A favorite of collectors of early German Christmas are these hard paper houses they now use to decorate their displays at Christmastime. This set comes complete in its original wooden crate with a label on the side identifying it as a "Schweizerdorf" (Swiss village), obviously never played with. German toys from the early to mid 1800s came packaged in Spanschachteln, which is what we generally refer to as bentwood boxes. Sometime around the 1880s or 1890s the bentwood boxes were replaced by these wooden pine boxes with flat lids, pictured above, and then when that type of packaging became too expensive cardboard boxes took over. Holzwolle (literally wood wool), or thin wooden shavings, were used before the advent of tissue paper to cushion the toys inside the boxes.
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May 2015
Susan's PageWelcome to Living Tastefully’s “Antique of the Week” page. Our love of antiques is reflected in every aspect of our everyday lives. We are passionate about collecting and also love functional antiques that can actually be used and not only admired. Hopefully we can inspire you to incorporate antiques in your home and your life to add charm and beauty to your surroundings.
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