Collecting dolls houses, particularly the plastic accessories for Barbie or Cindy, is a relatively recent phenomenon.Just how long these injection moulded products will last is anyone’s guess, however, recreating houses and their contents is a hobby that’s been around for centuries in one form or another.
The earliest recorded dolls house – an exquisitely detailed replica of his own fully furnished residence – was owned by Albert V, Duke of Bavaria, in the mid 1500s.Inspired by this example, many other wealthy people began to commission fine miniature pieces made by expert craftsmen.These were not children’s playthings but were intended as conspicuous displays of wealth and social position.

The fad continued throughout the 17th and 18th centuries and gradually these miniature creations began to be considered appropriate for the children of the wealthy. Not as a toy though!Rather they were used as visual aids to educate young girls about the domestic management duties that any well to do young woman would be expected to perform when she became married and responsible for running her own household.    It wasn’t until the mid 19th century that the concept of “childhood” was really developed and the dolls house became more of a plaything. They were still the product of craftsmanship however and restricted to the children of the well heeled middle and upper classes.   No contemporary nursery was considered complete without one.

The Victorian age saw the beginning of industrial mass production and it was this development that changed the dolls house from lavish miniature heirloom into a genuine child’s toy.  The major innovator in this, and many other types of mass produced toy, was Germany, whose factories exported dolls houses and accessories all over the world.

The fascination with reflecting their lifestyle in miniature persisted in the ruling classes.Queen Mary, wife of King George V, had an abiding interest in dolls houses. n the early 1920’s she commissioned one of the foremost architects of the day, Sir Edwin Lutyens, to design a dolls house for the queen’s personal pleasure. All the miniature items for Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House were made by the finest craftsmen available and their work which can still be seen on display in Windsor Castle.
Nowadays the mass production of dolls houses for fashion dolls (and even woodland creatures!) as toys for kids runs parallel to the hobby of miniature collecting by adults.   Arguably, diorama sets for model figures – be they model soldiers or Sci-Fi characters – are dolls houses too in spirit at least.  There are a growing number of specialist shops, miniatures fairs and dolls house publications to cater for adult enthusiasts who like to recreate past eras in whole houses or specific scenes. Some enjoy making the models, while others collect craftsman-made pieces. The aim is to achieve accurate detail to capture the character and period style, raising what is a hobby to the status of a (very lucrative!) art form and creative expression.

Dolls Houses are thought by some as merely a child’s toy or just miniature displays of wealth and social standing by the rich.  They were used in the 18th century to teach domestic management duties to middle class young women and it wasn’t until mass production by the Germans initially that the dolls house became a genuine child’s toy.However, these miniature creations can also perform another useful function by preserving and commemorating significant architectural styles.  As the actual buildings themselves fall before the bulldozer and developer, at least the expertly and loving crafted dolls house keeps an accurate picture of period styles alive.
Take for example the works of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, doyenne of of the Modern Movement.Among his major architectural works is Glasgow School of Art (now the Mackintosh Building), a series of Glasgow Tea Room interiors and large private houses such as Windy Hill in Kilmacolm. For those who can’t make it to those destinations, there is a chance to appreciate Mackintosh’s unique take on architectural design by viewing a Charles Rennie Mackintosh-style dolls house in the Bethnall Green Museum, London.The miniature faithfully preserves details such the staircase newel post design taken from Martyr’s Public School, the front door reflecting 78 Southpark Avenue and the internal doors inspired by Craigie Hall.
In the same vein, Edwin Lutyens became the best known British architect of the early part of the 20th century.Creator of the Cenotaph in Whitehall, Luytens was one of the major contributors to the ‘Arts and Crafts’ movement.Famous for what was termed the “Surrey Style”, he also designed Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House which is now in Windsor Castle.The Surrey Style is reproduced in many examples of dolls house, with large latticework windows, distinctive big roofs with dormer windows and heavy window frames and doors. 
So before you dismiss dolls houses as mere playthings or the fads of obsessed collectors, remember that they at least are portable and easily protected.  In future years, they may well be the only reminders of great artistic and architectural achievements when the real thing has crumbled to dust or made way for a shopping mall.