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The Accidental Preservationist

An unexpected journey

From Travel

08.22.2018

The Attingham Trust Summer School and a Visit to Boughton House

I recently had the privilege and pleasure of attending the Attingham Trust Summer School, an intensive study course of the British country house. The Summer School started in 1952 as a way to educate American curators about the complexities of British country houses since many of them had country house materials in their museums. It…

11.16.2017

A Trip Across the Pond

There were many highlights of my trip to London, but one in particular was my visit to Kenwood House. Located on the edge of Hampstead Heath, it is a striking neoclassical villa that was designed in large part by one of my favorite architects, Robert Adam. Born in Scotland in 1728, Adam was the son…

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What is The AP?

Join me on an unexpected journey in restoration and research at the circa 1810 Simon Jude Chancognie House in Charleston, South Carolina and beyond.

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The Owens-Thomas House (@owensthomashouse) was designed by English architect William Jay for Richard Richardson in 1816. The house was completed in 1819, but financial issues led to Richardson losing the property shortly thereafter. In 1824 the Bank of the United States leased the house to Mary Maxwell who operated it as a boarding house. The Marquis de Lafayette stayed there in March 1825 during his tour of the United States in honor of the 50th anniversary of the American Revolution. In 1830 George W. Owens purchased the property and it remained in the family until 1951 when the last descendant, Margaret Gray Thomas, donated the house to the Telfair Museum (@telfairmuseums) which opened the site to the public in 1954. In 1990 tenants moved out of the carriage house and the building was slated to be renovated as office space. Behind modern dropped ceilings and drywall, Telfair staff discovered living quarters for enslaved workers that had survived remarkably intact (slides 2, 3 - surviving ceiling paint). The slave quarters, separated from the main house by a work yard that is now a parterre garden (slides 4, 5), housed between eight and fourteen enslaved workers from 1819 until the end of the Civil War in 1865. These quarters, along with the basement of the main house containing the kitchen, laundry, and cellar (slides 6, 7, 8) where enslaved men, women, and children worked – Emma, the Owens’ nurse maid; Peter, the Owens’ butler; Diane, the Owens’ cook, and many others whose stories are still being pieced together – stand in stark contrast to the opulence of the main house (slides 9, 10). #theaccidentalpreservationist

The range of architecture in @oldsaleminc spans an impressive architectural spectrum from the late 18th century to a former Kroger supermarket that now houses @mesdagram. A few of my favorites – (1) The 1771 Matthew Miksch house was the first single family home built in Salem. (2) The c.1768 Fourth House is the oldest surviving structure in Salem. (3) The half-timbered section of the Single Brothers House was built c. 1769 with the brick wing added in 1786 as the Moravian congregation expanded. (4) The Lick-Leinbach House was completed c.1794 by Salem carpenter Martin Lick with the shop added by shoemaker Johan Leinbach after he purchased the house in 1795. (5) Built in 1772 by Salem surveyor Philip Reuter for his wife, the Anna Catharina House was purchased in 1816 by silversmith John Vogler who moved it to build his house. (6) The house that Vogler completed in 1819 represented a major architectural shift in Salem. It was one of the first buildings that reflected an emerging American architectural style rather than traditional Germanic forms that influenced earlier structures. (7) In 1849 Edward Belo began construction on a structure to serve as a mercantile store and housing for his family and store staff. The interiors have been significantly altered, but the Greek Revival façade remains largely unaltered. (8) This c.1873 Second Empire house was built for Dr. Francis Shaffner. (9) The c.1895 Cedarhyrst serves as the offices for the Moravian Church. (10) Overlooking Old Salem is 100 North Main Street built in 1995 for Wachovia which now serves as the headquarters for Wells Fargo. #theaccidentalpreservationist

As part of @mesdagram’s Fire + Clay Ceramics Forum, @boughsofink expertly demonstrated how a late 18th century Moravian chocolate cup would have been made. #theaccidentalpreservationist

