Material

wood
paint

Dimensions

14 3/4" x 30" x 18 3/8"

Creation Date

1850 – 1890

Description

This toy kitchen has three walls and a floor. The walls are lined with two rows of shelves. There is a storage cabinet under one set of shelves on the back wall and poultry pen under the shelves on a side wall. It has a central on-hearth cooking area with an overhead flue and wood storage underneath. The walls are painted a yellow/gold color and the floors are painted in large squares of cream, blue/grey and rust. (The interior was probably repainted at some point in the past).

Although less expensive than an entire dollhouse, a miniature room or shop still provided lessons in household management and afforded hours of enjoyment. Kitchens were popular rooms. Here girls cooked up all sorts of imaginary treats and played with arranging and restocking the space. Hundreds of kitchenware items from pots and pans to copper molds and fake food were available singly and in sets.

Provenance

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Museum Purchase.

Kitchen Artifact ID

Acc. No. 1960.1200.37