afternoon Tea" from my photograph of Sarah and her friends having refreshments at our May Day celebration. Tasha illustrated a basket with a doll and flowers by Sarah's chair, how well she knew our Sarah!

Tasha and I often discussed spinning. We especially liked the old wheels. In the photograph is a spinning wheel like the one in the spinning book that I first acquired when I was learning to spin. I loved this wheel and oft' times dreamt of getting one like it. I called it my dream wheel! I finally found one just like the one in the book!

Tasha Tudor spinning on one of my wheels.

Pumpkin House

Little Dear One sitting on the steps thinking "What fun it would be to have little friends my own size to play with in Pumpkin House..." Maybe her dream will come true!

863 Park Avenue
Here is a link to our post about the other, smaller dollhouse that we acquired, 863 Park Avenue, and some delightful discoveries:
 A Dollhouse, Beatrix Potter and Susan Branch!
863 Park Avenue Meets England!

Here is a link to:
Tasha Tudor and Family

http://corgyncombecourant.blogspot.com/2013/10/tasha-tudor-birthday-celebration-2013.html
copyright © 2013 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Dollhouse, Beatrix Potter and Susan Branch!

863 Park Avenue Meets England!

Nearby the dollhouse is our old fashioned table top Christmas tree like my Grandmum always had! The tree is surrounded by an old fashioned fence; it looks like a park in the distance from the house.

In front of the dollhouse are little trees and another fence.

A festive Christmas wreath is hanging from the wooden latch that shuts the two doors. Like Beatrix Potter's doll's house at Hill Top this dollhouse has two large doors in front that open up to see the inside.

Two little mice nibbling crumbs beside the English teapot, similar to one at Old Sturbridge Village.

Hunca Munca at the door of the doll's house.

 Along with the dust in the dustpan is swept up Corgi hair.
Beatrix Potter wrote and illustrated the adorable book "The Tale of Two Bad Mice", published in 1904.

Beatrix Potter was inspired to create this book by her pet mice Hunca Munca and Tom Thumb, the doll's house that Norman Warne was making for his niece and the doll's house pieces and miniature food that he sent for her to draw.
Some of the furniture and small foods illustrated in the story are now in the doll's house at Hill Top.

Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca went into the doll's house, and after becoming frustrated at finding the miniature foods to be inedible, started wrecking things and then decided some of the things in the doll's house would go quite well in their own mouse house. In the end, because they had caused havoc in the doll's house, the mice slipped a "crooked six-pence" into the dolls' Christmas stocking. Also, Hunca Munca came back to the doll's house, every morning and cleaned and swept for the dolls.

This enchanting dollhouse may look familiar to our dear readers.

We first read about it on author and artist Susan Branch's blog.
 

Susan had found the dollhouse on her trip through Autumnal New England at an antique shop, thought it charming and shared photographs of the dollhouse on her blog.
 

I loved the dollhouse the minute I saw it!
So we made an Autumnal visit to the antique shop, ourselves.
There we found the dollhouse tucked in a corner, setting on the floor.

Tillie Tinkham, the seamstress mouse for the dolls at Corgyncombe, looks out from the door of her shoppe "Tillie Tinkham's Frocks & Fashions" at 863 Park Avenue.

Tillie has a country shoppe, too.

As we were loading the dollhouse into the vehicle, out into a better light where we could see it better, I tried the little door to see if it would open; it did and it has a little latch to hold it shut!

That is when I said "Oh, look it has has an address number above the door, 863 Park Avenue", which of course, we would have to look into later.

We asked about the provenance and the kind people at Rustology Antiques said that the dollhouse was found at an old estate in Connecticut. The estate was the family's summer home, the rest of the year they lived in Manhattan, New York.

We had a feeling that whoever had the dollhouse had also lived at 863 Park Avenue.

863 Park Avenue, built in 1908, was known as one of the "earliest luxury apartment buildings" on Park Avenue.

In hoping to find more information about the dollhouse, we found the estate sale that had first sold the dollhouse, then we did some research of the genealogy of the family who had the estate. We discovered the Parsons family had lived at 863 Park Avenue near the time when it was first built, with their first child, a little girl named Alice.

An interesting note also discovered was that amongst the other families who lived in the apartments at 863 Park Avenue, was William Taylor, the man who had the real apartment house built.

At the Parsons family's beautiful stone summer house at their Connecticut estate they entertained many prominent people. The Parsons' Connecticut estate was featured in House & Garden Magazine.

We were even fortunate enough to find a photograph of the little girl with her mother. This photograph is part of our own personal collection.

Little Alice Parsons in ribbons and lace, with her Mother, who looks like a fairy godmother as she holds a little slipper.

Perhaps Alice had Beatrix Potter's book "The Tale of Two Bad Mice", as it had been written several years before.

The clear sparkly lights of the Christmas tree are reminiscent of starlight, candlelight, and snowflakes.

Tucked in by the teapot on the shelf one can see the little mice.
Two of the dollhouse windows have curtains with lacey like snowflakes.

