PUBLICATIONS

The printed Newsletter 2004 No. 2 was published last month.  If you have not received your copy, please contact the office or email:
 info@victoriansociety.org.

The latest issue of our flagship magazine, 19th Century was issued recently.  It should be in your hands soon, if not already.

Here is a searchable Index of Articles in all past 19th Century issues.

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When you visit our web site now you might see a small logo next to the address containing the letters VSA.

This is a favorites icon that makes it easier to locate our link in your bookmarks.

If you wish to see the logo next to our name in your bookmarks or favorites list, just save the page again to your list.

GIVE THE GIFT OF MEMBERSHIP

Members are reminded that a gift membership of the Society may be the perfect holiday present for your Victorian friends.  Contact us with the details for a new member, and we will mail a welcome package, including a gift card in your name, to any new member in time for the holidays. 

Membership rates:
 Individual $45; Household $55, Student $30, Institutional $40.

SIGN UP ONLINE
 

Does any member have a copy of Nineteenth Century magazine Volume 10 Number 1?  The VSA archive may be missing this issue and a copy would be gratefully accepted.

MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS

HOWER HOUSE HOLIDAY TALES

This holiday season VSA member organization Hower House at the University of Akron, OH will be highlighting holiday stories both young and old.

Each room in the mansion will feature a different holiday story from the late 1800s to modern times. A copy of the storybook along with appropriate symbols will be displayed by each volunteer decorator.

Visitors will be reminded of holiday narratives that are near and dear to their hearts as well as being introduced to some vintage stories that may be new to them.  As has been the custom at Hower House, visitors will be treated to wassail and cookies in the Cellar Door Store gift shop at the completion of their tour. Events until December 30th. http://www3.uakron.edu/howerhse/

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The Frick Art and Historical Center is a fascinating complex of museums and historical buildings located on over five acres of lawns and gardens in Pittsburgh's residential East End. The Center is devoted to the interpretation of the life and times of industrialist and art collector Henry Clay Frick. Exhibitions of fine and decorative art are also presented at the Center.
 

Degas Sculptures at the Milwaukee Art Museum Feb 19 - Jun 5. A rare opportunity to view in a single exhibition all 73 bronze sculptures by the great French Impressionist

MEMBERS

Patricia Suchy

Patricia Suchy, of Belcamp, MD,  has been a VSA member for many years and has a great interest in all things Victorian.
 
One of her exploits is her own travel business -- Novel Explorations, Where Fiction and Travel Merge.
 
She is currently organizing a British tour, Victorian Grandeur -- A Journey into the Life and Times of Queen Victoria.  You can see the itinerary on her web site -- http://www.novelexplorations.com

Charles Lockwood

Bricks and Brownstone  is a magnificent book that adorns the VSA library. 

The author is VSA member Charles Lockwood, who is an authority on the architecture and history of New York townhouses, or “brownstones.” He offers a variety of services to townhouse owners, architects, contractors, and real estate brokers on the restoration of historic facades and interiors.

From the first Federal style dwellings built in the 1820s and 1830s, through the mid-nineteenth-century Italianate and Neo-Grec brownstone-front row houses in Manhattan and Brooklyn, to the limestone-front Renaissance Revival and red brick American Colonial Revival townhouses that fill many Upper East Side and Upper West Side blocks, Charles Lockwood has studied New York’s townhouses—and researched the development of their neighborhoods—throughout his career.

He has written about New York townhouses in Antiques, Connoisseur, Hemispheres, the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, New York Magazine, and the New York Times. As an expert in the field, he is quoted in the media about New York townhouses, and he has lectured at museums and universities.   To purchase  Bricks and Brownstone  click on the image. 

To visit Charles' web site click: http://www.charleslockwood.com/

Chaim M. Rosenberg

The Great Workshop : Boston's Victorian Age (Making of America)
by Chaim M. Rosenberg

Author, historian and VSA member Chaim M. Rosenberg is a forty-year resident of Boston and a faculty member at Boston University. He has complemented his fresh, engaging research into the growth of the Massachusetts Bay communities with this colorful selection of vintage postcards, detailed maps, and unique advertisements from Boston’s early industries.

