Vote For Spotswood!

Thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with WIlton's Found in the Collection blog.  One of the objects featured in a post last year is a portion of a waistcoat belonging to Lt. Governor Alexander Spotswood.  This waistcoat has been nomination for the Virginia Association of Museums' Virginia's Top 10 Endangered Artifacts program.

Virginia's Top 10 Endangered Artifacts program raises public awareness about care of collections throughout Virginia, D.C., and beyond. Virginia's Top 10 is not a grant-giving program. It is designed to give museums, libraries, and archives an opportunity to raise media and public awareness about the ongoing & expensive care of collections, and collections care needs.Virginia's Top 10 Endangered Artifacts' nominees have the opportunity to promote their nomination during the public voting portion of this project. Once the public votes are tallied, our independent peer review panel will select the Top 10 winners. While public voting doesn't determine the Top 10, it will be taken into consideration by the panel - and those impressive voting numbers are great for museums to use when courting donors or applying for conservation grants!

Please take a minute to vote for the Spotswood waistcoat at Wilton.  Go to www.vatop10artifacts.org and click "Vote Now for the 2012 Nominees."  And remember, you can vote as often as you like, between now and August 29th.  Vote now!  Vote often!

There's Something in the Air

Object: Barometer, c. 1810
Accession #: 1992.0009

One historian states that in the 18^th century,“it was becoming fashionable among upper-class households to own one of these useful instruments.” Wilton's barometer is an English (London) cistern type barometer by W & T Gilbert and Company with silver plate under a glazed window, ivory knob underglaze-which adjusts the vernier scale-- and swan’s neck pediment with brass mounts. The barometer also has a thermometer mounted on the front of the mahogany veneered case. 

Barometers, invented by Evangelista Torricelli in 1643, are instruments used to measure atmospheric pressure. The word barometer comes from the Greek words meaning weight and measure. A glass tube from which the air was removed is put in a dish of mercury. Mercury is used in barometers because, “its weight made it possible to use a reasonably short tube.” As the air pressure increases it pushes down the mercury forcing it up the glass tube and when air pressure decreases the mercury is lowered back into the base. Air pressure is measured in “inches of mercury”or millibars (mb). 

Air pressure is the force exerted by tiny particles of air. In the 17^th century it was observed that there was a connection between the changes in the weight of air and those of the weather. As one source adequately puts it, “If a high pressure system is on its way,often you can expect cooler temperatures and clear skies. If a low pressure system is coming, then look for warmer weather, storms and rain.” Wind blows between areas of high and low pressure. Mr. Randolph might have owned a barometer as it would have proved useful for him and his livelihood of growing and selling tobacco from the plantation, which was contingent on the activity of the weather.

Many early barometers were made to fit the individual taste of those buying them. In  the latter part of the 17^th century and into the early 18^th century barometers were constructed and sold by cabinet-makers, clock-makers, instrument-makers, and opticians. However, one historian attests that “as the nineteenth century wore on the quality of domestic barometers declined; and the death of inventiveness led to stereotyped designs in which only superficial variations were made.” Therefore, the year of this barometer can be placed by its design.  Some characteristic designs in use in 1810, which are included in this cistern-tube barometer, are the mahogany frame, scroll pediment, and embellishments such as the use of ivory and wooden inlays. Also, a thermometer on the front of the case was a feature of the cistern-tube barometers of 1810. Leading makers around this time made their barometers in larger quantities and sold them to whole-sale retailers. It is their names that appeared on these later barometers.

In 1735, Edward Saul wrote in An Historical and Philosophical Account of the Barometer or Weather-Glass that barometers were in regular use in “most houses of figure and distinction.” It was no different later in the century when the Randolphs lived at Wilton, where the weather and temperature had a sway over the operation of the plantation and its cash crop, tobacco. It would not come as a surprise to see a barometer having a prominent place in an area of the house where Mr. Randolph would take care of the business of running his plantation. This provided him with a way of keeping an eye on what kind of weather to expect based on the rise and fall of the mercury. 

Bibliography

Goodison, Nicholas. English Barometers,1680-1860: A History of Domestic Barometers and

            their Makers. Crown Publishers, Inc. New York, 1968.

