Costuming Books: I have a book "Elizabethan Costuming - For the Years 1550-1580." It is a paperback and costs $16. I don't remember where I bought it, but it does have lots of nice illustrations and instructions for making full size costumes. For miniatures you would have to shrink everything down but it shouldn't be that difficult. In fact, I do it frequently. On the inside front cover it says they also have "Victorian Costuming: Volume 1 1840-1865" and "Medieval Costuming: Volume 1 1066-1300." These books are published by Other Times Productions. The ISBN on the Elizabethan book is 0-9630220-0-8. It also gives some history and lifestyle information that would be useful in making miniature scenes.

Marsha Hedrick

Clothing of ALL periods/styles: http://members.aol.com/nebula5/costume.html#toc

I want to warn you. If you go there and start following the links, you may never return. An absolutely unbelievable amount of information on historical costumes, buildings, etc. You find things like "Lighting the Virgin's Way" and plans and instructions for building a Gothic candelabra. I recommend you start looking on a Friday night, so you won't miss the next couple of days of work (and you probably think I'm joking).

Tom Berkner

Costume book: Just another reference for those looking for costumes for period dolls, with patterns. The Doll Book by Estelle Ansley Worrell 1966, ISBN O-442-29555-3, Publisher: Van Nostrand Reinhold Ltd. This book contains patterns for many costumes dating from 1600 to 1890, it also includes accessories. The patterns are not 1" scale but a photocopier can be used to adjust them. It also contains instructions for making cloth dolls.

Robyn Sunderland

Costumes: Look for the Susan Sirkis wishbooks. You may find them at the library. One has 18th century costume patterns, including men's clothes, which is the basic pirate look (believe me, I was hooked on old Errol Flynn movies as a kid!), then make your scoundrel a tiny eye patch, wrap a gaudy bandana on his head, and give him a little jump ring earring. Metallic paint on a plastic cocktail sword will convert it to a pretty convincing saber.

Loretta Sniarowski

Favourite wood of the mid 19th century in England was rosewood (so called because when freshly cut it smells of roses - it does, honest), a dark reddish brown wood, but by the late 19th century the rise of the Arts and Crafts movement meant oak was used a lot, so yes, both woods were used in the 'Victorian' period, because Victoria was on the throne then, yet stylistically the furniture, etc. is worlds apart.

For my sins, I did the training that the auction house Christie's offers - a year of extended, very expensive torture, where you learn tons and are left with the self esteem of a boiled gnat. Maybe it was because they weren't my sort of people. However, let me share with you, you can save £/$ and not go on the course, and have more spondulicks to spend on minis.

First, think about what income bracket/social standing the occupants of your dollhouse will be, and how old they are. For example, 60s-70s style is still alive and well in my parents' house in the year 2000. No nice middle class family in the 1870s would have an Impressionist picture on their walls - nasty new fangled rubbish. So get comfy with the social history of your chosen period.

Secondly, "Look at the form, Helen, look at the form!" Aarrgghh. Say that to me last thing at night and I guarantee I'll wake up screaming. But what my repellent teacher meant was so true - look at the shapes and styles of the period you want to do in mini. The shapes of things, as well as the substance from which they are made, is so important. There's a brilliant museum in Vienna which just has a huge room full of chairs, hung on the wall, dating (I think) all from 1820 onwards. All chairs, yet all so different. Different artistic movements in your period will produce different forms, so choose your artistic movement/style, and follow it through in colours, shapes, fabrics. Remember that low income houses will be way behind in stylistic changes, as will elderly households.

Remember that only the wealthy can do a whole style at a time. It's far more common to see eclectic mixtures of styles in a household. Only late 20th century man belonged to the disposable society, if it's faintly worn, chuck it. Before, if it's faintly worn, take care of it.

I think what I'm trying to say is, it's less important who was on the throne at the time, than what was going down on the street, what was cool and fashionable and new or nasty, new fangled and daft, depending on who you are.

