Thorn Rooms

Thorne Rooms – In my research on dollhouses the next dollhouse we will
study is a series of rooms contained in shadow boxes, called the
Thorne Rooms. These very detailed individual rooms are treasured as
works of art. The scale of these rooms is one inch to the foot, which
today has become the standard for miniatures.
There were many of these rooms made. There are sixty-eight of these
rooms in the Art Institute of Chicago.
 To see pictures of the one in the Art Institute of
Chicago go to:
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/
 The other largest collection of twenty-eight is in the Phoenix Art Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. 
To see pictures of these rooms go to:  

Scroll down on the left to the Thorne miniature rooms.
There are many pictures of these rooms and the beauty and detail of
them will take your breath away. Be sure you have plenty of time to
go to each one and look at the minute details lf the room. I will not
attempt to describe them as mere words cannot describe the beauty and
detail the pictures show. Mrs. James Ward Thorne was the Lady behind
these rooms. They became famous in the 1930's and were on view in the
1933 – 1934 Chicago Century of Progress and the 1930 – 1940 World
Fairs in New York and San Francisco. These rooms reflect life almost
a century ago.
Mrs. Thorne, (Narcissa Niblack) was born in 1882 in Vincennes Indiana
and married at the age of nineteen the son of the co-founder of the
famous Montgomery Ward and Company. Mr. Thorne retired in 1926 at the
age of 53 and the Thorne's traveled extensively in Europe where Mrs.
Thorne visited and studied the interiors of the stately homes and
palaces of the time. Mr. Thorne took lots of photographs of the homes
they visited. The couple also collected an extensive collection of
miniature furniture.
Mrs. Thorne gathered many notable artisans including the famous
architect Edwin H. Clarke. As the depression swept across the country
Mrs. Thorne began her Thorne Rooms as they became known. These rooms
are a testament to the Thorne Family resources and her practical sense
of style and fashion.
Mrs. Throne with her artisans and craftsman also created many rooms on
a more modest scale as gifts to family and friends. Many of which are
still owned by these families today. There are approximately 100 of
these rooms in Museums, but many more are privately owned. Mrs.
Thorne died in 1966, but her rooms are a gift to the people.
 The other largest collection of twenty-eight is in the Phoenix Art Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. 
To see pictures of these room go to:  

http://egallery.phxart.org/view/objects/asimages/4524?t:state:flow=c0dafcb9-f2fc-4e42-a471-0e6a3fc2c2a7