Sunday, June 20, 2021

The New Pretty Village by the McLoughlin Bros. via Dover Publications

A few weeks ago I wrote a bit about the miniature cardboard buildings manufactured by the McLoughlin Bros. in 1897. Soon after making that post I was surprised to find out that Dover Publications reprinted all the brothers' cardboard buildings in a single book back in 1980. The surprises kept on coming as I was able to find an intact copy in reasonable shape for a low price at an online reseller. 

The book measures 9.25" x 12.25" and is about 1/4" thick. The box that sets of the originals came in was 8.5" x 11.5" by 1" thick, so I speculate that the pieces in the book are probably the same size as the originals, although the originals were likely printed on much different cardboard.

There are 18 models in the collection:

House No. 1

House No. 2

House No. 3

Boat House

Hotel

Florist

School House

Engine House

Church

Photographer

House No. 13

House No. 10

House No. 12

House No. 14

House No. 15

Rip Van Winkle House

Blacksmith's Shop

Tent

Red arrow marks the figures
So what about scale? I don't think the originals were made to any particular one other than something that was big enough for children to easily handle, yet small enough to fit in a compact box for shipping. 

And, the models weren't built to one scale, several were used. There are some models that are approximately S, others approximately OO, and a few others that are approximately HO. For example, on the right is the boat house on which I've placed an OO Airfix civilian and my HO avatar. Those figures don't look too bad size-wise. Although maybe the OO figure is a tad big, but in comparison, the printed children look rather large, as if the building was a kid's play house. 

Here's the same test with the engine house - the fire engine house that is. Those OO and HO guys don't look too bad, but the model is on the edge of being too big for either scale. Those firemen over at the engine entrance look quite large. 

All this obsessive scaling on my part is only to suggest that these little models could have been used on early HO or OO layouts. With the first known model trains that could be construed as HO being manufactured in the early 1920s, and the earliest known HO layouts dating from the late 1920s, and with these models remaining in production into the "early 20th century", maybe these buildings wound up on some of those early layouts. Of course, this is all speculation on my part.




The last page has some guidance on building a layout with all your little buildings. It's mentioned that the recommended layout can be built on a piece of 22" x 42" chipboard, and a colour photo of a finished layout is shown on the outside back cover. It's a charming setup, and would look good on a variety of model railroads.
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6 comments:

  1. Galen GallimoreJune 21, 2021 at 6:47 PM

    Nice find. Most of the "Cut and Assemble" series of structures (many by Edmund V. Gillon Jr.) are in HO scale and readily available online. There's one, however, that seems to be quite rare for when it is available it commands a high price - "Suburban Houses of the Twenties". In my dreams I wander into a used book shop or thrift store and find a copy for a couple dollars, right next to "Model Railroading with Frank Ellison".

    Do you have plans to build these structures?

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    1. J D LoweJune 23, 2021 at 4:06 PM

      I was thinking of scanning a few pages and building from them instead of cutting up the book. Ok, you've got me wondering if I can find that Suburban Houses of the Twenties. Regarding the Ellison book, I think Vince has a copy but he won't even let me look at it :-)

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    2. J D LoweJune 24, 2021 at 2:00 AM

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    3. J D LoweJune 24, 2021 at 2:05 AM

      After a bit of checking it looks like the few copies of "Suburban Houses of the Twenties" out there do indeed sell for crazy prices. New Pretty Houses was a bargain in comparison. Here's my secret code :-) When I mention a "low price" or a "reasonable price" in a post that means the total cost for the item and shipping was <= 20USD - my copy of New Pretty Houses was in this category.

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    4. Galen GallimoreJune 24, 2021 at 7:42 PM

      I plan to build a few of the others I've picked up (Greenfield Village, Victorian houses, Seaside village, and Early American Seaport) in a similar manner, making copies and modifying them as necessary. Being able to make multiples to layer the window frames, etc. will be neat also. But the real treat - and this one I actually did stumble across in a used book store - is the "Build Your Own Cable Car" (the subtext on the cover reads, "So easy even an adult can do it"). By Alan Rose, published by Pedigree Books. I agree on your definition of low price, and aim accordingly. The cable car book was $6.50, US. Just looked on eBay and there's one available bundled with a build-your-own Guillotine! for $13.

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    5. J D LoweJune 25, 2021 at 7:35 AM

      I'll have to have a look for the cable car book, but questions will be asked if I bring the guillotine book into the house :-)

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