Introduction

The hobby of collecting miniatures and creating intricate dollhouses has fascinated people for centuries. Contrary to modern belief that dollhouses have always been considered toys for children, as early as the sixteenth century, aristocratic families collected dollhouses as a means of displaying their wealth; the dollhouse rooms provided people with a look into the social customs and values within the ‘home’ in a particular era, showcasing what kind of worldly possessions and furnishings people had on a miniature level. They were (and still are) testaments to an artistic craft that stressed the importance of creating materials on a small scale–requiring a delicate precision and detail of the items that were displayed for all to see.