Page 41 – Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library

Goats of Winterthur

This article was written in June 2017 by Natural Lands Intern Caroline Toth. Sadly, one of the goats that she portrays, Stanley, passed away at the end of August. This wonderful blog post offers not only a joyful glimpse into a little known world at Winterthur, but also timely solace to those of us saddened by the loss of a much-loved four-footed friend. Thank you, Carrie, for providing both.

As the weather warms and the meadow grasses flower, Winterthur’s herd of seven Boer goats is set to work munching areas of Brown’s Woods where invasive shrub-layer plants have taken over. Although our goats can’t discern between native versus non-native plants, the act of defoliation and damage to the non-natives suppresses the populations’ reproductive success. Plus, judging by our goats’ zealous appetites, it would seem that these greens are quite the delicacy, indeed!

Although our sweet (and sometimes spoiled) goats took some time to become accustomed to their temporary pen in the woods, they soon grew to love their home of prolific tasty treats.

It’s not always easy to get goats to do what you want, especially when you are introducing them to something unknown. When our livestock first saw the contraption we devised to transport them from pasture to forest, they harbored some serious reservations. Luckily for us, a mere handful of treats was compensation enough for them to voluntarily enter the cage strapped on to the trailer.

The “Who’s Who” of the Small Ruminant World All seven of our goats are purebred Boer goats. Originally from South Africa, the Boer goat was bred to be as large as possible to maximize profits in the meat market. “The bigger, the better” was the idea behind breeding Boers. Here at Winterthur, our Boers were all given to us as donations from herd owners who loved the goat in question so much that they could not bear to send them to market – and we are so glad, because now, we can’t imagine life without them!

Our first goats were Franklin and Stanley. Stanley is the alpha goat – kind of the wise caretaker of the herd. Franklin came from the same herd as Stanley, but Franklin is as loud as Stanley is quiet! Franklin is determined to make his presence known to every person and animal in the visual vicinity. When he is feeling affectionate, he lets you know by way of rubbing his head on you. When he is annoyed with you, he’ll emit a high-pitched whinny of frustration before slowly clopping away.

Morgan is a former show goat. Although she was born and raised on a meat farm, her good looks saved her from going to market. When she was pregnant with her kids, however, she developed a sway back. Around that same time, the tag on her left ear became stuck in a fence, and she ripped herself free, resulting in a permanently ripped ear. Because show goats are expected to be physically perfect, Morgan’s looks weren’t enough to save her anymore. We are lucky, then, that she had her babies Minnie and Missie. When Morgan’s previous owner saw how sweet they all were together, she donated the three of them to Winterthur to spare them a life of hardship.

Minnie and Missie are twins. They are now one year old – old enough to fend for themselves, in goat culture. But up until April, Morgan defended her kids with her life. She fiercely attacked any goat who came too close to her precious babies, and every human who came near was put under immediate scrutiny. Due to living such sheltered lives, Minnie and Missie developed exceptionally playful and affectionate attitudes. Although they now each fend for themselves, they still maintain the sweet and mischievous affectation they were notorious for when they were babies.

Nora and Riley are half-sisters who came from the same farm. Although they had different mothers, they were born around the same time. As kids, they bonded closely when both of them were donated to Winterthur in 2016. They are each fourteen months old – only two months older than Minnie and Missie – but they didn’t have their mothers around to protect them when they were smaller. Because of this, they had to learn to fend for themselves at an early age. Even though life is much more pleasant for them now, a youth of hardship instilled in them a quiet cleverness that still manifests itself every day.

It’s been a privilege introducing you to Winterthur’s goats! Just one glimpse of these creatures, whether out in the fields grazing or sitting atop their jungle-gym of giant tree stumps, will likely be one of the happiest sights you will see at Winterthur!

The Long Journey of the Charleston Dining Room

Although not currently on a tour, the Charleston Dining Room on Winterthur’s third floor contains woodwork and windows from what was once a fashionable gathering place in antebellum South Carolina. The 18th-century paneling, cornices, fireplace and mantel, and windows are from a hotel that stood in Charleston near the intersection of Broad and Meeting Streets. During its heyday in the 1820s and 1830s, the hotel hosted visitors from across America and Europe.

