Highway family’s search for treasured heirloom continues
The Lee family has been searching for the double-storey wooden dollhouse, crafted by a family member in the 1970s, for more than a week.
A HIGHWAY family is desperate to reclaim a family heirloom, a highly detailed and hand-crafted dollhouse, that was erroneously donated to the local Kloof and Highway SPCA and was sold soon after.
Noelle Lee’s father, Edryn Bricknell, created the double-storey dollhouse for her daughter, who is now 45 years old, in the late 70s.
“She now has five children, two little girls, and we recently had the dollhouse refurbished for her two daughters to play with and use as well,” said Lee.
The two families lived next door to each other in Westville and, when Lee’s daughter moved with to Hillcrest, the dollhouse was accidentally added to the goods donated to the local animal shelter.
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“It was donated about six weeks ago. I didn’t even know. When I learnt about it I went straight to the SPCA and told them what happened. They were so sweet about it but it had, unfortunately, been sold,” said Lee.
The double-storey doll house, was more than a metre in length and stood just under 1m in height.
The front section opened up to four rooms that were adjoined to a hall with a flowing grand staircase.
While Lee can’t pinpoint the exact length of time her father took to construct the luxurious dollhouse, she said it was very detailed and must have taken him a while to piece it together.
“There were even little lights that could be turned on inside,” she said.
“It has become almost a family heirloom. My father passed away in 2010 and, when someone goes, you sort of treasure what is left,” she said. “Somebody must have purchased it for their daughter to play with. My son has daughters and he would like it for his daughters. We would love to keep this treasure within our family. I would not mind buying it back from the person who purchased it.”
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Barbara Patrick, the manager of the Kloof and Highway SPCA, said she has received a few desperate phone calls, over the past 12 years she has worked there, from generous donors who have donated their unwanted goods to then realise an item should have been kept and not included in their donation.
“Depending on how soon they phone after they made the donation, we have often been able to find what they need. The sooner they phone the easier it is for us to locate items. Once we receive donated items, we sort them and they are priced and put into our shops and sold. We always try our best to locate items, but if you wait days, weeks or months, the chances are the item would have been sold within a few days,” said Patrick.
If you purchased the dollhouse and would be interested in returning it to the family, contact Noelle via email at noelle@containerworld.co.za.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
