By El Clauss

Imagine you got a letter from your dear friend requesting a lock of your husband’s hair. Once you received it, you picked up a pair of scissors and cut not only a lock of his hair but also a lock of your own. After entwining them, you sent them off to your friend. Upon receiving the hair, your friend enclosed the locks in a brooch and engraved it with the story commemorating your friendship.

This probably sounds strange to us in the 21st century when we share photos with friends and family hundreds or thousands of miles away. However, prior to photography, exchanging locks of hair was a common token of friendship.

This is a true story about Mrs. Elizabeth Stoughton Wolcott of Connecticut. She was married to Oliver Wolcott Jr., the first auditor of the United States and the second treasurer after Alexander Hamilton. She wrote a letter to her close friend Martha Washington asking for a token of their friendship. It is said that Mrs. Washington instantly took her scissors and, with a happy smile, cut a large lock of her husband’s hair, added to it one of her own, and presented them to her “fair friend.” While we are unsure exactly when Mrs. Wolcott had a brooch made with the hair enclosed, it would have celebrated their friendship. However, when George Washington died it took on a new role: mourning jewelry.

Mourning jewelry are unique personal adornments worn during a period of mourning to commemorate someone who died. Originating in the Middle Ages, this jewelry tradition grew in popularity and the designs changed greatly over the years. The jewelry could be a ring, a necklace, a cane handle, a watch fob, a bracelet, or a brooch and were worn by everyone regardless of gender. People gave them to close relatives and friends at a funeral, even leaving money in their will to pay for them. It was also common to use mourning jewelry to commemorate political figures like George Washington.

After Washington died, there was an outpouring of memorial pieces created to honor him. Winterthur features numerous examples in the collection, crafted in a wide variety of media. It can be argued that the brooch made for Mrs. Elizabeth Stoughton Wolcott, while perhaps not initially intended as mourning jewelry, would certainly have become one upon his death. Mrs. Wolcott would have felt honored not just by the token of friendship it represented but also by her ability to wear such an important piece of jewelry to honor the loss of President Washington. Thanks to her family treasuring the piece for generations before they donated it to Winterthur, we are now able to share in its rich history. In doing so, we memorialize not just George and Martha Washington but also their lasting friendship with the Wolcotts.

Simple Tips for Home Care

You can take small steps at home to prevent damage and slow down deterioration of your cherished items. At Winterthur, and at other museums, we call this preventive conservation and have staff members dedicated specifically to that work. Preventive conservation is a lot like preventive medicine. Everything that is man-made or from nature decays; think of it as nature’s recycling plan. To protect and preserve the museum collection, our staff works to slow the rate of that decay by managing things like insects and pests, light exposure, and the environment via heating and air conditioning. Here are some tips that you can use at home:

1. Housekeeping

Good housekeeping is an important part of protecting items that you want to last. Cleaning inside includes regular dusting and vacuuming, and dry-cleaning fine clothes after use and before storage. Outside, cleaning gutters and downspouts to prevent leaks can all help. Dust holds moisture, which can rust metals and encourage mold growth.

2. Pest Control

Insects like dark, undisturbed spaces. If you clean regularly, you’ll probably spot early signs of an infestation, like insect droppings, which may just look like dust. If pests are eating your items, a thorough vacuuming can help. For example, carpet beetle larvae like to hide in cracks where hair and skin particles collect, so you may notice that your carpet has damage that follows the pattern of the flooring. For items that can withstand high heat, place them in a black trash bag and leave them in your car trunk while parked in direct sunlight for several hours to kill any pests.

3. Storage

We don’t recommend storing objects in attics or basements because it’s difficult to maintain a stable environment. Basements have issues with moisture and can flood, and attics can have seasonal temperature extremes; too cold temperatures can cause shrinking and cracking, while temperatures that are too hot can cause swelling and warping. Also, temperature and humidity work hand in hand and can cause chemical reactions and encourage mold or insect growth. We recommend storing cherished items in spaces that you live in and use.

4. Record Keeping

Write down the history of your items—who gave them to you, who is in the photos, and why they are important. This helps preserve their significance and keeps the information safe for future generations. Be sure to back up digital records and print copies for long-term use.

5. Storage Methods and Materials

Museum-quality storage materials are often called archival, acid-free, or buffered, among other names. They can be expensive for homeowners, but you can use everyday items you already have instead. For example, undyed/unbleached cotton pillowcases can protect a quilt, and rolled towels can be used to store a rolled carpet. If you need a more rigid storage method for rollable items, use a poster tube covered in aluminum foil, which acts as a barrier against moisture.

6. Light Protection

We all know that ultraviolet light is bad; it causes sunburn and can accelerate fading on some materials. Regular visible light, the light we use to see, can also cause slow, cumulative damage. It may take years to notice the subtle changes. To protect sensitive items like basketry and wood, textiles, and works on paper, avoid displaying them in direct sunlight. Use curtains, shades, or window films (replace every 15 years) to limit exposure to harmful light. You may also want to have covers made for your framed object so that when you aren’t enjoying the work and displaying it, it’s completely covered. 

