The Annual Warner House Costume Tea, June 9, 2018

For more information www.warnerhouse.org

Behind the Victorian Mask, a Federal Dandy

Secretary Desk as found

Not every Victorian is as dowdy as they might seem. Last year, at the Warner House in Portsmouth NH, we began to plan the exhibit for the next 2-year cycle and a larger curatorial re-assessment of the interior. The main exhibit will be Celebrations: Public and Private, but the other project was to recreate a c 1760 bedchamber, based on paint analysis and recorded wall hangings in Portsmouth—a city with a penchant for damask wallpaper in the 18^thcentury. There has been no physical work done to this room since roughly 1932 when the house became a museum. 

Researching one aspect of a collection invariably leads to other parts of the collection. A case in point, no pun intended, was a large secretary/bookcase sitting in a Victorian bedchamber. It was a family piece that through descent was given to the museum. No matter where it was placed, it exuded a dark and foreboding presence. The glass doors reflected and absorbed light in large quantities and the base simply absorbed light. With its turned wooden handles it looked like a transitional piece from the 1830s or 40s.  One of the handles was removed to see if there were any clues to surface discoloration or handle replacement. Sure enough, the exposed surface was lighter and there was a ring burn where a brass rosette once sat. All the handles were removed and the results were the same. 

With new and old brasses

Additionally an owner’s name was found in the correct script that placed it closer to the 1810-1820 period; this placed it in the house during the appropriate period for family that once owned it. Furniture fashions change and the piece was improved at some point to reflect the sensibilities of the Victorian era. Through research new brasses were found, ordered and installed. The case was lightly cleaned to remove old wax and dirt, which then revealed some of the lightly figured wood. Oddly a finial from the 1810-1820 period, that fit no other piece of furniture and had no known history, was found in the attic and the shaft fit the hole in the central pier of the upper case. (Serendipity? Perhaps.) The interior of the doors showed that they had been lined with fabric at one time. So new green taffeta silk lining curtains where made to complete the piece. The new and old brasses return reflected light to the base and the pinnacle and act as a counterpoint to the glass doors, just as the green silk provides a complimentary color counterpoint to the reddish mahogany.

With silk lining and brasses in natural light

The secretary/bookcase will now sit in the downstairs parlor with several other pieces of early 19^thcentury and be part of the post Lafayette dinner celebration for the 2-year exhibit. 

Jeffrey Hopper is the director of the Warner House (www.warnerhouse.org)

A Perfect June Afternoon for a Costume Tea

The 4th annual costume tea, held June 10th, 2107, at the Warner House in Portsmouth, NH was a success and a delight. If you missed it this year, hopefully you will be able to join us in 2018!

A few photos from the afternoon...

For more www.WarnerHouse.org 

Captain Archibald and Lady Sarah Macpheadris invite you to join them at their grand home...

Captain Archibald and Lady Sarah Wentworth Macpheadris invite you to join them for an afternoon entertainment celebrating the ongoing 300^th anniversary of the construction of their grand house, on June 10, 2017 from 12:00 to 3:00, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

To commemorate this event, we have set the principal rooms at a gastronomic moment in history—evening dining from 1720s-1910s —business repasts of the early and late 18^th century—even a nineteenth century children’s hour!

To enhance your experience, garments laden with stories—such as ladies shoes and dresses, and even Jonathan Warner’s plum-red coat and vest—will be laid out in the rooms in anticipation of its wearer’s return.

At 2 PM, members of the Royal Scottish Country Dancers will perform simple dances for your edification and ask you to join them.

There will be light refreshments and croquet. Rumor has it that several guests have created new fashions for this event.

Please join us for this special year with the house appointed to entertain you as it has for countless past guests. This has become our annual fete.

For further information about the Warner House please visit their website www.warnerhouse.org