“Every Englishman who visits Charleston,” wrote one foreign guest in 1833, “will, if he be wise, direct his baggage to be conveyed to Jones’s hotel.” The Old World elegance of its dinners included iced claret that “might have converted even Diogenes into a gourmet.”(1) Another guest was Samuel F. B. Morse, who was then known as a painter rather than as an inventor. Around 1821, Morse came to Charleston and rented rooms behind the Jones Hotel to serve as a portrait studio.

Both guests would have spent time in the Charleston Dining Room. Located on the second floor of the hotel’s main building, it probably functioned not as a dining room but as a drawing room, where guests might gather after meals. The bay window projected over the main entrance on Broad Street, giving guests a clear view of city hall.

The Jones Hotel was also just a few hundred feet from the headquarters of Charleston’s city guard. After nine o’clock at night, the guard would arrest black residents, whether enslaved or free, who ventured out of doors. A German duke staying at the hotel around 1825 recounted hearing a warning call from inside his room, noting that he was “startled to hear the retreat and reveillé beat there.”(2) The Joneses, for all their importance to the social life of the elites—and although they were slaveholders themselves—were among the people being targeted.

What is now the Charleston Dining Room may be the only identifiable surviving part of the main hotel. The building fell into disrepair in the late 19th century and around 1928, it was dismantled and placed in storage. Some pieces, including the paneling in this room, were eventually acquired by the Yale University Art Gallery, where Henry Francis du Pont discovered them in the 1950s. The sections that made up the room were shipped from New Haven and installed at Winterthur, originally serving as a lunch spot for visitors taking all-day tours.

The warm sandy color of the walls is based on the earliest original layer of paint, applied around 1774 when the hotel was constructed as a private home. The white tiles lining the fireplace suggest the patterned Delft tiles popular in Charleston at the time. What comes from the building itself is the carved wood—including the windows, the elaborate decorations above the fireplace, and the two closet doors. The entrance, however, was moved from its original location opposite the bay window in order to fit the current space.

Post by Jonathan W. Wilson, a historian and adjunct faculty member at the University of Scranton and Marywood University.

NOTES
(1) Thomas Hamilton, Men and Manners in America, vol. 2 (Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and T. Cadell, 1833), 278.
(2) Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar Eisenach, Travels through North America, during the Years 1825 and 1826, vol. 2 (Philadelphia: Carey, Lea & Carey, 1928), 7.
SELECTED REFERENCES
Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, Forging Freedom: Black Women and the Pursuit of Liberty in Antebellum Charleston (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2011), 99–100.
Albert Simons, “Report of Matters Pertaining to the Removal of the Mansion House, Charleston, South Carolina,” n.d., Winterthur Archives.
Harriet P. Simons and Albert Simons, “The William Burrows House of Charleston,” Winterthur Portfolio 3 (1967): 172-203.
“Jehu Jones: Free Black Entrepreneur,” 1989, Public Programs Packet no. 1, South Carolina Department of Archives and History.
John A. H. Sweeney, The Treasury House of Early American Rooms (New York: W. W. Norton, 1963), 12, 76–77.
Marina Wikramanayake, A World in Shadow: The Free Black in Antebellum South Carolina (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1973), 79, 103–111.

Site of the old Jones Hotel in Charleston

Commemorating Coronations

For the first time in more than 70 years, a new monarch of the United Kingdom will be crowned on May 6—King Charles III. Objects commemorating coronations have been a tradition for hundreds of years, and Winterthur has many examples in its collection.

Panorama portraying the 1821 coronation of King George IV (detail)
England; probably 1822
Hand-colored etching on wove paper in cylinder covered with varnished etching and engraving with hand coloring
*Gift of the Estate of Mrs. George P. Bissell 2020.0017.010a-c*

One of the newest is a remarkable hand-held panorama reel of King George IV’s coronation procession in 1821. The object reveals important information about the historic event and those who participated in it. Wound on a bobbin casing and housed in a wooden cylinder, the paper is pulled through a slot, which allows the holder to witness the procession in action. The panorama reel is on view in Conversations with the Collection in the first floor of the Galleries.

Ceramic mugs and plates are commonly created to commemorate a monarch or a specific event such as a coronation. A delftware plate portrays William of Orange (r. 1689–1702) and his wife, Mary Stuart (r. 1689–1694). The couple, who jointly ruled the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, is shown in an outdoor setting wearing their coronation attire, with the initials “W M R” for William and Mary Rex/Regina near their heads. This plate was most likely made in Bristol or London around the time of their coronation. Evidence of delft commemorative plates like this one have been found in America, particularly in New England.

