Elle1515 Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Hello, I am new to doll houses and just purchased my first house. Hoping someone more experienced can help me ID the house, age and value? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Elisa, I see you have been busy greeting other newcomers to the forum; perhaps you will also post us an introduction? HOFCO is the brand name Holweck used for their dollhouses. Kelly/ rodentraiser can probably tell you more. It looks to me like a Rockaway Rose without the second floor balcony. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodentraiser Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Elisa, that's a very interesting house. Holweck Furniture Company, later to become Hofco Dollhouses, doesn't have any houses listed in my 1st and 2nd catalogs. In my third catalog, they're listed as Holweck, although your style house isn't shown in that catalog. In the 4th catalog, they're listed as Holweck (Hofco). I don't have a 5th catalog, but in the 6th, they're listed from then on as Hofco. It's very probable that Holweck was selling dollhouses when the first catalogs came out and the company may have decided not to advertise in them in the beginning. Having said all that, the house could be one of two. It could be the Antitam house 27 1/2" H x 32" W x 16 1/2" D or it could be the Byron Free house 30" H (this one came with a chimney, so that could be the difference in height) x 32" W x 22" D. If you measure the depth of the house from back to the end of the porch, that will give you the depth. I'm leaning towards your house being the Byron Free house. However, neither of the houses in my catalog had dormers. Maybe the earlier versions had dormers or maybe they were added on. Also, neither of the houses in my catalogs had windows to match yours. But the windows in your house are definitely Hofco windows - they're pretty unmistakable (the ones in the dormers are probably Houseworks windows). Hofco did do some changing around with some of their houses - anyone who has an Americana house can testify to that - so it's possible when they decided to get serious about selling the houses, they changed the windows to reflect their own style. Or someone decided to replace the windows that came with the original house with some of Hofco's upgraded windows. I took a gander at my 8th catalog (I don't have a 7th) and by that time, Hofco was calling themselves Hofco and although they used those nice windows on their Victorian house, they still used the plain windows on the Byron Free house. Also, both houses came with two walls that made a bathroom on the second floor next to the staircase. That doesn't mean much because maybe the maker of your dollhouse decided to leave that little room out to make more room in the second story hallway. In addition, it looks like the front porch has been redone at one time. The house should have 4 porch posts and they should all be on small plinths. The plinth in the pictures comes right up to the edge of the porch and from your pictures, the plinths are missing and the porch posts are set back. I can't tell if the porch posts have been replaced because the pictures in my catalog aren't clear enough. But I do know the porch railing should be raised off the floor of the porch. Many people don't bother with that, though. I don't know about the date of your dollhouse. Given that it says Holweck on the bottom, that might date it 1980 or earlier. However, Hofco wasn't making their Federal windows that early. They may have just kept using old floors with the Holweck name on them in later years, but I think that's doubtful. Or more likely, when the Federal windows came out, maybe the owners of your dollhouse took the old windows out of the house and decided to upgrade them. Maybe the whole house had a rehab at that point and that's when the dormers were put in, too, along with the flooring and electric. The house is very well done. But it's a mystery. But if your house is 22" deep, I'd say you had the Byron Free house. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 See? I told you Kelly would know. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodentraiser Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 It's a good thing the house had Holweck on the bottom and a photo was included. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have known. I'm not that knowledgeable. LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestPaces Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 30 minutes ago, rodentraiser said: It's a good thing the house had Holweck on the bottom and a photo was included. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have known. I'm not that knowledgeable. LOL Knowledgeable enough to wow me Kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elle1515 Posted June 16, 2018 Author Share Posted June 16, 2018 Wow... Thanks for the detailed information Kelly!! You are very knowledgeable! The depth of the house is 16 inches and 22 if you include the porch. It sounds like the Byron free house like you mentioned. Any idea what these resell for if I decide to sell? Trying to decide whether to keep or sell... So glad I found this forum!! Thanks again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodentraiser Posted June 17, 2018 Share Posted June 17, 2018 You're welcome! I wouldn't have a clue what to sell that house for. If you have a dollhouse shop anywhere near you, you might want to take it in and get it appraised. I don't think the brand is necessarily going to sell it and that's a pretty generic style of house, but it does look nicely made and that will count for something. The edges look finished, there's baseboard on the walls, the floors are nice and so is the staircase, and it's electrified. Maybe you can get a miniature or an antique shop to take it on commission. If I were you, I'd look around on Craig's List in your area and see what's selling, not what's just listed, for a finished house that's comparable to yours, and go from there. Personally, I'd replace the wallpaper and keep it. It's a nice house. And being finished means you can start playing - er, collecting for it that much sooner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted June 17, 2018 Share Posted June 17, 2018 What Kelly said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elle1515 Posted June 17, 2018 Author Share Posted June 17, 2018 Thanks! I'm going to keep it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mobelle Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 I purchased my doll house from a yard sale saw this name on the bottom. Can you buy things for your dolls house from this site. Thank you, Monica OllNgg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 Monica, at the top left hand side of the page there's a navigable tool bar; second from the right will take you to the shop site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darla RTB Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 I have been trying to find out info on a dollhouse my dad made in the 80s. I saw one similar enough I think it's a Bryon Free House HOFCO . I always assumed he made it from plans in a book or magazine. I didn't know he used a kit. Does anyone know if Bryon Free House ONLY sold kits ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darla RTB Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 5 minutes ago, Darla RTB said: I have been trying to find out info on a dollhouse my dad made in the 80s. I saw one similar enough I think it's a Bryon Free House HOFCO . I always assumed he made it from plans in a book or magazine. I didn't know he used a kit. Does anyone know if Bryon Free House ONLY sold kits ? 5 minutes ago, Darla RTB said: I have been trying to find out info on a dollhouse my dad made in the 80s. I saw one similar enough I think it's a Bryon Free House HOFCO . I always assumed he made it from plans in a book or magazine. I didn't know he used a kit. Does anyone know if Bryon Free House ONLY sold kits ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kells Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 Someone may correct me, but to my knowledge Hofco never sold plans for their dollhouses, only kits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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