Old music box music playing is so nice whilst looking at the Christmas tree and the dollhouse.

In this fairytale like scene, the Mother's gown and the little slipper take on a radiant luster as little Alice holds a book and looks intently at the little satin slipper.
Perhaps her Mother was telling her the story of Cinderella!

The photograph was taken on Alice's birthday.

Tillie Tinkham, holding forget-me-nots from the banks of Corgi Creek, stands by her Park Avenue door.
Susan Branch's book "A Fine Romance, Falling in love with the English Countryside". Susan takes us along with her lovely handwriting, artwork and photographs of her travels to England during the lovely months of May and June.

How we love England and so does Susan!

Susan Branch's book "A Fine Romance" led us about the English countryside with its sheep, hills and dales, stone walls, quaint old villages, shops, cottages, and gardens! Susan Branch's book has all these things and more! When Susan Branch visited England, the country was decorated in a festive manner in honor of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Amongst our favorite stops were her visits to Beatrix Potter's Hill Top Farm and Jane Austen's Chawton Cottage. Susan delightfully captured a wonderful variety of lovely landscapes and architecture of Kent, the Lake District, the Peak District in Derbyshire, the Yorkshire Dales, and the Cotswolds. The book has a red grosgrain ribbon bookmark at hand ready to mark where ever you left off reading.

Susan Branch spent time in Kent, England, just a hop, skip and a jump from my 10th great grandfather's church, St. Dunstan's, the parish church of Cranbrook, also known as "The Cathedral of the Weald". He was William Eddye, the Vicar of Cranbrook from 1591-1616. Some of William Eddy's descendants were early settlers in the 1600's on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, the same island that Susan Branch makes her home.

At Christmastime I took some photographs of some of the old things and Beatrix Potter figurines on my cupboard. You can see the reflection of the sparkly Christmas tree lights in the glass and china. On the old apothecary jar filled with bay leaf, it looks like a twinkly waterfall coming down the jar between Rebeccah and Drake Puddle-Duck.

Susan Branch also has a collection of Beatrix Potter figurines and she talks about them in her book, and sees a group of them on the window of a particularly charming cottage in England. Back at home on Martha's Vineyard she has her own delightful Peter Rabbit room.

Whilst in England, Susan Branch stayed at a friend's cottage decorated inside with twinkle or fairy lights.

Our old fashioned table top tree at Christmas with twinkle lights.

"According to Season", written by Frances Theodora Parsons, is about flowers throughout the seasons. Frances Theodora Parsons has been a favorite at our Corgyncombe Library for years!

 
We were thrilled to discover that little Alice Parsons' Aunt was Frances Theodora Parsons who studied and wrote about botany. Her first book "How to Know the Wildflowers" was met with resounding acclaim from Theodore Roosevelt and Rudyard Kipling. In "A Fine Romance", Susan Branch writes about visiting Bateman's, Rudyard Kipling's home in England. Rudyard Kipling and his wife lived in Vermont about the same time as Frances Theodora Parsons wrote her book "How to Know the Wildflowers". Kipling told her that the book would be most useful in discovering the wildflowers around and about his Vermont home.
 

Amongst the old books on the table are several by our cousin Louisa May Alcott.

In "A Fine Romance", Susan Branch illustrated Fred Astaire, a favorite actor/dancer/singer of her and Joe's, in a top hat and tails.

Fred Astaire opened a dance studio on Park Avenue, just a few twirls and taps down the Avenue from the dollhouse!

Tillie herself has a millinery shoppe and tea room at 863 Park Avenue. Tillie is helping the little dog decide on a hat.

Inside Tillie's in town Shoppe at 863 Park Avenue, "Tillie Tinkham's Frocks & Fashions" with Millinery and Tea Room.

 

The blue and silver scenes on the walls are like diamond shaped windows looking out to fashionable folk walking about on cobbled streets. The rows of close buildings with their steep roofs and chimneys are reminiscent of the charming old English villages Lacock and Bibury in the Cotswolds. Susan Branch visited Lacock and Bibury and there are photographs of those places in the book. Susan Branch enjoyed many tea rooms and whilst in the Lake District Susan stopped at a shoppe and tried on some hats. What fun!

One of Tillie Tinkham's favorite views in Corgyncombe Country.

The Turret at Castle Corgyncombe.

The Tailor of Gloucester

"The Tailor of Gloucester", written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, is a story of mice who help the tailor at night to finish his work.

Whilst the cat was away, the curious Tailor, upon hearing tip, tap, tip, tap, sets free the mice that the cat had captured under tea-cups.

In the photograph above, there is a charkha spindle of my handspun silk. In the small bowl is cochineal for dyeing the silk a pleasant shade of cherry. Do you hear a tip, tap, tip, tap, tip?

Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit with postbag.

At Finch Post, 863 Park Avenue Branch, top floor, the Tweet Sweets are holding a 

Valentine Banner of Love!