Plate commemorating the coronation of William of Orange and Mary Stuart. Made in England, ca. 1689-1694. Earthenware (delftware). Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont 1954.0535

A more elaborate scene from the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838 is featured on a printed textile in the collection. The swags of flowers that surround the scene resemble those used to decorate fabrics with American patriotic motifs. Evidence of patterns showing Queen Victoria’s coronation have been found in America.

Printed textile showing the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838. Printed in Britain around 1898. Woven cotton, roller printed. Gift of Barbara and Brock Jobe 2006.0016

The ceremony portrayed above hints at the richness of objects used during the coronation—the Crown Jewels, King Edward’s Chair, the Anointing Spoon, and much more. These objects are integral parts of the coronation ceremony and will be used on May 6 for King Charles.

The coronation of King George IV is also represented in the Campbell Collection of Soup Tureens by a pewter tureen, one of a group of table wares created for the banquet following the ceremony. The menu featured turtle soup, which may have been served in this very vessel. The Observer reported that crowds plundered the tables of the coronation banquet, taking the pewter dishes like this one marked for the sovereign. It bears the inscription “G IV R” below a crown.

Tureen. Made by Thomas Alderson. London, England, 1821. Pewter. Campbell Collection of Soup Tureens at Winterthur 1996.0004.100.001 A-C

One of the tureens that came to Winterthur as part of the Campbell Collection is from a group of pewter tureens and other tableware created for the banquet following the 1821 coronation of George IV. The banquet’s menu featured turtle soup, which may have been served in this very tureen. The Observer reported that crowds plundered the tables of the coronation banquet, taking the pewter dishes like this one marked for the sovereign. It bears the inscription “G IV R” below a crown. Unlike the objects above, which were souvenirs made for purchase, this object was made for use during the coronation festivities, and it was acquired by someone who decided to keep it without permission.

King George IV’s monogram as it appears on the tureen.

Post by Kim Collison, director of exhibitions

Corvettes and the Cold War

During World War II, American GIs could be found all over Europe speeding down country roads in small, powerful, and agile cars that were not available back home: MGs, Allards, Austin Healys, and Triumphs. But it was not just average grunts who were enjoying these cars. Air Force General Curtis LeMay fell in love with sports cars during his time overseas, and after he helped defeat Hitler, he brought an Allard J2 back to the States. By the late 1940s, LeMay was in charge of the Strategic Air Command—the first line of defense against the looming Soviet threat—and encouraged his airmen to race cars on the bases he was stationed at in order to keep their senses, reflexes, and instincts sharp, since they were basically driving a road version of their bombers and fighters.

Air Force General, Curtis LeMay was a champion of the American sports car. (https://www.velocetoday.com/people/people_55.php)

LeMay knew that America’s new superpower status meant it needed a sports car that could rival anything coming out of the Old World. He encouraged legendary auto designer Harley Earl to come up with what became America’s sensational sports car—the Chevrolet Corvette. Named after the highly maneuverable, powerful, and crafty military ship that gained fame in the war, helping to save Europe from fascism, this new car embodied the new post-war jet age with tail fins, bullet headlights, and wraparound windshield. Chevy capitalized on military imagery in their advertising. One ad claimed that Corvettes, come upon you “like a Stuka,” and another ad said the new V8 performs like a V2 rocket or missile (appropriate for the Cold War and the burgeoning space race). Other ads compared Corvette to Europe’s best sports cars—often goading Italy’s Ferrari, Germany’s Mercedes and Porsche, and England’s MGs and Jaguars—in essence “doing America proud” with a sports car that matched its ascendency in the post-war world.