Netting, Ruth. “It’s a Breeze: How Air PressureAffects You: The Mercurial  Barometer:

            MeasuringPressure”. NASA.  22 January 2003.14 July 2012.                    

            <http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/air_pressure/barometer.html>

Netting, Ruth. “It’s a Breeze: How Air Pressure Affects You: Feeling Pressured?”. NASA.22

            January2003. 14 July 2012. <http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/air_pressure/>

“Weather: How a Barometer Measures AirPressure”.  USA Today.  20 May 2005. 14 July 2012.

            <http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wbaromtr.htm>

A Gift Within A Gift

Object: Pin cushion/pillow, c. 1755

Accession #: 1986.0008

One historian describes “maternity” pincushions as being “popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as a gift to new mother [and] were stuck with pins arranged to form a design or verse, and as pins were expensive, the great number that went into the arrangement were a welcome gift.”  Most pins, which were made by hand in the 17th century, sold in America had been imported until the 1830s, when the manufacture of one-piece pins began in Connecticut.  The invention of a machine to make pins in one piece was made in the 1820s whereas previously pins came in two pieces, the head having to be clamped onto the shaft.  One historian stresses the importance of pins by stating, “Aside from the needle, there was no more important tool, especially for plain sewing, than the ordinary straight or common pin.”

This small square pin cushion is decorated with pins that form initials and dates.  The pin cushion was probably made by or for Mary Scott Randolph who was the wife of Brett Randolph I, cousin of William Randolph III, of Wilton.  The pins form the initials of Mary and Brett’s children, “R.R.” (Richard Randolph II) born August 17, 1754 (on back); “S.R.” (Susanna Randolph) born December 8, 1756; “H.R.” (Henry Randolph) born October 7, 1758; “B.R.” (Brett Randolph) born February 17, 1760.  The pin cushion is off white satin. This pin cushion could possibly be a “maternity pincushion” made for the mother either before or after the child was born.  The gift was not in the decorative pillow or pincushion, but was the collection of pins which were used for various things such as fastening diapers. Pins, particularly new ones, were also thought to bring good luck.

As pins were easily lost, pincushions were made out of a variety of materials including paper and fabric. Scraps left over from dressmaking could have also been used to make the maternity pincushion. Popular shapes for pincushions were hearts, stars, spheres, and squares. One historian points out how pincushions made as gifts for newborns “typically bore a design as well as a message, like one described by Anna Green Winslow in her diary: ‘My aunt stuck a white sattan pincushion for Mrs. Waters. On one side, is a planthorn with flowers, on the reverse, just under the border are, on one side stuck the words, JOSIAH WATERS, then follows on the end, Decr 1771, and on the next side and end are these words, Welcome Little Stranger.’”

The pin cushion in Wilton’s collection most likely was made for decoration as its pins are still intact. However, the person who lovingly formed the initials and dates of Mary Scott’s children might have meant for her to have used the pins as well. Either way, the pin cushion has been preserved and was kept through the succeeding generations of the family and continues to show what these humble metal fasteners meant to everyday life in 18th century.
                                                                                              

Bibbliography

Kirsch, Francine. "The Beaded Pincushion Meant for showing, not sewing", The New England

Antiques Journal, March 2010.  28-32.  21 June 2012.

<http://www.antiquesjournal.com/flipbooks/NEAJMarch10/28.html>

Wiessman, Judith Reiter and Wendy Lavitt. Labors of Love: America’s Textiles and

Needlework, 1650-1930. Random House. New York, 1987.

Walton, Paula. “Pincushions”. A Sweet Remembrance. 21 June 2012.

<http://asweetremembrance.com/store/WsDefault.asp?Cat=Pincushions&isThumbs=No

&curpage=2&Thumbs=>

To Clean and To Chill

Object: Wine Rinser

Accession #: 1904.0001

 As a guest for dinner at Wilton, one might have had their own wine rinser next to their dish during each course.  As one historian points out, “Glass rinsers were essential to genteel dining in the eighteenth century,” so it would have been for the Randolphs.  Dinner would have had a minimum of 3 courses and a different wine might have been served for each course. So a wine rinser would be placed around the table and filled with water, or even ice, for washing and chilling glasses between courses or wines.