Even as a baby my daughter Sarah would study and analyze detail. Dolls and their houses have been always amongst her favorite things. When she saw this old dollhouse she got so excited and started chattering up a storm. I have always loved dolls, dollhouses, and playhouses, too.

Miss Elsie Pricklish the Hedgehog makes an apartment above Tillie's shoppe at 863 Park Avenue her home during the winter. In the summer she lives in a mossy hollow log down by Corgi Creek.

Debbie Dibble Dabble (one of many Dibble Dabble sisters) is quacking and bouncing on the bed, as the mattress goes up and down. Boing, boing, quack, quack, boing.

Miss Elsie Pricklish is to soon set about making clapbread, a traditional English flat bread made from oat flour.

With her cap and apron she looks like a Lady of Cranford!

Elsie has a surprise guest for tea...

Draw the latch, sit by the fire and spin, take a cup, and drink it up, then call a Spinstress in...

A tussie mussie was made using larkspur, lavender, thyme, winter savory, rosemary, wild marjoram, rose geranium leaves, and baby's breath all gathered from the Corgyncombe Garden of Herbs.

The little mouse knitting figurine is based upon Beatrix Potter's illustration of the "Old woman who lived in a shoe" in "Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes". It is one of our favorite Beatrix Potter illustrations! "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" book on the table is a limited edition reproduction of Beatrix Potter's first privately printed Peter Rabbit book and has the original illustrations with Beatrix's own handwriting. The dust jacket is a reproduction of calico printed by Beatrix's grandfather's calico printworks. It is such a sweet book!

We found out about this book on Susan Branch's blog when she had a giveaway. Included in the giveaway book was a sweet drawing of a lamb in an apron. Alas, I did not win the giveaway, but found another copy for my own library. We just love that print on the dust jacket!

In her book "A Fine Romance", Susan Branch has illustrated a similar lamb gathering flowers in a bowl.

In Jemima Puddle-Duck, Jemima is sent by the fox Mr. Tod, to look for the herbs for stuffing..

In Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of The Pie and The Patty-Pan", Ribby, with a pitcher of milk and a plate of butter, is returning from the farm on a path crossing the pasture where the cows are grazing.

A photograph I took several years ago of some of my Beatrix Potter figurines Tabitha Twitchit and Miss Moppet, Flopsy Bunny, and Peter's Mum Mrs. Rabbit.

Beyond the tea table, through the window there is Mr. Darcy walking in his top hat and coat!

The diamond shaped "windows" are looking out on the old cobbled streets of England edged by old buildings and there are people of old England going about their business, out for a walk, perhaps some from a Charles Dickens novel and some from a Jane Austen novel.

The scenes remind us of the English village of Lacock and the Arlington Row weaver cottages of Bibury in the Cotwolds.

Lacock, England was used for villages in the movies Cranford and Pride and Prejudice (1995).

Why is that Elizabeth Bennet or perhaps even Jane Austen herself?

This Regency lady is charmingly similar to Cassandra's portrait of her sister Jane Austen, below.

Above, "The Illustrated Letters of Jane Austen", edited by Penelope Hughes-Hallett, is a wonderful book to read Jane's letters and of the time and places she lived in.

The small bouquet of feverfew, lavender, baby's breath, and forget-me-nots was picked from Corgyncombe Garden of Herbs. The combination of herbs is very fragrant all together.

Tillie Tinkham, the seamstress mouse for the dolls at Corgyncombe, descends from the Tinkham mice of England. One of her Brown mouse family ancestors came over on the Mayflower and his daughter married into the Tinkham mouse family.

Tillie holding forget-me-nots.

The dollhouse reminds us of Beatrix Potter's doll's house!

Like Beatrix Potter's doll's house at Hill Top this dollhouse has two large doors in front that open up to see the inside.

Here is a link to:

 A photograph of Beatrix Potter's doll's house

at Hill Top Farm

Here is a link to:

A video of "The World of Beatrix Potter and Friends: The Tale of Two Bad Mice" with a charming introduction of Beatrix Potter riding in a cart through narrow, curvy cobbled streets and arriving at Hill Top.

The scenes on the dollhouse walls remind us of the English village of Lacock and the Arlington Row weaver cottages of Bibury in the Cotwolds.

Here is a link to a photograph of:

Arlington Row in Bibury

Here is a link to:
The Parsons' Estate in Connecticut
in House & Garden Magazine
which reminds us of the stone house in
"Christmas in Connecticut"


Here is a link to:
Rustology Antiques

Here is a link to our post
about the Large Golden Dollhouse:
Tasha Tudor Birthday Celebration 2013!
Pumpkin House!


Some of the photographs and some of the writings on this post are from previous Corgyncombe Courant posts that can be found here on the Corgyncombe Courant and from our web site and our previous postings elsewhere on the internet.

Please do not "Pin" our photographs.
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atthecottagegate@yahoo.com
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Photographs, images, and text copyright © 2000-2013 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson. All rights reserved. Photographs, images, and/or text may not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson.



http://corgyncombecourant.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-dollhouse-beatrix-potter-and-susan.html
copyright © 2013 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~