The Thornton-Smith house
Dolls' House
1750-1799 (made)
1750-1799 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Mr E. Thornton Smith gave this house to the museum in 1923, on behalf of his firm Messrs Thornton-Smith Ltd. who were decorators. The outside tells us that it is an 18th century house because it has two doors opening on each side of a centre panel.
The interior has not changed much since the 18th century. The details that you see such as the chimney-pieces and the woodwork show what a real house would have looked like inside more than two hundred years ago. The house would have been made by a carpenter either for a little girl or for an adult, but most interesting of all is that when Queen Mary saw it in the museum she took it upon herself to organise furniture for the house.
The interior has not changed much since the 18th century. The details that you see such as the chimney-pieces and the woodwork show what a real house would have looked like inside more than two hundred years ago. The house would have been made by a carpenter either for a little girl or for an adult, but most interesting of all is that when Queen Mary saw it in the museum she took it upon herself to organise furniture for the house.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Thornton-Smith house (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | Jointed and painted wood |
| Brief description | Dolls' house known as the Thornton-Smith house made in England between 1750 and 1800 |
| Physical description | This house has three storeys with two rooms on each floor. There is a hall and staircase in the centre of the house. The glazed windows are large and include two with rounded tops on the first floor and two on each side of the house at ground and first floor level. A pediment runs around the top of the house and the back is covered with rough fabric. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production type | Unique |
| Credit line | Given by Mr E. Thornton-Smith |
| Object history | The house was formerly a loan to the museum made originally in 1901 by S.T.Smith. The house was given to the museum by Mr E. Thornton-Smith in the name of Messrs Thornton-Smith, Ltd. of 31-31, Soho Square, London. The house was subsequently furnished courtesy of Queen Mary. |
| Summary | Mr E. Thornton Smith gave this house to the museum in 1923, on behalf of his firm Messrs Thornton-Smith Ltd. who were decorators. The outside tells us that it is an 18th century house because it has two doors opening on each side of a centre panel. The interior has not changed much since the 18th century. The details that you see such as the chimney-pieces and the woodwork show what a real house would have looked like inside more than two hundred years ago. The house would have been made by a carpenter either for a little girl or for an adult, but most interesting of all is that when Queen Mary saw it in the museum she took it upon herself to organise furniture for the house. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | MISC.145-1923 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | June 13, 2005 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
