Dollhouse bedside table

This dollhouse bedside table was made by Jim Collins in the 1940s for his step-granddaughter Jocelyn Sinclair (nee Williams, born 1934).

Jocelyn (Jo) lost her father when she was five years old. She and her widowed mother (Elsie Williams) went to live with Elsie's mother Ruby Collins and her second husband Jim during the Second World War (1939-45). During the war Jim and Ruby made dollhouse furniture out of paper mache to raise money for the war effort. Some of their pieces were displayed in the windows of the James Smith department store in Wellington. This particular bedside table was modelled on their own bedroom suite.

Jim was a plumber by trade, and carefully recycled spare pieces of metal and piping to make a complete set of dollhouse furniture for his step-granddaughter. Jocelyn remembers 'he was good to me'. 'I had much pleasure playing with them as a child and was only allowed to have them on "special occasions". I know they were made with special care and love' (Sinclair 2018). She played with kewpie dolls but didn't have a dolls' house - just the furniture.

Homemade toys in the 1940s

Homemade toys were a common occurrence in the 1940s when this dollhouse furniture was made. Reduced toy production and import restrictions during the depression and World War Two meant that there was a sharp decline in the availability of manufactured toys - both New Zealand made and imports from overseas. But toys were also homemade because many families lacked the funds to purchase them during this period.