To purchase  The Great Workshop click on the image.

Sue Quincannon - Her Ladyship's Wardrobe

VSA member, Sue Quincannon of Holmdel, NJ, is a former buyer for several New York City chains, and a collector of Victorian costumes, gowns and accessories.  She will present a fashion show of her museum quality collection for your meeting, event, fundraiser or any special occasion, offering guests an exciting account of the fashion, customs and etiquette of the day.

Contact her at: quincan6@aol.com

CHAPTERS ON TWELFH NIGHT

The Victorian Society in America Washington Metropolitan Chapter

Twelfth Night holiday reception at the home of John Davis on Capitol Hill.

Victorian Society member and fifth generation Washingtonian John Davis is a collector of antiques of all sorts and political memorabilia.  Of special interest for the Twelfth Night celebration will be his extensive collection of Christmas ornaments—antique to contemporary, including some by Christopher Radko—and several decorated trees.  John is hosting the event in his eclectically furnished, three-storey, 1886 townhouse.  The house has been featured twice on Capitol Hill Historical Society house tours.  The reception will include wine and heavy hors d’oeuvre...

Click here for the flyer

NORTH STAR CHAPTER
Golden 12th Night Gala Ball

The annual Twelfth Night gala of the North Star Chapter is being held at Sokol Hall, in St. Paul on Saturday, January 8th.  Call 651-592-8775 for information.

Lat year's event is featured on a Victorian Christmas web site, (link below) with extensive commentary, pleasant photographs.. and a musical background. 

http://www.victoriana.com/christmas/default.htm
 

ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS

Direct Imagination. Father of Industrial Design, Christopher Dresser was a prolific genius at the beginning of the Industrialization and foretold all the major design styles that made the20th Century. His Studies in Design and Art of Decorative Design are reproduced in their entirety, plus a most entertaining and scholarly treatise by Stuart Durant. The two CD collection contain 88 plates and 160 EPS vector drawings. www.dimagin.com/dresser.htm

 

The Yale Centre for British Art in Connecticut have an exhibition ‘The Beauty of Life; William Morris and the Art of Design’, running until 2^nd January 2005.
For details http://bacweb1.bac.yale.edu/ycba/exhibitions/exhibition_current.aspall, the Yale Morris and the Art of D

We have advance notice of the 18^th Arts & Crafts Conference and Antiques Show at the Grove Park Inn, North Carolina, to be held over the weekend February 18^th – 20^th, 2005.
For details acconferenceinfo@aol.com

 

2004-5 SIDNEY D. GAMBLE LECTURE SERIES. The Arts & Crafts Movement: A World Tour. Pasadena, California.  The 2004-2005 Sidney D. Gamble lecture series will launch on October 19th with a special presentation by Alan Crawford, renowned British historian specializing in architecture and decorative arts in the decades around 1900. His topic "Radical but Reserved: The Englishness of English Arts & Crafts" begins a six-lecture series that takes its audience from England to New Zealand and Japan, the United States of America to Australia, and from architecture and the decorative arts to music of the period. Season subscriptions and single tickets may be purchased from The Gamble House at gamblehs@usc.edu. The lecture brochure can also be seen on the website. www.gamblehouse.org.

  

LACMA EXHIBITION EXPLORES INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT OF ARTS & CRAFTS MOVEMENT. Works from 75 U.S. and European institutions and private collections on loan for first-ever, in-depth presentation of movement in international context The Arts and Crafts Movement in Europe and America, 1880–1920: Design for the Modern World. On view at LACMA December 19, 2004, through April 3, 2005. For details www.lacma.org

 

Jeff Wheeler of the San Francisco Bay Area Arts & Crafts Movement has forwarded the following information relating to Thomas Gordon "Did" Greene, son of renowned Arts & Crafts architect Charles Sumner Greene, for full details Obituary and Greene & Greene and Biography

 

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House Complex in Buffalo, New York is currently under restoration, but still open for guided tours. For opening times and details www.darwinmartinhouse.org

THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
 SHOP AT AMAZON

Help the VSA when you do your holiday shopping by clicking the logo

Click on the logo and all purchases within 24 hours help the VSA

CALL  FOR  NOMINATIONS  FOR  PRESERVATION  AWARDS 

Nominations are invited from VSA members and chapters for the Society’s 2005 preservation awards. 