This early 19th century clear, round glass wine rinser with a lip on each side has a continuous band of incised diamond filled cross hatching surmounted by a continuous band of oblique incised cuts.  It was common to see a wine rinser on the table in the 18th and 19th century at an elaborate dinner which might have had lemon water in it or water and ice essential during the hot months.

Before the second half of the 18^th century a bowl was kept on the sideboard during dinner to rinse and chill glass between courses.  As one historian contends, “in the eighteenth century, wines were still preferred as cold as possible and the monteith continued to be used for cooling glasses.” However, in fashionable society, these large ornamental bowls, usually of silver, which suspended wine glasses from the notched rim, became obsolete.  This change in preference came after individual wine-glass-coolers, made of glass, were used at the coronation banquet of George III and Queen Charlotte in 1760. 

Alcohol was prescribed by doctors to ward off or cure many ailments.  Access to dependable sources of potable water was difficult, thus wine and other types of alcohol were seen as healthier to drink than water.  As one historian explains, “as in almost every Western nation, alcohol consumption was an intrinsic feature of social gatherings within all classes of American society.”  Foreign wines were purchased by those who could afford them, therefore it is likely that the Randolphs served wine from overseas to their guests.

Especially in the summertime, guests would have as preferred their wine cold.  According to archeological reports, the Randolphs did have an ice house.  An icehouse was common in larger homes in the 18th and 19th centuries and “most Virginia icehouses were brick lined and could be as large as fifteen feet in diameter and of a similar depth.”  The ice was collected in the winter time from large stretches of water and put in a chamber, often packed with straw.  The chamber could be built below the ground or into the side of a bank where the ice could be well insulated. The ice houses could sustain a cool temperature even through the grueling summer months when ice was needed for cooling and preservation.  One historian agrees, “Though not as efficient and convenient as our modern refrigerators, they did the job and kept fresh butter, milk, meats, and vegetables on the table, and, of course, ice for the after dinner drink.”

Dinner for the Randolphs was the most important meal of the day, especially when they had guests in attendance and would entertain them in the dining room.  The Randolphs would strive to impress their guests with a certain level of extravagance as well as comfort.  So it would not be surprising if each guest had a wine rinser to chill and clean their glasses between courses. As one historian puts it, indeed “the abundance of highly reflective cut glass would have added to the glittering effect of a dinner party,” which would please not only the guests but also the host and hostess.

.

Bibliography

Butler, Roy. “Early Ice Houses”. History. Library Point: Central Rappahannock Library. 24

March 2010. 18 May 2012. < http://history.librarypoint.org/early_ice_houses>

Egan, Heather. “Homewood House Museum Offers Lecture Series on the Art of Dining”. John

Hopkins Gazette on the Web. September 25, 2006. 17 May 2012.

<http://www.jhu.edu/~gazette/2006/25sep06/25hwood.html>

Hume, Audrey Noel. Food. Williamsburg: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1978.

Martin, L.G. “Petworth House Ice-House”. Petworth. 31 May 2009. 18 May 2012.

<http://www.icehouses.co.uk/petworth.htm>

McLeod, Stephen A., ed. Dining with the Washingtons. Mount Vernon: Mount Vernon Ladies’

            Association, 2011.

Williams, Sarah-Paston. The Art of Dining: a history of cooking and eating. London:  National

            Trust Entreprises Unlimited, 1993.

“Wine-Glass Cooler or Rinser”. Encyclo Online Encyclopedia. 31 May 2012. 17 May 2012.

<http://www.encyclo.co.uk/define/Wine-glass%20cooler%20or%20rinser>

“An Evening Card Party in Regency England” March 2003. 18 May 2012.

<http://www.georgianindex.net/cards/cardp.html>

“Monteith” Dictionary.com. 25 May 2012.

<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/monteith?s=t>

A Divine Seat

Object: Bishop’s Folding Traveling Chair

c. 1750-1770

Accession #: 1998.0001

With most folding furniture constructed during the 18^th century more emphasis is focused on how the chair works rather than the artistic or decorative arts aspects of the furniture.  Such emphasis may not have been the case with this particular folding chair.  This bishop’s chair is made of walnut with leather cushioned arms and seat.  The pierced splat is decoratively adorned with a lattice design and leaf motif.  Where the lattice work ends and meets at the top of the chair is an image of a cross.  Above the cross is the top rail, or crest rail, which has a row of fleur-de-leis bordered by a row of leaves, and the ears of the chair ripple out with carved ridges.  The chair has hinges on both sides to accommodate folding and carrying by the owner.