Aesop, some Paint, and the Oldest Murals this side of the British Atlantic

The first section of the Warner House Mural, circa 1720

By Jeffrey Hopper, Historic House Steward and Social Historian

We spend a considerable amount of space on this blog writing about historic clothing, but every now and again it is important to remember that this clothing was part of a larger setting. One of my jobs is to manage the Warner House in Portsmouth, NH. Constructed of brick between 1716-18, it is an English Baroque townhouse of London derivation. The design of the house spans the period in American architectural design when social entertainment occurred on two floors, not just the ground floor. After the mid-eighteenth century most American social entertaining occurs on the first or ground floor. Because of this tiered use, in the Warner House, the entrance and staircase act as a processional way to the second floor or piano nobile. Constructed with low risers of approximately 5.5 inches and approximately 12-inch wide steps, the staircase slows the visitor’s ascent. By retarding the ascent several things occur; a straighter posture can be maintained; ascending and descending can be accomplished at a ¾ turn, which is more flattering to the profile and the presentation of clothing; this ¾ turn allows for direct conversation, rather than talking to a fellow-conversant’s back; and for the Warner House visitor an additional reward of this paced ascent is that it provides a space to view the artistic taste of the owners. Painted in oil on plaster between 1718 and 1722 a series of murals fill the walls of the staircase. Although they are cruder in design than their contemporary British counterparts, none-the-less they provide a dramatic art-filled ascent unlike any remaining house from this period in the British-American colonies.  

Croxall's version of the tale circa 1740

The Dean Street images are from London houses of the 1730s, but help to illustrate the use of mural painting in British Atlantic world and the differences between the two worlds. The Dean Street illustrations are all from British History Online.

75 Dean St Staircase, circa 1732, photo circa 1912

Dean St, Gallery

75 Dean St, landing

Dean St Murals after Conservation (destroyed 1920s)

76 Dean St Murals

76 Dean St Murals another view

76 Dean St, Entrance

The article that follows is from the Summer 2015 Warner House newsletter and is part of an attempt to explain the paintings in terms of visual lessons that might have formed part of the moral, textual, political, and artistic understanding of an eighteenth-century visitor as they ascended the stairs for a summer evening’s entertainment at Archibald, a newly appointed member of the King’s Council for the colony, and Sarah, daughter of the Lieutenant Governor of the colony, Macpheadris’s new home in the 1720s.

Here is the link to the article:

A tale of two Cockrels and and Eagle, Warner House Newsletter Summer 2015

Jeff Hopper is a Consultant, Historic House Steward and Social Historian

Tea, Cake and Croquet: A Summer Afternoon in Costume, Warner House

Really, what could be a more delightful way to pass a sunny, early summer afternoon than drinking tea, nibbling on cakes and playing some rather aggressive croquet in the picturesque garden at The Warner House, Portsmouth, New Hampshire (www.warnerhouse.org)? Warner House board chair, Sandra Rux; house manager, Jeffrey Hopper and your humble author, saw an interest in, and need for, historic spaces in the region to offer opportunities to costumers and reenactors from a number of historic eras to gather and enjoy events. Quite the convivial gathering, we hope for more in the near future.

Sarah, Jane & Hannah
S. Wordsworth Hemeon, photographer

Mistress and Master Spencer
www.anhistoricallady.blogspot.com
SilkDamask photo

Rebecca models her dress - first opportunity to don her ensemble
pinsandneedlesgarmentco.com
SilkDamask photo

Julia, Sandra & Tara looking lovely
SilkDamask, photo

Sue brightens the room with her smile & 1930s sari
SilkDamask photo

Enjoying a chat in front of our absent host, Jonathan Warner

Amy Donle, photographer

S. Wordsworth Hemeon, photographer

For Portsmouth Herald article about the event by Jeanne McCartin,
 click here

For images by S. Wordsworth Hemeon, photographer, see The Warner House on Facebook

And for even more images, see http://www.thecountryladyantiques.com

21 June: Particulars for the Costume Tea, A Communication from Jonathan Warner

Ladies & gentlemen, my esteemed guests: 

Should you be planning to attend our costume tea, on 21st June from 11:00-3:00, please be assured we are assiduously attending to your every need & comfort. I have personally inspected the premises and am pleased to inform you that we are prepared to welcome you heartily to our home.

For those traveling a distance, I have set aside one of my best chambers for you to attend to your wardrobe and associated finery.

We will serve tea, hot & cold, and an assortment of tea cakes and breads.

My domestic staff will be available to provide tours of our home (and I must once again let you know that my smalt chamber is the envy of many.) They have placed chairs for your comfort inside, or, should we continue with such fine, fair weather, you may want to settle in the garden.

Unfortunately, the groomsman will be away in the Northern most part of the province so I regret that I cannot stable your horses or carriages. Frequently, your means of conveyance may find space in front of the house or at the Portsmouth Livery Company (aka the parking garage.)

Please contact my Factor, Jeffrey Hopper (day of event only) should you need assistance.


---Your humble servant,  Jonathan Warner


The Warner House

150 Daniel Street

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

603.436.5909

info@warnerhouse.com

www.warnerhouse.org

More about this event...