CONTENTS
Acknowledgments iv
Management Summary 1
Administrative Data 3
Status - List of Classified Structures
Administrative History
Proposed Use & Prior Planning Documents
Interpretive Objectives 7
Interpretive Operating Plan
Access
Interpretive Security
Related Media
Historical Data 13
Local History
Hampton 1829-1904
Architectural Data 17
Features: Music Room
Surface Treatments
Paint 20
Faux Painting: Graining 22
Wallpaper 25
Evidence of Original Furnishings 30
FURNISHINGS STUDY 34
Introduction
The Music Room
I. Upholstered Furniture 41
A. Fixed Upholstery 41
1. Sofas 42
2. Chairs 46
3. Fixed upholstery recommendations 51
B. Slipcovers 54
C. Cushions 55
II. Other Soft Furnishings 56
A. Window Treatments
1. Draperies 57
2. Valances 59
3. Lace Curtains 61
4. Window Shades 62
B. Portieres 64
C. Other Textiles 65
1. Center table cover 66
2. Candlestand covers 66
3. Piano cover 68
4. Antimacassars 69
III. Floor Coverings 70
A. Brussels or Woven Carpet 70
B. Painted Floor Cloth 74
C. Straw Matting 76
D. Drugget or Baize 77
IV. Other Furniture 79
A. Tables 79
B. Case pieces 81
C. Cornices, mirrors, tie backs 83
V. Musical Instruments and Related Furniture 88
A. Musical instruments 88
B. Music-related furniture 96
1. Piano and harp stools 96
2. Music stands 98
VI. Artwork 100
A. Paintings, prints and photographs 100
B. Picture rods 112
VII. Fireplace Equipment 115
VIII. Lighting 119
IX. Other Accessories 127
A. Ceramics 127
B. Clocks 130
C. Wall decorations 132
D. Miscellaneous accessories 133
FURNISHINGS PLAN
Arrangement Recommendations 136
List of Objects 139
Cost Estimates 144
LIST OF ILLUSTRATION 147
ILLUSTRATIONS 162
BIBLIOGRAPHY 334
APPENDIX A: List of Photographs 352
APPENDIX B: Music Room Inventories 355
APPENDIX C: Comparable inventories 360
APPENDIX D: Setting the Stage 363
APPENDIX E: Special Programs 383
APPENDIX F: Housekeeping Plan 389
SAMPLES [attached in separate envelope with correspondence from manufacturers]
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The research and writing of this report was begun in 1993 by Lynne Dakin Hastings, in association with David Conradsen who was hired by Historic Hampton, Inc. to assist Lynne Hastings with music room research. In addition to conducting the bulk of the original research for this study, Ms. Hastings drafted the initial administrative, interpretive and historical sections of the report, which have been left essentially unaltered (and which are designated with her initials L.D.H. at the end of each section). Moreover she has continued to provide assistance (well above the call of duty) during the past four months when this report was in preparation, despite her extremely busy schedule. Additional research for this project was gathered by Mr. Conradsen, who wrote up the results of his and Ms. Hastings' research on each of the general topics covered in this report. While additional information has now been added, and in some cases, different conclusions reached, I wish to publicly thank David Conradsen for his invaluable help with this furnishing plan.
Lynne Hastings, as Curator of Hampton, has studied the Ridgely family and their country house for more than thirteen years. Her knowledge is inexhaustible, and her advice on every aspect of this project has been invaluable. This report is as much hers as it is the author's, in that we have collaborated on every portion of the plan. The responsibility for any errors or omissions, however, are mine.
The following staff members at Hampton National Historic Site consistently provided assistance for which I am very grateful: Pam Burrow, former Museum Technician; Ruth Hendricksen, Photographic Cataloguer; Dolores Lake, Museum Technician; Elizabeth Smith, former Museum Technician; John Burns, current Superintendent and Alan Whalon, former Superintendent.
