Elizabethan Townhouse found on infil.com

Elizabethan Era

Towards the end of Henry VIII’s reign very little building occurred in England. The debts run up by the spendthrift Henry meant that the country verged on bankruptcy. The wool trade, which had carried the economic life of the country in the late medieval period, was no longer as prosperous as it had been. There was less disposable wealth for architectural projects. Under Elizabeth, the fifth and last Tudor monarch, the county’s economy began to revive. The new queen encouraged a return to farming, and the resulting recovery put a reasonable amount of wealth into the hands of a large number of people. This created the Elizabethan passion for tearing down old houses and building anew. Dubbed the “Great Rebuilding, ” homeowners of all classes yearned for improvements.

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A building in Cesar Augusto Fonseca Ospina “Small Bethlehem.”

Cesar Augusto Fonseca Ospina, Artisan

I was searching for interesting images of large dollhouses on the Internet and spotted this great picture. I thought it to be some sort of multi-story Tudor house. It turned out to be the work of Cesar Augusto Fonseca Ospina, a miniature artisan living in the town of Pacho, Colombia, 55 miles north of Bogota, on the western slope of the Andes Mountains. At 7,008 feet elevation, the air is rarified. So is Cesar’s beautiful work.

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Josje Bouwts’ Slaapkamer. The chandelier is a small part of the room.

Josje Bouwts Slaapkamer Chandelier

This is from a Josie Bouwt post in her blog on September 29, 2011. It was titled “Lights, Camera, Action!” and is one of many reasons why I find her blog invaluable. On “A Beautiful World,” Josje not only shows you her gorgeous miniatures but how she brought them about. A periodic visit to this blog is always a “look and learn” experience for me.

Josje Bouwts’ Slaapkamer Chandelier Close-Up

Chandelier Clos-Up

I was taken with Josie’s description of the chandelier: “When this was all finished I felt the room needed more lights. I didn’t want to wait until the next dolls house fair so I rummaged through my drawers and found an old silver … well, I’m not sure what it was, but I could call it a ‘jewelry finding’. I played around with it a bit, using some glass paint and silk string and made it into a very eclectic light to hang above the chest of drawers. It is a bit odd, I admit, but I rather like it”.

An ecstatic Mulvaney & Rogers customer taking possession of her commissioned dollhouse.

Mulvany & Rogers

This is one of my favorite images in the miniature universe, an ecstatic customer taking possession of her commissioned (bespoke) dollhouse. Mulvany & Rogers have lots of satisfied customers, but getting such photographic proof is a rare thing.

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