From here the whole collection lies open to you. Choose a section and wander at your own pace through the small worlds — from the grandest house to the tiniest shop counter. Each section gathers a distinct kind of miniature.
The sections at a glance
- Dolls' Houses — around twenty named houses with complete interiors, the heart of the collection: from The Old Villa to the Frankfurt Town House.
- Doll Rooms & Kitchens — intimate interiors and historic miniature kitchens in the tradition of the Nuremberg kitchen.
- Grand Houses — the large, stately pieces: Epping House, Reading House and The Rectory Cottage 1879.
- Miniature Shops — tiny shops full of tiny wares, from the delicatessen to the fashion shop of about 1900.
- Miniature Gardens — the green side of the miniature: a rose pavilion, a Japanese tea-house garden and an autumn walk.
- Display Pieces — narrative scenes such as the Viennese confectionery and the Christmas market.
- Antique Dolls — some one hundred and fifty old dolls, the inhabitants of these small worlds.
A note for your visit
Take your time. The pleasures of this collection lie in the detail, and the finest discoveries reward the slow eye — a picture on a wall, a book on a table, a cat upon the stair. Begin, if you like, with the dolls' houses and let one section lead you to the next. You may return to the welcome page at any time, or read more about the collection. That dolls' houses are collected as heritage the world over is shown by the National Museum of Play.
How the sections connect
The collection is ordered by kind of miniature rather than by origin, so the large playable houses sit under Dolls' Houses, the single-room pieces under Doll Rooms, the stately show-pieces under Grand Houses, and the narrative scenes under Display Pieces. Each section may be read on its own, yet each also leads naturally to the others: begin among the shops and you will soon find your way to whole houses; begin with the history and you will see every piece with fresh eyes. There is no wrong way through this museum.