In addition, I would like to thank the following people who assisted me in my research: Ellen Kirven Donald, Research Associate, The Octagon House, Washington, D.C.; Mark Lankin, Research Librarian, The Hagley Museum; Gregory Weidman, Curator, Maryland Historical Society; Richard McKinstrey, Manuscript Librarian, Winterthur Museum; Bert Denker, Decorative Arts Photographic Collection, Winterthur, Museum; Neville Thompson, Circulating and Rare Book Librarian, Winterthur Museum; Mark Anderson, furniture conservator, H. F. DuPont Winterthur Museum; David Luckham, carpet consultant, London; James T. Wollon, AIA; Rodris Roth, Curator, Division of Domestic Life, Smithsonian Institution; Nancy Richards, Independent Researcher, Wilmington, DE.; Cynthia Hoover, Curator of Musical Instruments, Division of Musical History, Smithsonian Institution
The National Park Service would like to thank the many institutions assisting in this study, especially the archival repositories of the Maryland Historical Society Museum and Library, the Hall of Records, Maryland State Archives, and the Henry Francis DuPont Winterthur Museum. The participation of Historic Hampton, Inc., and its financial and personal commitment to the project by way of support for David Conradsen, has been significant.
MANAGEMENT SUMMARY
The purpose of this document is to provide a furnishings study for the Music Room, Hampton Mansion, Hampton National Historic Site, for the period 1851-1900. The furnishings study, which includes a furnishings plan for the Music Room will provide historical documentation for architectural and fabric treatments in the room, as well as for objects exhibited for interpretation. The documentation will provide guidance for interpretation of the social and material culture during the period of Ridgely occupancy from 1855-1890, with the furnishing of the room representing c. 1887 when the music room was photographed from a number of different angles. These historic photographs have been designated as the primary documentation for the music room. Objects visible in these photographs will be used in the room as much as possible, taking precedence over unknown items referred to in assorted bills or receipts.
This period of interpretation was selected and approved for the General Management Plan because of the degree of documentation for surface treatments in the Music Room, especially paint and faux graining; the amount of original furnishings surviving for these generations of ownership; and the objective of interpreting different generations of Ridgely occupancy in different rooms. While the Music Room will document activities during the latter part of the nineteenth century, remaining rooms in the primary "public areas" have been selected to represent earlier generations of Ridgelys.
Separate furnishings studies or plans exist for individual rooms in the Mansion. The plan for each room is being developed separately because of the scope and complexity of the overall study, as well as funding considerations. This plan will complement the other room plans as they are completed. The long-range objective is to consolidate the room studies into a complete plan for the preservation and interpretation of primary exhibit areas at Hampton Mansion. This complete study will combine certain sections of each plan into one entity, separating out individual room plans.
Additional Furnishings Plans are anticipated for exhibit areas in Stables 1, Quarters A, and the Farmhouse.
Four major factors have imposed critical limitations on this study:
First, no archaeological survey has been conducted for Hampton National Historic Site, and little archaeological data exist for analysis. Projects narrow in scope have accompanied specific work such as water and sewer line excavation, but monitoring has been limited and artifact recovery or documentation meager. Additionally, major ground disturbance to the farm site occurred in 1982 compromising significant archaeological potential in this area. All interpretation develops from research and study, and this evidence may provide important clues to material culture use at Hampton from fragments which curatorial staff do not have the opportunity to examine intact. These fragments may provide critical connection to the whole objects in the museum collection. Ivor Noel Hume, retired Director of the Department of Archaeology at Colonial Williamsburg, calls archaeological evidence "three dimensional additions to the pages of history."
Second, a comprehensive Historic Structure Report for Historic Structure 1, Hampton Mansion, has not been prepared to date. Many architectural questions, which would illuminate use patterns and historical context, remain unanswered.
Thirdly, a significant portion of Ridgely/Hampton documentation was privately owned until 1993, including significant amounts for the latter period of occupancy. These papers have not been available for study. The recent deaths of their owners, and promised gift of one collection of papers to the Maryland Historical Society, should provide public access within a few years. Additional primary information may alter some conclusions in this study, which should be updated as necessary to incorporate new research.
Finally, the time requirements for completing this particular report have significantly limited the use of certain important sources for primary research, such as the detailed examination of probate records and newspapers for the second half of the nineteenth century. If at a later date, these sources can be fully examined additional information about objects made and used in Baltimore during this period may shed new light on the conclusions that follow.
