Faith Bradford Dolls’ House, exhibited at the National Museum of American History

Faith Bradford’s Dolls’ House

The curators at the Smithsonian Institution were delighted in 1951 when Faith Bradford donated her Dolls’ House collection to the museum. It would be a perfect addition to the Arts and Industries building as a miniature look back at life in the early 20th century. Imagine their surprise when they discovered that Faith Bradford ‘s turn-of-the-century, five-story, twenty-three room dollhouse was a portal to an imaginary world, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Doll, their ten children, two visiting Grandparents, five servants and twenty pets.

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Spencer House Painted Room – Kathleen Savage Browning collection at the Kentucky Gateway Museum.

The Spencer House Dolls House

The Spencer House dollhouse is the result of the same three elements that have brought about many of the miniature world’s great works. First, there must be a patron, someone willing to acquire funds and inspire artisans to achieve great things. Second, those artisans must be the best in their field. Last, it doesn’t hurt to have an important building as the inspiration, one that has a long history, yet is relevant to the times. Spenser House dollhouse has all three of these elements.

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