During my recent trip to Colonial Williamsburg, I was fortunate to be able to take a closer look at this 1770 Johannes Zumpe square piano (slides 1-5, 10) and it was fascinating to compare it to the c.1810 John Wind piano here at the Chancognie House (slides 6-9). While Bartolomeo Cristofori invented the the piano in the 1690s in Italy, Zumpe deserves credit for its rise in popularity. A German refugee who fled to London during the Seven Years War, he built the instrument on which Queen Charlotte’s music master Johann Christian Bach played the first public piano solo in 1768. This royal endorsement led to a surge in popularity which led to the piano achieving ascendancy over the harpsichord by the turn of the 19th century. It also led London makers to build larger instruments and make innovations in piano design such as the addition of a pedal as seen with John Wind (a replacement for the original missing pedal). Still, there are many similarities between this Zumpe and John Wind, notably the small hinged section in the cover which allows for sound projection while dampening the mechanical noise – having experimented with John Wind, square pianos are played with lid down for good reason. Thanks to @chouettechouette and @amanda.c.keller for arranging this special opportunity! #theaccidentalpreservationist

A visit to the British Galleries at the Met was long overdue and they did not disappoint. A few highlights – the staircase from the now lost Cassiobury Park, Hertfordshire, c.1677-80 (slide 1), late 16th century livery cupboard and tapestry (slide 2), detail from a portrait of Princess Elizabeth Stuart, older sister of the future King Charles I, c. 1606 (she would have been about ten years old – slide 3), the state bed from Hampton Court (slide 4 – some of the textiles are copies of the original), a c.1735 Japanned secretary cabinet (maker unknown) and a c.1740-45 table attributed to Matthias Lock (slide 5), the Kirtlington Park dining room installed in 1748 when rooms dedicated solely to dining were rare (slide 6), a c.1760s Gothic armchair (slide 7), the tapestry room from Croome Court commissioned by the Earl of Coventry from Royal Gobelins Manufactory in Paris in 1763 (slide 8), a c1782 marble Shock Dog (a nickname for a Maltese – slide 9), and the Pericles Dressoir designed by Bruce J. Talbert for the 1867 Paris International Exhibition (slide 10). #theaccidentalpreservationist

The sun has set on another Antiques Forum - I admire those who had the fortitude to post during the festivities…. #theaccidentalpreservationist

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The Owens-Thomas House (@owensthomashouse) was designed by English architect William Jay for Richard Richardson in 1816. The house was completed in 1819, but financial issues led to Richardson losing the property shortly thereafter. In 1824 the Bank of the United States leased the house to Mary Maxwell who operated it as a boarding house. The Marquis de Lafayette stayed there in March 1825 during his tour of the United States in honor of the 50th anniversary of the American Revolution. In 1830 George W. Owens purchased the property and it remained in the family until 1951 when the last descendant, Margaret Gray Thomas, donated the house to the Telfair Museum (@telfairmuseums) which opened the site to the public in 1954. In 1990 tenants moved out of the carriage house and the building was slated to be renovated as office space. Behind modern dropped ceilings and drywall, Telfair staff discovered living quarters for enslaved workers that had survived remarkably intact (slides 2, 3 - surviving ceiling paint). The slave quarters, separated from the main house by a work yard that is now a parterre garden (slides 4, 5), housed between eight and fourteen enslaved workers from 1819 until the end of the Civil War in 1865. These quarters, along with the basement of the main house containing the kitchen, laundry, and cellar (slides 6, 7, 8) where enslaved men, women, and children worked – Emma, the Owens’ nurse maid; Peter, the Owens’ butler; Diane, the Owens’ cook, and many others whose stories are still being pieced together – stand in stark contrast to the opulence of the main house (slides 9, 10). #theaccidentalpreservationist