This document will, therefore, remain organic, reflecting current scholarship as well as management goals, based on the best available research and documentation available regarding Hampton. ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
STATUS OF THE MANSION ON THE LIST OF CLASSIFIED STRUCTURES
Hampton Mansion, originally called Hampton Hall, is No. 00533 01, Category A, on the List of Classified Structures, and was entered on the National Register of Historic Places October 15, 1966. (See Fig. 1 for William Russell Birch's engraving "Hampton the Seat of Genl Chas Ridgely, Maryland," 1808.)
ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY
Hampton became a National Historic Site on June 22, 1948, by order of the Secretary of the Interior. However, a cooperating agreement signed by President Harry S. Truman on October 6, 1947 had effectively provided management for the site through a custodial organization. Because of post-war budget problems, the National Park Service agreed to accept Hampton as a donation from the Avalon Foundation (a Mellon family trust) provided a local group, the Society for the Preservation of Maryland Antiquities (S.P.M.A.), managed the site on behalf of the Department of the Interior. Following restoration work on the Mansion and the remaining Ridgely family furnishings, undertaken by the National Park Service in cooperation with the S.P.M.A., and the Avalon Foundation which donated an additional $40,000 for repairs and $18,000 for landscape preservation, the site opened to the public on May 2, 1949.
The S.P.M.A. continued to serve as the custodian of Hampton National Historic Site for another thirty years. During these years of S.P.M.A. administration, in 1953, the two stables and an additional 1.9 acres were acquired for the site, and the S.P.M.A. received ownership of the Hampton cemetery from the Ridgely family. The interior of the Mansion was furnished by the S.P.M.A. to represent the period of occupancy pre-1820, considered the height of Hampton's opulence. Furnishings which post-dated this period were placed in storage or rejected for acquisition. Eighteenth-century furnishings were highlighted, including pre-Revolutionary War fashions. Little attempt was made to reflect Ridgely family occupancy or document original furnishings.
The Department of Interior eventually began to provide financial assistance, in the form of annual allotments and consultation and personnel assistance from Park Service staff at Fort McHenry NM & HS and the regional office. Some museum cataloging was completed for about 2,000 objects, and climate controlled storage for the later period objects was developed at Fort McHenry NM & HS. As the perceived role of the National Park Service increased at Hampton to accommodate preservation mandates, administrative reorganization began to be investigated.
On October 1, 1979, the National Park Service assumed full administrative responsibility for Hampton National Historic Site. At this time, many of the period furnishings were removed by the S.P.M.A. In 1981, a Curator was hired by the National Park Service to begin documenting and conserving the museum collection, and to prepare furnishings plans for the Mansion and other furnished exhibit areas. Furnishings in the park were immediately reapportioned to accommodate the almost empty rooms, although no written plan was in place. Original Ridgely objects came out of storage and began to play featured roles in the interpretation. Additionally, to date almost 23,000 catalog records have been produced, documenting almost 45,000 objects. Most of these objects are original artifacts used by the Ridgelys at Hampton.
Also in 1979, a cooperating association, Historic Hampton, Inc., was established by several members of the former Hampton Committee of the S.P.M.A. to continue volunteer community support for the park. Today, Historic Hampton, Inc., is both a cooperating association and a friends' group, each with a separate charter to assist the National Park Service with preservation and interpretive goals. The cooperating association of H.H.I. manages a gift shop at Hampton to promote interpretation of park themes. Within the friends' group, a Furnishings and Conservation Committee was established, consisting of knowledgeable private collectors and local museum professionals who assist the curatorial staff with museum activities.
March 20, 1980, the National Park Service purchased 14.02 acres of farm property, including the Farmhouse, Dairy, and Quarters, from John Ridgely, III, and other heirs of John Ridgely, Jr. This acquisition expanded the mission of the park and interpretive goals. The park now encompasses 60 acres combining diverse aspects of a once vast agricultural, industrial, and commercial estate populated by several different cultures and communities.