The requirements for awards and the nomination form may be found on our website. Paper copies may be obtained by calling Charles Robertson, Chair of the Preservation Committee, at 202-265-6669.

Nominations are due no later than February 15, 2005.

WEBSITE OF THE MONTH

The Battle of Antietam on the Web
http://aotw.org/

A superbly researched web site by historian Brian Downey  brings to life the Battle of Antietam, one of the pivotal battles of the Civil War. Fought in September 1862 near Sharpsburg, Maryland, it halted Confederate General Lee’s invasion of the north at a terrible cost.  More than 22,000 soldiers were killed or wounded on what is still the single bloodiest day in American history.  Most impressively, it includes some 280 official reports filed by officers and soldiers on both sides.

PREVIOUS WEB SITES OF THE MONTH

OBITUARY - Allen R. Check, VSA member

We regret to report that Allen R. Check aged 50 of Paterson died Monday, December 6, 2004, at home.  Allen was born in Newark and lived in Scotch Plains, Caldwell, Rockaway & Paterson. He graduated from the Scotch Plains/Fanwood High School with the class of 1972 and attended Kean College in Elizabeth.  He was a member of the Trinity Episcopal Church of Solebury, PA.

Mr. Check was a banker all his working life having been assistant vice-president for the Valley National Bank, Wayne, for the past ten years. He was an avid theatre and cabaret attendee who enjoyed antiquing, and is remembered by his family as being devoted to his parents and family. A diligent worker, a kind, fiercely loyal, thoughtful, extremely generous and uncomplaining friend.

Surviving are his life partner John Simonelli of Paterson, his parents Florence and Frank Check of Scotch Plains, and his extended family in Bethlehem, PA.

To sign condolences and for full obituary visit http://www.vandermay.com/

Remembering founders

Jane Lowenthal (1916-2002) was a stalwart member of the Victorian Society in America almost from its inception.  She helped to keep the fledgling organization afloat the first two years. She served as the Society's secretary and worked ceaselessly in publicity and research. She was also active in the success of the Society's chapter in Washington, DC during her years there. An active member of the Friends of Cast Iron Architecture, Inc., she was dedicated to New York's historic architecture and culture. Winner of the Metropolitan Chapter's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. (Robert Kaufmann)

And finally, your staff of one at the email newsletter is pleased to reproduce last year's advice about the great British tradition of Christmas crackers.  Apparently some people have still not got the hang of it.

As you no doubt recall, crackers were invented by Victorian baker Tom Smith in 1847. The idea evolved from a trip to Paris in 1840 when Smith first discovered the “bon-bon”,  a sugared almond wrapped in a twist of tissue paper.  Smith brought the bon-bon to London and later decided to place a small love motto in the tissue paper.  Over the next seven years this eventually developed into a cracker when he found a compound which [he discovered] gave a satisfactory bang.  A simple tradition no doubt.

However, I am alarmed by the Scotsman newspaper  who reported that we are once again assailed by scientists intent upon changing our age old habits. Follow closely.

"Keeping a firm, two-handed grip spreads the force around the cracker and prevents it from tearing at your end, according to experts from research organisation QinetiQ.  Tilting your end of the cracker downwards at an incline angle during the pull is also said to maximise your chances of winning its contents.  After stringent laboratory tests, a team from QinetiQ’s human sciences division concluded that the perfect pulling technique depended on seven key factors.  In addition to grip strategy and incline angle, they found that a steady and controlled pull was necessary to maximise “peak force”.  But using too much “twisting force” should be avoided as this increases the strain on the shoulder of the cracker, making it more likely to rip in your opponent’s favour."

http://www.news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2328786

 
Cheerio.. and Season's Greetings!

web site links

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UNTIL NEXT TIME
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The Victorian Society in America
205 S. Camac Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
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Copyright 2004. Victorian Society in America. All rights reserved.
Third party material used for scholarly purposes only.