The range of architecture in @oldsaleminc spans an impressive architectural spectrum from the late 18th century to a former Kroger supermarket that now houses @mesdagram. A few of my favorites – (1) The 1771 Matthew Miksch house was the first single family home built in Salem. (2) The c.1768 Fourth House is the oldest surviving structure in Salem. (3) The half-timbered section of the Single Brothers House was built c. 1769 with the brick wing added in 1786 as the Moravian congregation expanded. (4) The Lick-Leinbach House was completed c.1794 by Salem carpenter Martin Lick with the shop added by shoemaker Johan Leinbach after he purchased the house in 1795. (5) Built in 1772 by Salem surveyor Philip Reuter for his wife, the Anna Catharina House was purchased in 1816 by silversmith John Vogler who moved it to build his house. (6) The house that Vogler completed in 1819 represented a major architectural shift in Salem. It was one of the first buildings that reflected an emerging American architectural style rather than traditional Germanic forms that influenced earlier structures. (7) In 1849 Edward Belo began construction on a structure to serve as a mercantile store and housing for his family and store staff. The interiors have been significantly altered, but the Greek Revival façade remains largely unaltered. (8) This c.1873 Second Empire house was built for Dr. Francis Shaffner. (9) The c.1895 Cedarhyrst serves as the offices for the Moravian Church. (10) Overlooking Old Salem is 100 North Main Street built in 1995 for Wachovia which now serves as the headquarters for Wells Fargo. #theaccidentalpreservationist

As part of @mesdagram’s Fire + Clay Ceramics Forum, @boughsofink expertly demonstrated how a late 18th century Moravian chocolate cup would have been made. #theaccidentalpreservationist

During my recent trip to Colonial Williamsburg, I was fortunate to be able to take a closer look at this 1770 Johannes Zumpe square piano (slides 1-5, 10) and it was fascinating to compare it to the c.1810 John Wind piano here at the Chancognie House (slides 6-9). While Bartolomeo Cristofori invented the the piano in the 1690s in Italy, Zumpe deserves credit for its rise in popularity. A German refugee who fled to London during the Seven Years War, he built the instrument on which Queen Charlotte’s music master Johann Christian Bach played the first public piano solo in 1768. This royal endorsement led to a surge in popularity which led to the piano achieving ascendancy over the harpsichord by the turn of the 19th century. It also led London makers to build larger instruments and make innovations in piano design such as the addition of a pedal as seen with John Wind (a replacement for the original missing pedal). Still, there are many similarities between this Zumpe and John Wind, notably the small hinged section in the cover which allows for sound projection while dampening the mechanical noise – having experimented with John Wind, square pianos are played with lid down for good reason. Thanks to @chouettechouette and @amanda.c.keller for arranging this special opportunity! #theaccidentalpreservationist

A visit to the British Galleries at the Met was long overdue and they did not disappoint. A few highlights – the staircase from the now lost Cassiobury Park, Hertfordshire, c.1677-80 (slide 1), late 16th century livery cupboard and tapestry (slide 2), detail from a portrait of Princess Elizabeth Stuart, older sister of the future King Charles I, c. 1606 (she would have been about ten years old – slide 3), the state bed from Hampton Court (slide 4 – some of the textiles are copies of the original), a c.1735 Japanned secretary cabinet (maker unknown) and a c.1740-45 table attributed to Matthias Lock (slide 5), the Kirtlington Park dining room installed in 1748 when rooms dedicated solely to dining were rare (slide 6), a c.1760s Gothic armchair (slide 7), the tapestry room from Croome Court commissioned by the Earl of Coventry from Royal Gobelins Manufactory in Paris in 1763 (slide 8), a c1782 marble Shock Dog (a nickname for a Maltese – slide 9), and the Pericles Dressoir designed by Bruce J. Talbert for the 1867 Paris International Exhibition (slide 10). #theaccidentalpreservationist

The sun has set on another Antiques Forum - I admire those who had the fortitude to post during the festivities…. #theaccidentalpreservationist

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