The Renwal Manufacturing Co. which was located in New York, New York produced dollhouse dolls and furniture from 1945-1956. As a young girl in the early 1950′s, I spent hours playing with my “bending dolls” with my friends. I never had a metal doll house but just set up the rooms of furniture on the floor! The furniture was made of very colorful plastic with many pieces having moveable parts. The style was very typical of the that period. Pieces were marked Renwal and were also numbered. There are some very hard to find pieces (sewing machine, broom, vacuum cleaner) that command some higher prices. Some pieces had decals and some were hand painted which add to their appeal. It is fun to try to outfit a dollhouse with all the rooms available. Renwal also produced the dollhouse dolls. The family consisted of Father, Mother, Brother, Sister and baby. They was also a Policeman, Doctor, Mechanic and Nurse which are very hard to find. The dolls were made of one color plastic and then painted with flesh tones. It is difficult to find a doll with no rubs to the paint as they were heavily played with. I wish that I still had my policeman, doctor and nurse. The nurse came with and without a cap. Mine had a cap which fit into a hole on the top of her head. I have since had a nurse (pictured with the baby nursery) that didn’t have a hole for the cap. The dolls could sit and move their arms and legs. I think these “bending dolls” were very innovative for their time! I have not seen any of these dolls mint in box in my twenty years of doll collecting. Their value would probably be quite high.
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
My Grandmother recently passed away and I found one of the sister dolls in it’s original box- the box is a little abused but the doll looks like it was never taken out. What do you think the value of this would be. I have never heard of these dolls until I found this one, my mother would have been too young to remember these dolls.
Danielle, Thanks so much for your question. I would value the sister doll in excellent condition with its abused box at about $25 to maybe $40. If the box was in mint condition, it might be worth more to a collector who loves mint in box dolls. Of all the Renwal doll house dolls, “sister” was probably the most common and didn’t have any variations. What a nice find!
is your family for sale? if so how much? seen the mechanic doll on http://www.rubylane.com, and the doctor on http://www.longeachantiquemarket.com, and the nurse just sold on ebay also. loved yr story. I still have my dollhouse from 1954, a Marxie Mansion without a florida room. looking for a nice renwal family to rent my home. donna
I have my mom’s collection of Renwal dollhouse furniture from the early 1940′s. I have the entire contents including outdoor furniture, food, dishes, sewing machine, broom, bicycle, etc., and the family of dolls. I am thinking of selling it and would like advice on where to sell it and how much.
Shelley, I would suggest eBay as one outlet. If you have unusual pieces, they could bring higher prices that some of more common ones. Search Renwal under doll house furniture to see what prices the items are getting right now. Prices have been changing lately with the economy. Excellent condition items that are rare will always do well. Good luck!
I am almost 70 and I still have all of my Renwall Dollhouse furniture that I got for christmas when I was 8 years old. We just presented my 8 year old granddaughter with a beautiful dollhouse filled with all of my old furniture and people. As I was putting all of the people in their places on Christmas Eve, tears began to run down my face as I recalled the joy my dollhouse and people brought to me when I was a little girl. On Christmas day when we presented her with my childhood gem, she put her hands on her cheeks and yelled…..”I LOVE IT”. The tears began all over again. And best of all…they decided to leave the house here for more renovating and new additions. I am thrilled! It is in the family room where I can look at it every day and remember what wonderful memories we once shared. I would love to know if there is a Renwall Collector’s Club out there. I have duplicates that I would be willing to share or trade with others.
I am trying to find Renwal Plastic dollhouse dolls with molded clothes, USA, Renwal, 1940-1955 for purchase. Can you help? Thanks S.J.Allen
I have the Renwal furniture from my 1940′s dollhouse (which was too large to keep when I downsized). Can anyone tell me what scale dollhouse to look for if I decide to purchase one? I think I have about six rooms of furniture plus accessories but they are all packed away in my summer home and I am south for the winter. Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
And is there a Renwal collector’s club? What size are the dolls?
Thank you.
Elizabeth Prine
You would look for a dollhouse that used Renwal furniture pieces that were scaled 3/4″. I have had a Marx tin dollhouse that was just right for my Renwal furniture. The Renwal dolls sizes were 2 1/4″ for babies, approx. 4″ for Mom and Dad, and approx. 3 1/2″ for Brother and Sister. Good Luck!
