One of the things I've done a lot while walking around Stockholm's Gamla Stan was stopping to have a look at the antiquarian shops scattered around the meandering streets of the Old Town.
I have a strange fascination with such shops because you never know what kind of treasures you may find inside them.
So, attracted by a bargain basket containing a bizarre assortment of bits and pieces of doll houses and old toys left outside the main door of a shop with an "Antik & Kuriosa" sign, I opened the door and found myself inside a little wonderful haven for toy collectors, the shop "Gyllene Ängeln" (Golden Angel).
The shop is indeed crammed with antique toys, teddy bears and vintage Barbie dolls.
Entire shelves are flooded with vintage pieces of doll houses, from tiny mugs to newspapers, candlesticks, flower pots, dining accessories and pieces of furniture.
During my visit at the shop I looked through the doll house accessories to see if there were some rare pieces to give as a present to a collector friend.
Shop owner Britt-Marie Lindh also showed me an unassuming box filled with some wonderfully preserved Barbie clothes and accessories from the 50s and 60s.
I picked a little mug, a notebook with real paper pages you can leaf through, a cute wooden chair from the 50s and an "I (Heart) NY" paper bag with a plastic wine bottle, a magazine and the tiniest copy of The New York Times ever seen on earth inside (Britt-Marie explained me this was actually a rather rare piece).
My idea was giving the pieces to my collector friend, but I couldn't resist making a necklace out of them (well, what can you expect from someone who tends to turn the most bizarre things lying around the house into necklaces?). Hopefully my friend will forget me.
If you're heading to Stockholm you will find "Gyllene Ängeln" in Södra Benickebrinken 4, but, if you are a serious collector and a trip to Sweden is not on your agenda at the moment, send Britt-Marie your requests or questions about the shop's stock via email (her address is: [email protected]).
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wonderful ... miniaturisation minutae ...its my favourite ...
Posted by: matchstickgirl | January 25, 2010 at 01:58 AM