This toy kitchen made by the Gottschalk firm shows the style of real kitchens at the turn-of-the-century, but does not have a standardized scale. A young girl would learn to maintain this small kitchen by using the diminutive brooms, hand brushes and dustpan. These tools encouraged children to practice and take pride in their chores. Working features in this kitchen made learning a delight: a small reservoir on the back of the wall holds water for the faucet so children could wash the dishes and floor; a small candle could be placed inside the stove to warm little pots and pans; and on the wall to the right of the hutch is a small but functional coffee grinder! There are numerous tiny canisters in the kitchen, some labeled with the German words for their imagined contents: sugar, coffee, flour, salt, vinegar, and oil.
Miniature kitchens such as this one were some of the early predecessors of the dollhouses which we know and love today.
