Plasco Renwal Furniture & Accessories – 1948 through 1950’s
One of the earliest and most iconic brands of early American dollhouse furniture is Plasco Renwal. There were many collections created by this company, and even variations on those collections from year-to-year. There is a very large following of collectors for these pieces, and it can be surprising how much even one lone piece can cost. I was fortunate to obtain most of my pieces through low-cost means, such as the Goodwill store or yard sales. Although these are not pieces I would use in one of my custom-built dollhouses, I do appreciate and enjoy these as a part of American dollhouse history, and also from a nostalgic standpoint . . . I remember playing with these pieces as a child!
The patio set shown below is a part of the “Little Homemaker Garden Set”, circa 1948. I do not own the entire set, although I do have more pieces than is shown in this photo. I will add the additional pieces to this posting at a later date.
The little telephone that you see on the table above is circa 1949, and I have seen this as high as $30.00 on-line. I was fortunate, indeed, to get this in a large group of Renwal items at the Goodwill store! I was also fortunate that the all-important 2-color phone cord was intact. The picture below is like mine except the colors are reversed (mine is shown in photo above).
The patio set that I showed you above actually came in a surprisingly wide range of colors. The blue/green set shown below is fairly rare, and I was really excited to be able to obtain it. I very recently saw a very unique set on ebay in turquoise, black, and yellow which I would have loved to obtain, but unfortunately, someone else was better able to afford it than I was. That particular set also included an umbrella for the table.
While I know that the sewing machine below is Renwal, I am not sure what year it was released. I have been unable to find one exactly like it on-line, although I found two other color variations that were exorbitant. I believe mine may be even more rare. This piece is very interesting . . . the sewing machine actually fits down inside the table when “not in use” – just like a real one and the pedal and handle actually work. For a plastic piece, it is one of the most detailed I’ve seen.
The miscellaneous items below are an interesting mix, and I would swear I actually had some of these pieces so many decades ago when I was a little scalawag!
The photos below show additional pieces from my collection. I am particularly fond of the 50’s style kitchen & dining room set. The oven, refrigerator & cabinet doors open. Also, the formal dining table (as shown) – Top (R) was also the style used in my Wine Tasting Roombox.
The Plasco Renwal Piano:
As I have time to go through my pieces, I will post additional pictures.
Last modified on: April 7th 2013.