This advertisement from 1957 pokes jabs at European sports cars while referencing the fighter planes of the Second World War. (https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Corvette-1957-Ad-01.jpg)

The Cold War imagery is hard to deny in this Corvette ad from 1955. (https://www.hobbydb.com/catalog_items/1955-corvette-ad-the-v8-that-goes-like-a-v2)

America’s status as a superpower came with “doing America proud” in sports cars—a formerly European domain. (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/510314201509816659/)

This was also the era of the Space Race—a hotly contested theater in a now interstellar Cold War. Astronauts were courageous, daring, and talented men who lived life on the very edge. They needed machines that were speedy, responsive, and powerful to survive in the great unknown. What better car than the Corvette to serve these modern-day heroes and mimic the vehicles they took to space. They often raced at Cape Canaveral, pushing their bodies to the limit in preparation for launch. Indeed, from the Mercury missions on, the Corvette was the official car of astronauts. The Apollo 12 crew was so enamored that they each had matching gold ’69 Corvettes with black trim, and their mission roles written on the doors. The space imagery even carried over to the advertising for 1969, which touted its high performance and removable T-top with the catchphrase, “10 Seconds to Lift Off.”

Corvette and the Space Race were linked—this time the launch of a rocket mimics the way the new T-top lifts off the Corvette. (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/106045766200823579/)

In the Space Race, Corvette was the official car of American astronauts. (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/573786808751613737/)

Indeed, from the country roads of England in the waning days of World War II to the airstrips of the Strategic Air Command to the Final Frontier, the Corvette was not just a reflection of the Cold War era, but an active participant in the culture of the Cold War. Join us for Winterthur After Hours, Friday, May 26, where you can see vintage Corvettes and hear Thomas give a brief talk on Corvettes and the Cold War. In addition, Thomas will give a full lecture on the topic on Saturday, May 27, during Historic Autos and on July 6. Winterthur.org/afterhours Post by Thomas Guiler, Manager and Instructor, Academic Programs Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library References: Jeremy R. Kinney, “Racing on Runways: The Strategic Air Command and Sports Car Racing in the 1950s,” Icon 19, Special Issue Playing with Technology: Sports and Leisure (2013) Jerry W. Passon, The Corvette in Literature and Culture: Symbolic Dimensions of America’s Sports Car (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2011) Karl Ludvigsen, Corvette: America’s Star-Spangled Sports Car, The Complete History (Cambridge, MA: Bentley Books, 2014) Automobile Quarterly, Corvette: Thirty Years of Great Advertising (Princeton: Princeton Publishing, 1983) Randy Leffingwell, Corvette: Seven Generations of American High Performance (Minneapolis, MN: Motorbooks, 2015) Randy Leffingwell, Legendary Corvettes (Minneapolis, MN: Motorbooks, 2010)

Best in Class: 1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I

With the holidays fast approaching, ’tis the season of Christmas traditions at Winterthur. The annual Yuletide Tour is under way, showcasing Henry Francis du Pont’s former home decorated for the season. In admiring the lavish dining room at its holiday best, it’s not hard to imagine Henry Francis and Ruth Wales du Pont’s Christmas party guests arriving in Port Royal Circle in an array of luxury automobiles of the latest design and fashion, such as a 1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I.

Henry Francis and Ruth Wales owned more than 40 luxury vehicles during their lifetime, notably several Cadillacs and three Rolls-Royces, including a Phantom V. Thanks to a generous gift in 2008 from the Philip C. Beals estate of Southborough, Massachusetts, Winterthur is the proud owner of a 1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Empress. This exquisite vehicle showcases classic design and engineering elements from the 1920s and 1930s—an important era in the Winterthur story that helped shape the country estate as we know it today.
This fall, Winterthur’s beloved Empress won “Best in Class” at the 9th Annual St. Michaels Concours d’Elegance in Cambridge, Maryland. The Concours featured rare pre-war grand classics with European coachwork, wood-bodied cars, and significant sports cars to 1965 as well as fashion and wooden speedboats.

Distinguished within a class of pre-war open cars, Winterthur’s Phantom I was recognized for its elegant design, superlative condition, and well-documented provenance. Sporting a Brewster green body with polished aluminum trim, black fenders with ivory pinstriping, light green wheels, a light cloth top, medium-brown leather upholstery, and a wood dash, the Empress captured audiences’ attention at St. Michaels. Additionally, it successfully participated in a nonjudged 60-mile tour along the Eastern Shore of Maryland, traveling with 30 other historic automobiles from the St. Michaels Concours event. A Winterthur team comprises members of the Winterthur’s conservation, registration, facilities, and public programs departments that oversee the care and display of the car, making it possible for it to participate in such prestigious invitationals.