My doll house was masonite, red roof, white clapboard decor, vines 3 rooms upstairs, 3 down stairs. Need to know if this 1949 house furniture was 3/4 in? And what size house can I find to put the furniture in.
Not sure of the dimensions of an appropriate doll house, but the furniture is definitely scaled to 3/4″. Good Luck!
I have a father doll in box doll in very good condition box is beat up a sister doll in box doll good condition box beat up a brother doll box and doll in overall good condition and a mother doll in box both in overall good condition available for sale please contact me by email if interested thanks Avis avisincali@hotmail.com
I love the photos! Had the nurse and babies in the nursery set, and all four dollhouse family dolls, plus several of the fat babies. As the oldest of four, my stuff usually didn’t last past the last kid. I have found 3 of the family members but need a brother. Please contact me if you have one or know where I can find one. Just checked ebay and there are no brothers listed.
Thanks.
Jamie
Hi,
I have what I think is probably a fairly hard to find clear plastic doll house,made by Renwal. (and yes,it’s full of furniture and babies!) The front has a gold banner that says Renwal Tru Scale Doll House Furniture,then an R. It is very large,24″ long,11 and 1/2″ across at each end side,and about 16″ high at the peaks on each end.The entire back slides off sideways to play with and arrange the furniture.I cannot seem to find any websites that would give me some more info about the house..when it was made,current value,etc. Can you help? Thanks much,Cindy
I just read about your display case in the 2008, Renwal Dollhouse Furniture book by Charles F. Donovan Jr. On page73, he says that this was made in 1947 for the dealers of Renwal furniture. At 24 inches, it must have been the 6 room one. (There was a larger, 8 room one, made a few years later.) He said that the dollhouse furniture and people were glued in place. He values it as follows: optimal, with all original pieces still in place, $2000.00; good condition is $750.00 and average at $250.00. I hope that this helps. Kathy Gransee
I am looking for a Renwal refrigerator with the stencils on the outside. I already have the stove and sink and can’t find a refrigerator to match…any out there?
Looking for a Renwal refrigerator with a door that opens and two removal shelves. Anyone out there know of one? Thanks
I recieved a doll house for Christmas in 1957, I think. My Father- Christmas night went around burning paper etc. in the fireplace. My family lost forever. I never knew why my Mom never purchased a new family for me.I am almost positive they came on a cardboard card. I had not taken them off of it yet. I remember the evening so vividly. I was 5 or 6.I was so upset. I have searched for many years. I have much of the furniture. I had a little sister and brother-many years younger- I believe they played with it occasionally. I think my family is similar to the one you show. Blonds however and only 1 baby. Can the family be purchased anywhere? I have searched ebay for years.
I love the style of these dolls. The nurse looks so worried surrounded by all of those babies and the family looks a little stern and uptight. Classic 1950s America!
Recently, I have been purchasing Renwal furniture on Ebay to fill in the gaps of my childhood collection of dollhouse furniture (early 50′s). It has been a lot of fun! I have also been watching the doll houses there to see if I can identify my particular dollhouse that I got in the early 1950′s as well…but so far I haven’t seen one that is like mine. There are many houses of tin, but mine is masonite. I have seen a couple of masonite houses…but not like mine. Do you think you could help identify mine or know someone who could? It is two stories with three rooms on each level. Here are some of the unusual features of my house: there is a real painted wood staircase that emerges on the second floor through a hole in the second floor, in the dining room is a ”built-in” with open shelves above and cabinet doors below with little handles that open up, a wooden base counter and overhead cabinets surrounding the window at one end of the kitchen, there is a wood device on the base so you can rotate from the front to play (like a lazy susan concept) but here is the coolest detail…the kitchen room can pivot into the dining room (there is no room above, just an outdoor patio) and the roof (which is cardboard and has a wood chimney)can be inverted to make the overall shape a tidy rectangle for storage! When the kitchen is in the opened out position it is held in place by two little metal rods (like you find on French doors). I just love it, but would really like to find out more about it…Thank you in advance for your help! Cindy
Cindy,
Thanks for your comment. I hope someone can help you find out about your doll house. I have never seen anything like it. Sounds wonderful! Hopefully someone will reply!