The Kitchen Table Antiques & Collectibles

My childhood doll crib

last year

last modified: last year

I've this doll bed since I was a little girl. I just got it out of the attic and put it together. My granddaughter is coming in a couple weeks and I think she would like playing with it. Now I need to sew some bedding for it. I plan to repaint it this summer.

Apparently my father paid about $10 for that doll bed, which must have been a lot at the time. He probably made less than $2 an hour back then

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Lars

last year

last modified: last year

I also vote against painting it. You could possible do a clear coat on it, but I would want to preserve the adorable bunny picture on it.

When I was four, I had a doctor's set like the one in the ad, and I used to play veterinarian while my much older cousin would hold a calf in place.

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Comments (17)

Rose Pekelnicky
Original Author
last year
arcy_gw
last year
I wish I still had the set of bunk beds my dad made us. We gave it to a family w/o presents when I was in high school. I do have the set he made for my girls still.
Rose Pekelnicky thanked arcy_gw
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Curious. I don't think our World Books had those. Do you have one or more "yearbooks" that they published? Do you know how old your set is? Ours was a 1927 set and we were kids of the 1950s to 1970s. It was interesting to see, though, that some of the articles were unchanged from 1927 to --say-- the 1970 edition which we could look at in the school library. I remember the article on "Rainbow" was unchanged, except that it now had some color illustrations. But the '27 edition was no good if we needed to look up something about WWII, NASA and space exploration, Hawaii and Alaska as states, laser, suburbanization, Cold War, most of the presidents of the 20th century, etc. The Britannica was old, but not nearly so and had much longer, deeper discussion about everything. Britannica's article authors were identified, so not committee written. Ha, I remember we also had an old set of Funk & Wagnalls. Remember those? Our very old ones were kind of weird, filled with some rather archaic styles of writing. By the 1960s, F&W had become a lot like World Book. Our household did not have enough books; that is probably why I so clearly remember the encyclopedias. There was not much else around to read, (newspapers, cereal boxes, magazines --yes!) especially in summer without the school library, so we read the encylopedias. Oh, glory--- when the county finally opened a little library a couple miles away!
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bpath
last year
It’s lovely, and what a treasure it will be! Test it first for lead paint, you’ll want to encase it well. I have a dollhouse my grandfather made in 1933. I was going to give it to someone for her granddaughters so I tested it, and fortunately the strip showed negative. In the end, though, the granddaughters had gotten a dollhouse from someone else.

What are you thinking for the bedding?
Rose Pekelnicky thanked bpath
chisue
last year
Rose, you have the luckiest grandchildren! Is this your only female grandchild? Will she want to take the doll bed home with her?

I had to chuckle at the ad for the bed, with the little boy 'hands on' while the little girl gets to stand by as a nurse.
Rose Pekelnicky thanked chisue
Olychick
last year
Kind of impressive that they even showed a little boy playing with a doll in those years! Even tho he gets to be the Dr. and the girl is the nurse. It will be fun to see what you make for the bedding. I hope you can preserve the decals when painting it.
Rose Pekelnicky thanked Olychick
lily316
last year
Personally, I don't think you should paint it. I think it's charming the way it is and it will lose all value painted. I got a tiny chair from my mother years ago that a furniture company gave her as a small child. It was initially in red paint and I stupidly repainted it and regret it. I still have it. Your granddaughter will love it.
Rose Pekelnicky thanked lily316
cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
last year
I would leave it as is, too. Your granddaughter will come to treasure it because it was "Grandma's when she was little."
Rose Pekelnicky thanked cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
last year
If you do decide to paint it, you can purchase darling vintage looking decals online.
Rose Pekelnicky thanked rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
last year
last modified: last year
How sweet!

Another vote to leave the finish as-is, if possible - it looks to be in excellent condition. IMPE, kids never seem to notice, or mind, wear and tear on toys.
Rose Pekelnicky thanked carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
lisa_fla
last year
I love it the way it is. She will always remember playing with it at Grandma’s.
Rose Pekelnicky thanked lisa_fla
Rose Pekelnicky
Original Author
last year
Thanks everyone. I am going to sand and spray paint it this summer when it is nice outside. There's a lot of rusty areas and for some reason I just don't like rust on anything. The decals are peeling in some spots too but I have found a source for replacement decals. I am not concerned with the value of it.
Chisue, I have a 3 yr old granddaughter who lives 200 miles away and I have another granddaughter who is only 2 weeks old and lives nearby.
Michael Hilber
last year

One side rail drops down so the doctor can better access his patient.
Rose Pekelnicky thanked Michael Hilber
chisue
last year
I guess you need to keep the doll bed at your house. It will be one of the *special* things about visiting Grandmother.

Congratulations on your new little granddaughter!
Rose Pekelnicky thanked chisue
jill302
last year
Love that you have your childhood doll bed. The bunny is so sweet, your grandaughter will love it!
Rose Pekelnicky thanked jill302
linda campbell
last year
Abso,lutely do NOT repaint it!!s and the rust off gentlyw ith steel wool and oil.. If youw ant a pristiine new doll bed buy one but don't paint the old one!!
WittyNickNameHere ;)
last year
I still have my rocking chair my parents gave me when I turned either 4 or 5. I'm thinking 4.
Rose Pekelnicky thanked WittyNickNameHere ;)

My childhood doll crib

Lars

Comments (17)

Rose Pekelnicky
Original Author

arcy_gw

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Original Author

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My childhood doll crib

Comments (17)

Rose PekelnickyOriginal Author

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Rose PekelnickyOriginal Author

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Rose Pekelnicky
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