Since its founding as a British motorcar company in 1904 by Charles Rolls and Henry Royce, Rolls-Royce has established itself as an icon of automobile engineering and luxury across the globe. By the 1910s, Rolls-Royce was struggling to keep up with American demand. A lucrative American market, high U.S. duty taxes on imported cars, and the long shipment time needed for vehicles to cross the Atlantic prompted the incorporation of Rolls-Royce of America, Ltd., with the first American plant opening in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1919. Silver Ghosts were the first Rolls-Royces produced on the Springfield assembly line, and the Phantom series began shortly thereafter in 1926. The impact of the Great Depression demanded a scale back in production causing the plant to close by 1931. The 1,140 Springfield-built Phantoms are the only Rolls-Royce motorcars that were built outside of the United Kingdom.

The Empress’s story began at that very same Springfield plant with its manufacture in 1927—well before its arrival at Henry Francis du Pont’s country estate. While the chassis was constructed by Rolls-Royce of America, the body was built by the Brewster Company—a Long Island coachwork company that Rolls-Royce of America purchased in 1926 to ensure the highest standards of body fabrication for its vehicles. Brewster was the coachbuilder of choice for many wealthy Americans, such as the Vanderbilts, the Rockefellers, and the du Ponts. As early as 1922, Henry Francis had his Cadillacs fitted with Brewster bodies. The Empress was first fitted with a Brewster Lonsdale-style sedan body but was later fitted with a Brewster Ascot body. The practice of changing out bodies on Rolls-Royces and other luxury automobiles was common during this era.
As a result, there are only 28 recorded Phantom I vehicles with this Ascot body, and Winterthur’s is one of them.

Thanks to a well-documented provenance, the Empress’s ownership can be traced from its manufacture to its arrival at Winterthur in 2008. Shortly after her debut in Springfield, Henry G. Lapham of Brookline, Massachusetts, purchased her new in 1928. The Lapham’s 32-acre residence and gardens designed by the firm of Fredrick Law Olmstead (the head architectural firm that designed the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair) was in many respects similar to the country estate setting of Winterthur. In 1936, Lapham traded the Phantom I to Packard Company of Boston. That same year RE Clark, Inc., purchased the vehicle for $250. In 1940, Frederic J. Shepard II (“Fritz”) of West Newton, Massachusetts, purchased her from RE Clark, Inc. Phillip Beals of Southborough, Massachusetts, was the squadron mate of Fritz’s son, Fredrick J. Shephard III (“Eric”), in the U.S. Navy during World War II and became a close friend of the Shepard family. Through this relationship, Phillip Beals became aware of the Shepard’s 1927 Phantom I and eventually bought the vehicle in 1947 for $600 after a brief ownership by Dr. Robert C. Seamons of Marblehead, Massachusetts. The Beals family owned the Phantom I for more than 60 years, including it in their estate gift to Winterthur in 2008.

May 2016 will mark the 10-year anniversary of the Winterthur Invitational—an annual historic auto display that celebrates the finest automobiles of the country-estate era. The du Pont family and the Brandywine Valley have long been associated with the automotive era of the early 20th century, from the building of early roads to Alfred I. du Pont owning the second automobile in the state of Delaware. Winterthur looks forward to welcoming visitors to the Coach House in May to meet the Empress and learn more about historic automobiles from the 1920s to 1960s. Stay tuned this spring for more information about the Winterthur Invitational.

Post by Chase Markee, Administrative Assistant, Academic Programs

Sources:
Landrey, Gregory J., Director, Library, Collections Management & Academic Programs
Rolls-Royce in America, Rolls-Royce Foundation. Accessed December 2, 2015. http://rollsroycefoundation.org/rolls-royce-in-america.html.
St. Michaels Concours d’Elegance, accessed December 1, 2015. http://smcde.org/index.html

Millions of Bulbs?

The upcoming Bank to Bend event on March 9 celebrates the snowdrops on the March Bank, which also features winter aconites, snowflakes, and crocuses—and this year, because of the mild weather we are already seeing daffodils, scilla, and squill popping through the leaf litter. One of the questions that comes up often but that I am always a little hesitant to answer is, “How many bulbs are there in the March Bank?” I always say millions, with my fingers crossed behind my back because, after all, I have not counted them.