PROPOSED USE OF THE MANSION AND PRIOR PLANNING DOCUMENTS
The Mansion will incorporate both interpretive and adaptive uses, as identified in the approved General Management Plan, 1983. Based on historical data and extant original furnishings, the furnished exhibit rooms will preserve historical periods representing seven generations of Ridgely family occupancy from 1790-1948.
The General Management Plan (1983) defines the Mansion as the centerpiece of a vast estate, symbolizing the grandiose scale of life during the more prosperous periods of habitation by the Ridgelys... commemorating a major phase in United States architectural and social history. According to the GMP, furnishings in the Mansion will reflect a mixed period approach, with individual rooms furnished to specific periods making use as appropriate of Ridgely family furnishings and other representative pieces.
In keeping with the mixed period approach for exhibit room interpretation, the Music Room was selected by the General Management Plan committee to interpret a later period of Ridgely family occupancy, from 1851 when Charles Ridgely (b. 1830) married his first cousin, Margaretta Sophia Howard, until 1904, when Margaretta Ridgely died. For the purposes of this study, the time frame to be reflected in the furnishing of the room will be limited to the period 1854-1887, between the date of the graining of the Music Room and the photographing of a series of views showing the majority of the furnishings in the room.
The Statement for Management (1989) includes the following management objectives (quoted from document):
To preserve and protect the cultural and natural resources of Hampton National Historic Site that are essential to maintain its integrity and purpose, including the structures, landscape, archaeological sites and collections.
To gather and develop a sufficient information base to manage and interpret the park... This will be accomplished by an archaeological survey; archival, historical, and furnishings studies; and complete historic structure reports.
To interpret the history of the site from its late seventeenth century beginnings to 1948, as an example of an agricultural and industrial complex and family seat with its architectural features, gardens, and collections. Also to educate the public about preservation ethics.
It also states, "The museum collection defines the interior and exterior architectural space of the Mansion and supporting dependencies."
Other pertinent planning documents are as follows:
Historic Structure Report (partial), Historical Data (1980), Addendum (1981)
Historic Structure Report (partial), Architectural Data (1981)
Resource Management Plan (1988)
Statement for Management (1989)
Scope of Collections Statement (1990)
Statement for Interpretation (1991)
Long Range Interpretive Plan (1993)
Collection Management Plan (1993)
Furnishings Study and Plan: Master Bedchamber (1993)
General Management Plan (Draft, 1993)
L.D.H.
INTERPRETIVE OBJECTIVES
According to the Annual Statement for Interpretation, 1991, the park purpose is to preserve and interpret the remains of a once vast agricultural and commercial empire. The Park Purpose and Significance Statement goes on to relate (quoted from document):
The park also preserves approximately 20,000 items in its museum collection. Like everything else in the park, the collection is wide-ranging. It includes -- as one might expect -- archival documents, excellent examples of late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century furniture, silver, porcelain, and paintings by such well-known artists as Thomas Sully, John Wesley Jarvis, and John Hesselius. The collection also includes more personal items such as family photographs, hunting equipment, clothing, tools, family memorabilia, and eyeglasses.
Lending to Hampton's significance is that all of these items are original to the estate. They are not similar pieces brought in from afar to furnish the house, but are the actual ones purchased for the estate and never used anywhere else. Tying the buildings and the collections together are thousands of original documents retained in the park's collection, in the Maryland Hall of Records in Annapolis, and in the Maryland Historical Society.
The ability to put the collections and the buildings and the information into one complete, cohesive package makes Hampton significant.
The purpose of the interpretive program is to illustrate the following themes:
the history and interaction of the diverse communities that made up the changing economic, technological, and social complex that was Hampton.
the architectural history, construction, and evolution of Hampton's structures; the development of the surrounding cultural landscape; and, the acquisition and fabrication of the material culture. (p.12)
The Long Range Interpretive Plan (Draft 1993) goes on to state:
"The music room will be the last room on the tour. What better place to use the visitor's sense of hearing? A recording of music, activated by the tour leader, would provide a final memorable experience to the tour. (p.) Since the collection includes music written or used by the Ridgely family, appropriate selections would not only be easily identified but would provide yet another dimension to life at Hampton. This would be particularly effective if additional programs developed for the farm area include music of the slaves and workers of Hampton.