In the late 18th century, folding furniture was beginning to be made for travelling.  Some chairs referred to as “folding chairs” did not actually fold, but were taken apart when transported. Folding furniture dates back to the ancient Greeks who had a folding stool which had “X” shaped legs and a leather seat.  The owner’s status was reflected in the construction of these stools.  There is also evidence of folding furniture found in Egyptian tombs. 

The parlor of Wilton was where weddings, funerals, and christenings likely took place.  It is quite possible that the visiting clergy may have used a chair similar to this one while officiating at these events.  This type of chair may have evolved from the faldstool which was a portable chair stool that was taken with the bishop on his travels away from his own cathedral or place of worship.  The faldstool became a ceremonial chair taken with the bishop and may have been covered with silk.  It was used by most traveling clergy as early as the Middle Ages.  According to one historian, “The bishop's chair is called a cathedra from the Latin word for chair and it is the presence of the bishop's cathedra in a church that makes it a cathedral. The bishop's chair, then is a symbol of the bishop's teaching office and pastoral power in his diocese.”  The chair represented the authority to teach in ancient times. 

It was common for ministers to do extensive travelling outside of their own church buildings and also to make visits to homes.  In his book called Old Churches and Families of Virginia, Bishop Meade writes of a minister of the Bristol Parish in Dinwiddie County who “during his years of travelling, when he visited counties in North Carolina and Virginia,” was involved in “preaching in private homes.”  Also in George Wythe Munford’s The Two Parsons: Cupid’s sports; The dream; and the jewels of Virginia, Parson Buchanan is visited by a gentleman, “…announcing himself as Col. Robert Braintree, of the county of Mecklenburg.  After a few common-place remarks, he said, ‘I presume Mr. Buchanan, you have heard that I am about to be married to Miss Ingledon. I have called to request you to hold in readiness to perform the ceremony.  It is to take place on Thursday evening next, at her mother’s residence, at eight o’clock.’” As was the case with some weddings, funerals and christenings also took place in the home.  The Miss Ingledon mentioned by Munford is believed to be Miss Lucy Singleton, daughter of the late Captain Anthony Singleton and Lucy Harrison Singleton, widow of Peyton Randolph of Wilton.

Folding furniture was made for the convenience of travel.  A chair such as this was made for traveling clergy who presided over weddings, funerals, and christenings extending beyond the bounds of their own church walls and into such homes as Wilton. This chair and its counterparts were a symbol of the authority the clergy had who carried it along on his journeys. 

Bibliography

Aronson, Joseph. Encyclopedia of Furniture. 3rd rev. ed. New York: Crown Publishers Inc.,

1965.

Giblin, James Cross. Be Seated: A Book about Chairs. Harper Collins Publishers, 1993.

Meade, Bishop. Old Churches, Ministers, and Families of Virginia. 2 vols. Philadelphia:

Lippincott Company, 1906.

Munford, George Wythe. The Two Parsons, Cupid’s sport; the dream; and the jewels of Virginia.

Googlebooks.com. 7 May 2012. <http://books.google.com/books/about/The_two_parsons.html?id=D7ToA3qVifEC>

“Folding Chair”. Search the Collections. V&A. 2 May 2012.

<http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O93872/folding-chair/>

“Faldstool”. Wikipedia. 18 April 2012. 2 May 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faldstool>

“Interesting Facts about Bishops”. Diocese of Orlando. 2 May 2012.

<http://www.orlandodiocese.org/en/about-the-diocese/history/facts-about-bishops>

“Folding chairs: Glastonbury Type”. Tim Bray. Albion Works. 15 March 2003. 2 May 2012.

<http://albionworks.com/ChairsPage/FoldingChairs.htm>

“Faldstool-Bishop’s Chair”. Peter Leue Designer/Craftsman. 2 May 2012.

<http://www.peterleuedesignercraftsman.com/1980s/studio-furniture/9568839>

“Furniture Anatomy Illustrated”. Your Antique Furniture Guide. 2 May 2012. <http://www.efi-

costarica.com/furniture-anatomy.html>