I finally decided to resolve this nagging doubt. Using Google Earth, I plotted the area of the March Bank, following the general boundaries of the area that we used for its restoration, but decreased them slightly. I drew a line from the Scroll Garden to the 1750 House, then over to Magnolia Bend, but I excluded the Glade. The area enclosed by this measurement is 6.9 acres, or 300,564 square feet.

Looking at one square foot of the March Bank, I chose an estimate of 10 bulbs per square foot. This number is very conservative—some areas have as many as 40–50 bulbs in a square foot, whereas others have only a few or no bulbs, including the paths and watercourses. So, 10 is probably a fair guess.

Next, I multiplied 300,564 (the number of square feet) by 10 (the average number of bulbs per square foot) and got 3,005,640 bulbs. Even if my assumptions are off by half, it would still be more than a million bulbs. I propose that saying the March Bank has “millions of bulbs” is well within the margin of error.

Please join us on March 9 to see these beautiful bulbs for yourself on a guided or self-guided walk.

Post by Chris Strand, Charles F. Montgomery Director and CEO of Winterthur

So Clean You Can Eat Off ’Em!: The Floors of Winterthur

View from China Hall into the Chinese Parlor, showing freshly waxed and buffed floors

The 175 rooms in the house have a variety of flooring that must be maintained, with the vast majority made up of wood boards. Their width varies greatly, from two or three inches to those in the Maple-Port Royal Hall that measure 24½ inches wide! Some boards have changed over time, warping or loosening slightly, squeaking with every footfall. Several parquet floors remain, including in the Empire Parlor, which you can see on the self-guided Introductory Tour.

Visitors might assume that, at some point, the floors must have been coated with some special material to take the beating of hundreds of footsteps traveling across them—perhaps a low-maintenance substance like polyurethane. In reality, the floors are cleaned by a method that has remained almost unchanged since the museum’s first visitors walked the halls and, quite possibly, even before. It is the simple process of applying a paste wax, then using a buffing machine and brush, to what seems like miles of wood flooring.

Bill Smith, preventive conservation technician, buffing a freshly waxed Montmorenci Stair Hall

At least twice a year, the floors of the main tour route, receive a fresh coat of wax. The smell is pungent and distinct, and the wax leaves the floor extremely slippery prior to drying. After being applied across the grain, it is left to dry with the aid of fans for several hours before being “taken up” with the buffing machine and a clean brush. The result is a glossy yet soft shine and a protective, water-resistant layer.

As people walk along the tour, they sometimes leave scuffs and dirt behind and may even take a tiny amount of the wax with them on their shoes. The wax is gradually worn away and the shine dulls. To maintain the polish and keep the floors clean of soil and debris, the same electric floor buffers, again with a stiff-bristle brush attachment, are run across the boards, this time with the grain. We do this daily in higher-traffic areas and monthly or yearly in areas that are seldom toured.

Eventually it’s time to start the process all over again, continuing the tradition of rejuvenating Winterthur’s floors. Wax on, wax off, buff as needed.

Post by Matthew A. Mickletz, manager, preventive conservation.

Halloween Fortunes

For 14-year-old Helen Weld, Halloween in 1884 meant visiting a local bowling alley with friends where she bobbed for apples and saw her future husband’s initials (F.G.L.) in a mirror. Unfortunately, readers of Helen’s diary are left wondering if this prediction came true since the volume ends the following year.

Helen’s Diary

Friday – Halloween

It poured, so, as I had no waterproof, I did not go to school. I worked and fussed about the house till Bun came and then we plad battledore and billiards. At six thirty we went to a small party at Bowditch’s. Had tea immediately. Dolly & Langdon & Lucy, Tom, Mr Fred B. and I sat at one table (3). After tea we went to the bowling alley where we tried all sorts of tricks. Bobbing for apples and sitting before a looking glass to see your future husband learning his initials (F. G. L.) Grabbing burning fruit out of a pan, etc. till after ten There were about sixteen young folks…

Helen Weld, 1884

Divination games using common household items to predict future happiness, prosperity, and most importantly love were popular in the Victorian era, especially with young women like Helen. Bobbing for apples is still familiar to us now, but do we know the significance of the game? According to Victorian tradition, the first person to successfully grab an apple with his or her teeth would be the first to marry, and the first name spoken after the grab would be the lucky spouse. Apples were also pared in the hope that the peels would form the initials of future spouses after being thrown over shoulders.

