General Information

The 022 Doll Furniture is uniquely exempt from the typical sources we provide in these entries. At the time of writing, no surviving documents have been found referencing the 022. Regardless, no aggregate catalogs (BrickLink, Brickset, etc.) were used in the gathering of information below.

Advertised Part Count(s): Unknown (My copy has 269 pieces but not all are from the correct period nor can complete the model on the front)

Most Likely Release Year: 1965

I've written an article covering the 022's release date which you can find here.

USA only.

Most Likely Retirement Date: 1966?

Inferred in the article above, but this is a very tentative conclusion.

Aliases: Doll Furniture

Suggested Retail Price(s): $4.95 (likely the same price as other 1965 sets with the same size box like the 205 Basic Set and the 021 Wheel Set as well as the predecessor set the 905)

Rarity Score (Index): 7/7

Known Box/Packing Variants

The set has no known variants, and given the rarity and lack of appearance in catalogs, it likely was not produced for very long or in very high numbers. It is also unlikely to have been produced for the Canadian market.

Box/Overview

Infamously, the 022 Doll Furniture is the only mainline set that has never been located in any period material. No one can easily confirm any information about it including when and where it was originally available. Documents we normally use to do so are unavailable.

I've written an extensive article about what I believe about the availability of the 022 Doll Furniture, it can be found here. The short and sweet of it is that due to the 905 Doll Set's unpopularity in 1963-64 (so much so that 1965 examples obscured the doll association and sold at half price), it is not likely the 022 would've been produced as a retailer exclusive or have been popularly demanded from retailers in 1965.

LEGO was also not typically regarded as a girl's toy in the 1960s, hence the trouble the 905 experienced. As the 905 Doll Set hid its doll branding with the capsule, the 022 Doll Furniture set uniquely obscures its LEGO branding by moving the LEGO logo:

box top image

My thought is that, as production began for the 1965 line in April of 1965 (when Loveland opened), and the first documented appearance of the 905 capsule variant was on April 14th, it would not follow that Samsonite would produce a new doll set when the old one was having trouble selling. So much trouble that it had to lose its doll association and instead call them "figures" or "robots" to target boys.

Instead, the explanation that I feel fits the remaining evidence is that it was reduced to a test market set in 1965. The 022's investigative article goes into all the particulars as to why I believe that to account for the set's existence and absence in materials, though of course I welcome alternative theories.

Regardless, the set is incredibly rare today.

The box shares a lot in common with the 021 Wheel Set(another set released in 1965), as that was the 022's companion set. Think back to how the 605 Wheel Toy and the 905 Doll Set released in 1963. It also follows the new-for-1965 numbering scheme. I also compare the two sets in the above article.

Here are the sides and the back:

Similar to the 021, the 022 also has unique text on its drawers:

Contents

My copy is full of basic parts, though presumably the original inventory of the set could build the model on the cover. Mine is missing parts to do so, and the image below was before I'd sorted my copy out. So as always, this is a guide not law. Do note, however, there are comparatively more white bricks (i.e. dozens of 1x2s in white versus a couple in red) than than other colors, and also many more 1x6 and 1x8 bricks. Also, uniquely, the 022 is the only basic set I'm aware of 1965+ that contains the green flat plates.

Regardless, there it is:

Historical Examples

There are no currently known appearances of the 022 Doll Furniture set in any print media. If anyone happens to locate any, please submit them to the site or contact me directly as any information is better than none.