Hello all,
I bought recently these houses on Ebay.de, they were anounced as "Erzgebirge Dorf Papphäuser Lichterhäuser 20er J".
Its size is OK for 00/H0 trains, and I would say they would look nice with Tischbahan trains....
They came in the cardboard box also shown, where the name "Marolin" is mentioned.
Is this the brand of the houses? Would you confirm that the are from the 1920's?
Who has some details on this items?











Best regards,
Mnauel

Manuel,

I have a very similar cardbord building in H0 size. I don‘t know who made it. The rear side is simple compared to the front side. The only hint I have, my building was wrapped in an East German newspaper. It is very similar to that building shown on your last image.

Marolin seems to be the wrong clue.

The Company who used / uses again the brand „Marolin“ was founded by Richard Mahr in Steinach (Thuringia) in 1900. 1963 the company was adopted by Lionel (this company has nothing to do with the American Modell train brand Lionel, see below). 1972 the Company was expropriated by the East German State. 1990 the company was given back to the former owner. This company made and makes again figurines by the use of paper mâché (Papiermaschee).
http://www.marolin.de/
(Kamel means camel)

Lionel Ltd. (Germany) was founded in 1906 in Wiederholz (Brandenburg). This Companay was absorbed by the East German state in 1957. This company made figurines by the use of linseed oil and tree gum. The material used for new figurines is thermosetting plastics.
http://www.lineol.de

Regards Georg

Thank you for your help Georg.
It seems that the box was from kamel figures and not for houses! I confirm that my houses have also a very simple and plain back.
What about the date of the "east german" newspaper, could we date the houses like that? Is it from the 20'ties???
Regards,
Manuel

Zitat von mpipa

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... What about the date of the "east german" newspaper, could we date the houses like that? Is it from the 20'ties???

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No, Manuel.
It is a newpaper printed 1978 with news from Haldensleben (near Magdeburg) . It seems to be the date and location, when and where the houses were "used" the last time.

Regards Georg

You are right Georg, the newspaper is not working to date the houses.
What would be your best guess?
Regards,
Manuel

Manuel,

in the box with the house mentioned above were some more houses and even a huge church. Higher than all churches Faller etc. made in the 1950th. Also included in this box was a goods sheed and a railway station. The railway station is in H0-scale, but it was big compared with the stations Faller etc. made at that time. The railway staion is very, very similar to a blueprint the German model railway magazin MIBA offered. Even with the steeple on the roof with the clock and an onion dome, a partly turned wooden part. May be there was a construction kit for such difficult parts. Several MIBA (Miniaturbahnen) issues promoted the blueprint and showed images of the ready station. The magazines were published 1949/1950. I believe all my houses I got in this box were made around 1950.

Note: before the war only Trix and Märklin made 00- / H0-trains in Germany (since 1935). Both companies offered their own houses, stations etc.matching to the H0-Scale because there was no other producer. Trix used wood and sold Kibri tinplate buildings under the Trix brand. Märklin used tinplate.

Regards Georg

Hi Manuel,

I have similar Erzgebirge houses and these you show I would probably date to the 1930's, as the 1920's are somewhat more ornate. Who made them is always a question, but undoubtedly a manufacturer from Seiffen. If you look at the Seiffen museum Website, you will see similar type buildings.
http://www.spielzeugmuseum-seiffen.de/
The craftsmen and their families in the Seiffen area were famous for these handicrafts and they were exported all over the world. Again, finding out the exact manufacturer is difficult, often they were produced by the family at home to order, and most were sold through wholesalers/exporters and seldom were labeled as to manufacturer, appearing in wholesaler catalogs with just a number for ordering.

These buildings are great additions to any Table Top Railway layout!

Regards,
Thal

Georg, Thal, many thanks for your help!
Regards,
Manuel

Hello Georg,
that's not correct.

[Lionel Ltd. (Germany) was founded in 1906 in Wiederholz (Brandenburg). This Companay was absorbed by the East German state in 1957. This company made figurines by the use of linseed oil and tree gum. The material used for new figurines is thermosetting plastics.
http://www.lineol.de

Regards Georg
[/quote]

The founder of the Lineol Ltd. called Oskar Wiederholz and the town was Brandenburg a.d. Havel.

Regards Frank

Hello again,
I really don´t know the value of this houses since I bought them in big lot.
What is the current market value for them in Germany, can anyone tell?
Thanks,
Manuel

Hello Manuel,

Try completed searches on eBay for similar. There are many of these types of buildings (Erzgebirge) on US and Germany eBay all the time, but you may have to wait for awhile to find an auction with exactly these type.

Regards,
Thal

To Georg:
Sorry, Georg - but you are mistaken regarding 00 gauge manufacturers in Germany before WWII! There was a number of 00 gauge BEFORE Märklin. In fact it was BING who brought up the first 00 trains to the German and International market. This was in 1922 with a c/w version and from 1924 on with an electric system. Bing was followed by BUB in 1936, and there are some contemporaries as DISTLER, ISSMAYER, SCHUHMANN - all before Märklin and Trix. The beginning of 00 gauge in Germany is an interesting story, if you like to find out by yourself - all apart from Märklin!
Kind regards, Claudia