For more tips, check out our book Caring for Your Cherished Objects, available in the Winterthur Museum Store.

See also our Hazardous Objects blog, the first in our Caring For Your Collections Blog Series.

Other useful links:

• Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) – Ten Agents of Deterioration
• Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) – Collection Housekeeping Guide
• San Diego Archeological Center – From inside the Vaults, Museum Housekeeping and Gallery Maintenance

Inspired by Henry Francis du Pont’s love of flowers, Winterthur’s Dried-Flower Tree is a phenomenon of color, texture, and floral artistry. Thousands of brillant spring and summer blooms are perfectly preserved throughout the year, reprising their roles each holiday season to delight spellbound visitors.

To create the “largest bouquet” ever made at Winterthur, we chose a wide variety of flowers and plant material from the Winterthur cutting gardens and fields and used two methods of drying: silica gel and hanging.

Silica Gel

One method for drying flower heads calls for “flower dri” (silica gel). Silica gel is a desiccant, a substance that has a great affinity for water; it rapidly absorbs moisture from flowers. The white powder has small blue crystals and is reusable indefinitely. As the powder absorbs moisture, the blue crystals turn pink, indicating that they can absorb no more moisture. Simply put silica gel in a 350-degree oven for an hour or so and the crystals will turn blue and be ready for another use.

General considerations with this method of drying:

• All flowers should be absolutely fresh.
• Dry flowers in several stages of bloom: buds, partially open, fully open, and some with foliage.
• Before drying, flowers must be wired since they become fragile once dried.
• Put similar types of plant material in the same box.
• Flowers shrink when dried and many also darken.
• Small, fragile flowers will take two or three days to dry.
• Most will take five to seven days.
• If the material feels slightly limp, it is not dry. Bury in the gel for several more days.

Steps to follow:

1. Cut off flower heads.
2. Insert wire through the center of the flower, loop, pull down through the flower head so that the head is secure.
3. Place two inches flower dri in bottom of pan.
4. Place flower head “heads up” in flower dri.
5. Pour flower dri over flower heads and between each layer of petals. Cover completely.
6. For long stems such as snapdragon and delphinium, place horizontally on flower dri. Cover completely.
7. Cover and seal flowers in airtight pan.
8. Mark flower type on pan.
9. Allow ample time for flowers to dry.
10. When flowers are dry, remove carefully. Gently pull flower heads up while dusting off flower dri.
11. Store in covered box.
12. Mark flower type on box.

Hanging Method

A second method of drying is hanging flowers in small bunches until dry.

Experience Yuletide at Winterthur

Experience the beauty of Winterthur’s Dried-Flower Tree during Yuletide, and join us next year for an exciting lineup of floral classes and workshops!

This year’s gingerbread display is based on the farming operations that once formed a vital component of life at Winterthur when it was a private home. A dairy herd, animal husbandry, and agricultural crops were as integral then to the world of Winterthur as museum operations are today. 

Cows were a part of the Winterthur landscape from its earliest days, grazing contentedly in the shadow of the mansion. In 1917, Henry Francis du Pont purchased four bulls and two cows for the astounding sum of $70,000 (about $1.6 million today). The breed was Holstein-Friesian, considered to be the most prolific milkers. That group became known at Winterthur as the “Foundation Herd.”

To house the herd, du Pont constructed a huge barn complex at the top of Farm Hill. Staff included a farm manager, resident veterinarian, dairy manager, and herdsmen. A creamery across from the dairy barn could process 10,000 pounds of milk a day. An electric cable tramway capable of transferring six milk cans at a time connected the second level of the dairy barn to the top of the creamery, where the milk was sterilized and pasteurized before being sold as “Winterthur Special Holstein Milk” in bottles carrying the motto “Better Milk for Better Babies from Winterthur Farms.” The milk was celebrated throughout the local area for its high quality.

Following H. F. du Pont’s death in 1969, and per his instructions, the Winterthur herd was sold at auction, ending a memorable chapter in Winterthur’s history.

The gingerbread representation of Farm Hill includes the various barns, as well as some of the workers’ homes. Weighing in at more than 300 pounds, the display includes more than 108 pounds of gingerbread! It is the creation of the skilled hands of artisans from Bredenbeck’s Bakery in Philadelphia.

This is the third year that Bredenbeck’s has dazzled Yuletide visitors with their artistry. In 2022, they presented an impressive gingerbread house of the Winterthur mansion, followed by a model made to replicate Enchanted Woods. We are grateful to Bredenbeck’s head sugar artist Diana Anello and bakery co-owners Jacob Boyd and Irvin Boyd for this wonderful Yuletide display. Don’t miss it!

See the display on view through January 5, 2024 in the Galleries. Plan your visit today!