Doll's house in the collection of Carlton Hobbs LLC.
The manufacture of European dolls’ houses, or “baby houses” as they were first called, began as early as the 16th century, with the first known house being built for Duke Albert V of Bavaria. Germany, Holland, and the Netherlands were the most prevalent producers and collectors and, after the Revolution of 1687, Dutch King William brought the trend to Britain. It was the English dolls’ houses that were, from the beginning, built with genuine façades. This doll’s house in the Carlton Hobbs collection, believed to be from the first half of the 18th century for its construction in oak, was built in the Palladian style using various architectural manuals of the period.