Early dolls’ houses dating from the seventeenth right up to the beginning of the twentieth century rarely had uniform scales, with variations from room to room and even pieces within one room. Although a few manufacturers made miniature toy furniture in the nineteenth century, they were not to a strict scale.

There have been several standard scales in dolls’ houses over the years. Childrens’ toy houses during most of the 20th century were 1:18th scale ( 1″ = 18″ ). Popular brands included Lundby, Caroline’s Home, Barton, Dol-Toi and Triang. Houses were made from a variety of materials, including metal, MDF, plastic and wood.

In Germany during the middle part of the 20th century 1:10th scale became popular, based on a system where 10 inches is represented by one inch. Toy- type houses from Germany today are still closer in scale to 1:10th than to 1:12th.

In the 1970’s the standard for adult collectors became 1:12th scale. There are also 1:24th, 1:48th and the tiny ‘ dolls’ house for your dolls’ house; ‘ 1:144th scale. 1:24th scale was popular in the Marx range of dolls’ houses in the 1950’s, but only became widely available to the collector after 2000, about the same time that even smaller scales became more popular. The smaller scales are much more popular and easier to come by in the United States than in Britain.

There is also ‘Playscale’, or 1:6th scale, which is appropriate for Barbie, Sindy and similar sized dolls.

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