Mrs. James Ward Thorne

A native of Vincennes, Indiana; born Narcissa Hoffman Niblack in 1882; married at age nineteen the son of the co-founder of Montgomery Ward & Co.; died in 1966.

She was responsible for the 68 miniature rooms on display since 1954 in the Art Institute of Chicago, and several in the Indianapolis Children's Museum and other places; set the standard of 1-inch/1-foot for miniature rooms. Pictured is one of her rooms, at left, modeled from the Entrance Hall (1835-1845) of The Hermitage, near Nashville, Tennessee.

Although she lived in a country estate at 600 South Ridge Road, Lake Forest, Ill., she had an apartment and studio on Oak Street in Chicago, where she employed craftsmen to produce the rooms, including Eugene Kupjack, between 1932 and 1940.

Biographical notes:
Father (?): Mason Jenks Niblack (1857-1926), Indiana State Representative 1897-1901, 1915
Uncle: Rear Admiral Albert Parker Niblack

Sources:
Thorne Miniature Rooms, Art Institute of Chicago
Lake Forest Library, 1995
Chicago Postcard Museum
The Dolls House Emporium