Besides predicting marriage and spouses, apples also foretold happiness if thrown through a horseshoe, as directed in Sadie Josephine Dawson’s party games commonplace book of 1906. Apparently, Halloween celebrations and divination games had increased in number and specificity since Helen Weld’s time. Over the course of thirty pages, Sadie records a variety of games using not only apples but also pumpkins, raisins, candles, and needles and thread to foretell the future. She also includes party invitation verses and instructions, fortune sayings, and conundrums or riddles. One listed conundrum is “What nation produces the most marriages? Fa[s]cination.”

Pumpkin Game

Most likey circa 1900-1920, Grossman Collection, Winterthur Library.

Halloween games became big business in the early 1900s as evidenced by this printed pumpkin fortune-telling example. Although the saying hints at either “bright or black” futures, the twelve fortunes on the reverse are all bright ones, such as these two:

“Dame Fortune guides you night and day,
Your stars are pointing true;
Before a month has passed away
Great joy will come to you.”

“Your wedding month is June,
When flowers bloom their best,
And birds all sing a tune
Of sweethearts in their nest.”

May this Halloween bring you all good fortunes.

The Winterthur Library is filled with treasures such as these and offers programs throughout the year, including the Off the Shelf series spotlighting the Library’s collections of rare books, archives, and manuscripts. Join us for a Library Research Open House on October 19, and stop by to see the exhibition Winterthur Library Treasures.

In celebration of the season, we have reposted this blog post written by Jeanne Solensky, formerly the Andrew W. Mellon Librarian for The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera at the Winterthur Library, now Librarian of the Memorial Libraries at Historic Deerfield

Collecting Bulb Seeds

Winter Aconite It seems as though spring has just started and already we are seeing signs of seed-ripening on our earliest bulbs; snowdrops, winter aconite and glory-of-the-snow. When the green seed pods begin to turn yellow, this is a signal to begin collecting the pods. Let them air dry and split open. Then cast the seed where you want to increase your display of bulbs. Gathering the seed of winter aconite is fairly easy as the plant holds its seeds above the foliage. Snowdrops and glory-of-the-snow have heavier seed that tends to fall to the ground, making it a challenge for gardeners who have to sift through foliage to try and find the ripening seed. The yellowing of visible winter aconite seed pods is your cue that there are also pods ripening under the cover of leaves. None of us needs to add anything new to our “to-do” list at this time of year, but spending a few minutes collecting and dispersing seed now is a quick, easy, and FREE way to increase the quantity of a plant. Your efforts will reveal themselves next spring as the young leaves of seedlings emerge to be followed by flowers in 2 or 3 years. At Winterthur we do not fuss about this process; we simply collect the seed, allow the pods to split then cast the seed by hand—a pretty easy process that yields a great reward in years to come.

Got the Blues?

The March Bank is known for its stunning display of blue flowered glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa lucilliae) and Siberian squill (Scilla sibirica) that saturate the woodland bank—as well as many other parts of the garden—in late March. Italian windflower (Anemone apeninna) adds to the blue palette in early to mid-April and overlaps with the, slightly later, nodding, brilliant blue flowers of Virginia bluebell (Mertensia virginica) that are still putting on a good show in the garden this week. As we enter May, more flowers are adding their blue to the mix: Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium reptans), wild blue phlox (Phlox divaricata), and English and Spanish bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta and Hyacinthoides hispanica). Camas (Camassia sp.) and Siberian Iris (Iris Sibirica) extend the blue to the sunnier edges of Magnolia Bend. These blue flowers mix beautifully with every color that the surrounding gardens can muster up; whites, yellows, reds, pinks, purples, and greens in varying shades, tones, and hues. Blue helps to strengthen and sharpen some colors while toning down others and works well to blend some otherwise contrasting colors. Used on its own, blue provides a sense of serenity in an otherwise riotous time in the spring flowering landscape. Among the blue flowers, the spiked flowers of the English and Spanish bluebell contrast nicely with the more airy texture of Jacob’s ladder and wild blue phlox to provide a sense of movement and depth within a single-colored massing. Come and share in the joy of the blues and see how you might be able to work this color into your own home garden.