They were usually contructed to actually fit inside a cabinet. It would have the appearance on the outside of an normal piece of furniture but when it was opened it revealed an impressive dolls house with many rooms. On the inside there was furniture all scaled down to size and the craftsmanship was of the highest standards.

The dolls which were usually made of wood or wax are extremely collectible toys today.

Antique wax dolls were usually made by pouring melted wax into a mould. Wax does’nt really seem to be the perfect material for making dolls but they were less fragile than bisque or china and it could be tinted to give the doll a beautiful and realistic skin tone.

It is often quite difficult to accurately date these dolls because they were hard to mark and the only way they could do this was by labelling them.

It was in the 19th century that “baby houses” began to be known as dolls houses and were often found in the nurseries of children belonging to wealthy families.

They were often furnished with exquisite rugs made from needlepoint and couches upholstered in silk. The furniture was often made of fine wood and was accurately cut down to scale.

By the end of the 19th century the dolls were made of glazed china and bisque. The attention to detail was amazing and often the dolls were equipped with their own gloves, purses, fans and even sewing kits! This made them very easy to personalise and the accessories became very popular gifts for her.

In recent times plastic and metal dolls houses were introduced but undoubtedly it is the amazing craftsmanship of the early “baby houses” which have stood the test of time that remain firm favourites with miniature collectors today.

A record increase of 8% in toy prices at auction was seen last year according to toy valuation experts Vectis. Despite the current economic climate, more than $10mil was spent at auction last year and this does not account for private sales. According to Vectis the most expensive items to go under the hammer where Victorian rocking horses, vintage Hornby train sets and a couple of Georgian dolls houses. Vectis have stated that their research tells them that over 80% of the item entered for auction had been inherited from relatives.

Another person who has noted the rise in toy sale prices is Sam Williams from the Toy Collectors Union.

He states that as machines take over more of the toy making work, there are less hand-made items entering the market that can gain value.

This means that the traditional products such as tin and wooden toys are becoming even rarer and thus more valuable.

Selling up right now though is not his advice.

The toy market will keep on growing in strength he suggests, and unlike other markets there are very rarely any dips.

So the advice for now is hang on to those classic rag dolls, Steiff bears and vintage toy car collection because there is more money to be made from them yet.