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*House of the Month*
- 2004 -
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January:
This very tall "church?" -"Victorian?" -"grain-elevator?" -at 8 1/2" -not only makes a great "skyline" addition, there are some most unusual features,too. Dual function seems to have been intended, here: church and attached parsonage? Grain elevator and attached parsonage?(Well, I wouldn't put it past them - these Japanese with their marvelous "BIZZARchitecture.") I don't know where I get this "grain elevator" feeling: probably from my mid-century childhood in Kansas when they still had some of the old wooden ones around in the smaller towns. They probably still do. This piece just brings that memory forth.
It's not uncommon for full-cocos like this to have two doors - but different kinds of doors? THAT is uncommon to be sure! And when I say "full coco," I mean "FULL coco!" Even the window mullions are fuzzed over with it. But look at the window just below the tower; it's coco, but a whole different color of coco, found nowhere else on the piece! That would have required a whole extra effort to acheive. Big stairs - little stoop - main church/ pastor's digs. And now for that potted bush. It calls to mind a popular German series in which hardwood painted bases held tiny feather trees or emulated holly bushes with thick grape-like bunches of red plaster berries. But this is carboard, luffah, and coconut! Japanese absolutely - and am actually beginning to believe it's original to this great piece. And I have never seen one of these before!
February:
"Martha Stewart House"
Antoinette Stockenberg Collection. Another is known to be in the "Tucson" Collection.
March Madness!!
Among the Great Lost Tribe of the Old Houses there are the occasional real oddballs. Tom Hull has given refuge to these. He believes the larger, blue one to be a fort," or perhaps it is the runt-of-the-litter/ugly duckling of cardboard castles. Those unequal diameter gold-painted sections of cane are supposed to be cannons. Remarkably, the original 48-states flag is still there..."through the rocket's red glare ..." Tom thought perhaps it was part of a cheap little playset, but I don't know; it does have accents of snow around the base. You can't really call it beautiful, but you must admit it's unusual! And like the runt from any litter, Tom says it's growing on him and is becoming his favorite.
As for the "quanset" loggies - what can I say? They look like a cross between a frontier dwelling and a roll-top desk. Tom says the holes in the roof show no evidence of missing chimneys - thinks they are heat vents - but, the holes in back are not large enough to accomodate the C-6 Christmas lights of those times. Hmmm ... The front doors are the early "PWD-2" type, so they're old.
March Majesty
Not to disappoint, I am also featuring this magnificent coconut from the Tucson Collection. I love the sprawling, multi-sectioned archtecture and the unusual light chartreuse color. This is a fairly large one, too - and would look even bigger without an oversized Santa out front to diminish the illusion. This is the very common "slumped Santa," and I wonder if he hasn't gone slightly hunchbacked trying to climb into all these tiny houses ....
I think the light green of Spring is especially appropriate right now:
Mirror Image
Compare this house to the green one above. Note that they are virtually the same structure in mirror image, despite the color and fence style. This occurs in just a few cases and is known as Twins!
- Antoinette Stockenberg Collection
Think SPRING !!!
April!
A fine example of the early ('30-'31) houses with the special balcony and entrance structures, and the key slotted, curved fence and balcony railing. Two doors. Handpianted girl on the balconey -in full coco and brilliant colors. Exceptional condition
It's the special structures and details that make these so endearing. That porch roof is singular and special, as is the long, wrap-around balconey railing with it's yellow accent color, which lights up the whole piece wonderfully. The condition is original.
Tucson Collection.
May!
A fine large "coconut" of very classic design, with the very interesting 4-component roof, doghouse and early '30s slit windows. It has a terrific porch/balconey feature, and what I find unusual is the way this masks the fact that the dormer facings extend downward as continuations of the main front wall. It cleverly makes very interesting what might otherwise be too bland of an expanse. From the:
Tucson Collection.
JUNE!
A very fine large coconut with fine architectural details. Rafia fence, slit windows, delicious orange and blue combination. Note especially the front steps. Santa will have to go up one toe at a time!
- From the Tucson Collection
JULY:
This is one of those exquisite little "GREENSPOTS" that sometimes have colored glass beads embedded in the wall texture. This one obviously does not, but with the especially interesting architectural features, they do form a definite family group. Only about 4 3/4" by 3 3/4," this smaller, but very intricate sub-family of the "GREENSPOTS" pack a large amount of of individual, yet related charm in every member.
The Tucson Collection.
AUGUST
This is another, slightly smaller version of the elborate, car-porticoed Super-Lakkie shown in the "1930's" section. I reiterate that I believe these to have been made by the Japanese for year-round sale as economical alternatives to the very expensive glossy, sheet metal buildings and accessories the train manufacturers were offering during this period of time.
The detail more than rivals that of the metal counterparts, and the sheer number of parts that had to be glued on makes it hard to imagine making them that much cheaper than the metal, but of course the tooling would have been.
... from the Tucson Collection.
SEPTEMBER
Hybrid Hacienda
This is a fairly interesting, fairly large "hacienda" - but not that large, nor that interesting. What's really unusual, here, is that it's a partial "coconut." Haciendas are almost always bald. Just a fine-sand "stucco" finish. Must be one of the first of the Haciendas - definitely transitional.
From the Tucson Collection.
October:
Autumn Colors!
I thought this one was perfect for October. I love these really early "LOGGIES" with all their extra hand tinting in rich earth colors. The other thing that really says "early" is the "PRINTIE" chimney. This has to be the "Grandmother's House" to which over-the-river-and-through-the-woods-we-go.
From the TUCSON COLLECTION ...
November:
A very fine large coconut, but the big story here is the DOOR!
The door is a hand-painted,fired bisque casting -like the Santas and other lawn figures. These are quite rare. Among all the collections I'm aware of, I think I know of perhaps 6 of these. I chose it partly for the rarity and partly for that door welcoming us into the warmth and snugness of "home-and-hearth" and the warm Holidays to come.
Ca. 1932-'34
....Tucson Collection.
December!
For CHRISTMAS I decided to go a bit overboard this year with TWO exceptional houses:
Christmas Coconut Elegance!
This large and elegant 100% coconut church with green paper-mullioned windows all intact and two trees speaks for itself, so I'll just show the pictures.
I just love that clerestory roof structure!
7 1/2" by 4 3/4" by 9 1/2" to the top of the metal cross, which is original.
A note must be added about the Santa. He looks just like the common "humpback" Santa, but this one is much larger - almost 2 1/8" high, whereas the regular one is barely 1 1/2". It creates a size illusion, making the church seem smaller in a photo.
......Tucson Collection.
Christmas Coconut ECCENTRICITY:
TREE HOUSE!
Nobody had ever seen one of these before Tom Hull discovered it on eBay. What a mixture of things! It's a house. It's a tree. It's part coconut and part sand. It has 4 roofs. It's early. The door is the blue-panelled "PWD-1" of 1928-'32, and it has the rafia fence of the 1930-'32 period.
It's not a very large thing, only about 5" X 3". The figure is the seldom-seen hand-painted"BOY," and is WAY outsized- another 2 1/8 incher. Except for those roofs, there's really not much to it,- but it just might be the only one of it's kind left in the entire world ....
..... Hull Collection.
Well, that's about it for 2004. My prayers are with you all for the best in 2005!
"God bless us, every one ...."
......"Papa" Ted
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Copyright 2000-2012 Theodore H. Althof,Jr.Except where noted, the contents of this website and all it's pages and submissions therein contained are the intellectual property of Theodore H.Althof,Jr. All rights are reserved. (Background musical selections are,of course, excepted.)
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