Copyright (c) Jane Austen’s World. Mrs. James Ward Thorne of Chicago was no ordinary luxury-loving, self-indulgent socialite. Her love for doll houses as a child spilled over into adulthood, and she collected miniature furniture as she traveled through Europe. Her hobby led her to commission cabinetmakers and architects to recreate dozens of detailed historically accurate and important rooms on a scale of one inch to one foot. Each room was not only made to scale, but so were the upholstery, textiles, rugs, and curtains, which were fashioned by the Needlework Guild of Chicago.
Mrs Thorne bequeathed 26 European rooms and 98 American rooms to the Art Institute of Chicago. When I visited that world renowned museum, I had the forethought to bring my Flip Camera. My amateurish videos managed to capture the three-dimensional quality of the rooms and how they were lighted. Each room provides a peek into another space, giving the sense that doors and windows open up to a real world outside or lead to hallways and other important spaces.
Detail of side table with flanking pedestals and oval wine cooler, with architectural drawing.
Image scanned from Miniature Rooms: The Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago.
This remarkably detailed model of an English dining room was based on the interior of the dining room designed by Robert Adam at Home House in London. Features from the dining room in Saltram in Devonshire were also incorporated into the miniature. Comparing the miniature model (below) with the life-sized recreated Adam dining room from Lansdown House, which is now housed at the Metropolitan Museum in New York city, one can see how faithful Mrs. Thorne and her artisans were in recreating details and proportions.
About this work: Art Institute of Chicago
Like Adam, who had control over all aspects of the design, including the architecture, decoration, antiques, furniture,wall papers, paint and plasterwork, Mrs. Thorne closely oversaw each detail of her exquisite rooms. The furniture throughout Mrs. Thorne’s version of the Adam dining room were decorated with ram’s heads, as was the frieze. The urns on the fireplace mantle are copies of Wedgwood examples, and the paintings over the mantle and side table are after Claude Lorrain.
Dining room, Lansdowne House, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Heilbrun Timeline of Art History
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Jane Austen's World 
Beautiful! Amazing detail! But I can’t imagine having such a huge dining room for such a small table. I’ve always, everywhere I’ve lived, had my dining table in a very tight spot. Would love to have a bit of room around it, but not quite this much.
I imagine the food gets cold quickly, as it must be hard even in modern times to keep such a large space warm. Still, the idea is to show off one’s possessions, not cater to the comfort of your guests. Hah!
Lovely. Thank you for showing us this.
Absolutely amazing; if you hadn’t told us, I’d never have known which was the miniature! Thank you, Vic. It would certainly worth a trip to see!
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Huh, these are mininature? Wow, it must take the craftsmen days to make them. I admire their attention to detail.
My Darcy Mutates
Enid, it probably took some of the craftsmen as long to make these remarkable pieces of furniture as it did an actual furniture maker. The difference was in scale online.
My father was one of the craftsmen employed by Mrs Thorne and yes the pieces could take several weeks to complete as they were all french polished and things like handles individually punched from sheets of brass. My father also made the metal punches to carry out that work.
Love your comment about your father’s involvement. Thank you for sharing this information!
I’ve had the pleasure of viewing the Thorne Rooms at the Chicago Art Institute on a number of occasions. They are even more impressive in person than in the photos! There are 68 of these lighted boxes, about 3 feet long and 2 feet high. A couple years ago, I found a used copy of “Miniature Rooms: the Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago” and refer to it whenever I am writing a description of a Regency room interior.
Joanna, thank you for your comments. I have been to the Institute only twice and both times made a beeline for the miniature rooms. First thing I did was order the book, which I had sent to my home. It was one of the best investments I made!!
“Miniature Rooms: The Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago” is available through the museum gift shop for $30 US. Here’s the link: http://www.artinstituteshop.org/item.asp?productID=1988
Thank you for that title. Did you get the 1st or 2nd edition? I’ve just ordered the 2nd. I’d rather go see it but Chicago is quite far away for me.
Karen — the copy I have is first edition, 3rd printing.
If you ever get a chance to go to Chicago, make time to see the Art Institute and Museum of Science and Industry. My two favorite places in Chi-Town!!!
[…] Vic’s at Jane Austen’s World: She ‘tours’ the fabulous miniature rooms of Mrs James Ward Thorne. Reviewing the “Adam” rooms is like looking through the windows at the two Portland […]