For example in the 1850s-60s, there was a passion for furniture made from antlers. Not comfy, not pretty, but it was new! And that was the influence of Queen Victoria and her passion for her castle at Balmoral in Scotland, the English middle classes as ever trying to ape their betters.

Helen from York, England

Oak Furniture: I read somewhere that oak oxidizes naturally to a dark finish over time. The original Tudor and Jacobean oak paneling and furniture were supposedly much like the early 20th century golden oak when new. Victorian dark oak furniture was deliberately stained dark because it was repro "Tudorbean." Presumably, those of us with old golden oak furniture won't live long enough to see it darken, but great-great-grandchildren may inherit dark oak pieces! Too bad I won't be around to see if this is accurate -- maybe without the smoky fireplaces of yore modern oak will stay light?

Loretta Sniarowski

Dark oak: The dark oak of the Arts and Crafts Period which crossed both Victorian and Art Deco periods was created in imitation of the age old darkened oak that happened with eons of fires burning and coal and oil lamps and candles creating noxious fumes (I'm sure our ancestors' lungs had a similar look). Pretty hard to do on new furniture so they found that putting the furniture in a "room" with burning ammonia that created "fumes" got essentially the same look, hence "fumed oak." The ammonia fumes interacted with the, I believe, tannic acid natural to oak, giving it that color and finish. It just kills me when I go into an antique store and see all this beautiful fumed oak now a wishy washy golden tan because some dealer decided to "spiff" it up so the unwary and unknowing would buy their chest, chair, etc. (of course this completely ruins the value of the piece). There are no more new fumed oak pieces, as I think the EPA put its foot down. There are some finishes though that imitate fumed oak but I haven't tried them so don't know how close they come - it's a very unique color and does not work on other woods. Anyway, as I understand it that's the story on dark oak.

As for 30's and 40's houses, these same pieces of furniture came under the crafty hand of many a housewife, etc. who decided that dark oak was NOT the thing to have in their home so they stripped, bleached and cut down many of these now sought after antiques. These would definitely have a place in these homes. In the late 40's and early 50's they were removing the pedestals from the round oak dining tables and creating coffee tables. I saw all of this with my own eyes in my own family as I was growing up. Makes me cringe when I think of it.

Ana Gerard

Dark Oak: I am not sure this applies to dark oak or not, but I have been told that after Queen Victoria died in 1901 all the furniture came out in very dark finishes - a mourning colour. The idea of smoke from fires darkening it sounds reasonable.

June in London Ontario Canada

Shutters - You can really hang your shutters in either direction. Originally, they were hung so that when they were closed, the slats pointed down, to keep rain and light out of the rooms. When they were open, then, the slats would point up. Very few people actually have - or use - working shutters anymore, so they are hung with the slats pointing down so rainwater doesn't get behind them and make a mess.

Drawing Dollhouse Plans: You don't have to limit yourself to 3 stories if you're wanting LOTS of rooms... Charleston's homes on the Battery have 5 stories (best I remember it was 4 stories and a half above-ground basement) so you could go even higher if you want LOTS of rooms!! Makes sense to me. That way you get lots of rooms and still not take up much footage. These houses were also 1 and 2 rooms deep...very easy to pattern a dollhouse after. They are what we would call "sideways" on their lots, meaning the long "front" of the house is usually to the left (South) inside a fenced courtyard and you are looking at the short "end" from the street. (The reason for this was to catch the coolest breezes. By the houses being only 1 or 2 rooms deep, this helped to cool all the rooms.) Sometimes a regular house door was used to get inside the courtyard to go to the house to knock. I found these houses fascinating. So if you want even more rooms, go ahead and add more stories! And have fun!!

Rita Pierce

Tudor is also pretty crooked and off of plumb. I stayed in an authentic Tudor in England. The steps were so narrow and steep, we let the hosts carry our bags so we could hold onto the walls and steps to get to our room. The walls bulge inward at odd places and the great beams are random. You figure it isn't going to fall down NOW because it has been there so long already. Spackle is your friend.

Laurie Sisson