Furnished period rooms illustrate the material culture, as well as the history and interaction of communities at Hampton. The primary objective of furnished rooms in the Mansion is to impart the environment in which the Ridgely family, of various generations, lived, worked, and socialized, and the environment which was instrumental in establishing their social and economic standing in the community and country. The furnished rooms will form three-dimensional exhibits, visually aiding interpretation of the Ridgely family: size and composition of the household, their daily activities, and related activities of their dependents -- free artisans and craftsmen, household staff, indentured servants, and slaves. Specifically, the Music Room will address the cultural pursuits of Hampton's residents, particularly with regards to books and music, during the late nineteenth century.
Optimal interpretation of this exhibition space will be provided through guided tours, conducted by National Park Service trained staff, for small groups. Personal interaction, combined with visual, three-dimensional exhibition, will spark discussion and provoke thoughtful analysis of the cultural as well as practical differences in lifestyle c. 1875 and c. 2000. Furnishings and objects will be used as tools for comparison and comprehension.
Most of the furnishings in the museum collection are original to Hampton and provide a historical complement to the natural and man-made environment. They establish a context for the interpretive story, which encompasses several themes. In furnished exhibition areas, the objects may serve as interpretive "lightning rods." Alternately, some portion of the museum collection remains in storage, to assist with primary documentation, long-term historic fabric conservation, and current and future interpretive objectives of the park. The furnishings for the music room are unusually complete and well-documented, with more than 80% of the objects visible in the late nineteenth century photographs. These photographs should be readily available to visitors who will surely be intrigued by the detail and the completeness of the visual record, now over one hundred years old.
INTERPRETIVE OPERATING PLAN
The site is open seven days a week, excepting Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. Visitors access the site by walk-in, automobile, or group tour (buses, etc.). No public transportation provides immediate access to the park.
The gardens and grounds are accessible from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. During the summer, grounds tours are conducted daily at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. The Mansion is open for guided tours between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Interpretation of the Mansion's interior is accomplished through guided tours, dramatic presentations, lecture programs, special events, publications, and temporary or seasonal exhibits.
Interpretive tours of the Mansion are the primary means of visitor contact on site. Tours are conducted by park rangers and trained volunteer guides. Approximately 30,000 visitors toured the Mansion in 1992. A pilot school program will begin operating in September, 1993. Given the current visitation level, anticipated use by schools and special groups, and the number of museum objects on exhibition and in storage (including archives), staffing requirements for management, interpretation, and maintenance, of the site are as follows:
Present Required
Superintendent 1 1
Curator 1 1
Museum Technician 0 2
Museum Aide 0 1
Chief Ranger 1 1
Rangers 2 PF, 1 TP 3 PF, 2 TP
Volunteer Guides 1-2/day 2-3/day
Maintenance 3* 6
Administrative 2* 3
*These positions are currently shared with Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.
ACCESS
Visitors approach the Mansion from the northwest side, following the paved walkway from the visitor parking area. Currently, the tour route begins in the West Hyphen (Room 13) of the Mansion, serving two purposes: This allows groups to assemble prior to the start of hourly tours, and the hyphen contains orientation and exhibit materials. Entry and exit of visitors through the hyphen also provides a buffer zone for essential control of climatic conditions and integrated pest management in the main exhibit areas, which contain fragile primary museum collections.
Visitors approach the first story of the main block through a door to the Music Room (Room 12), proceeding through the Music Room to the Great Hall (Room 7). From here tour routes vary with each interpreter, although each tour also includes the Drawing Room (Room 11), Parlour (Room 10), Dining Room (Room 9), the Stairhall (Room 8), Second Story Stairhall (Room 18), Master Bedchamber (Room 22), the Principal Guest Bedchamber (Room 21), and the Northeast Bedchamber (Room 19). The tour is usually completed on the second story, and the visitors are returned, through the exhibit rooms, to the West Hyphen. Tour routes may also vary depending on visitation and park activities. The Music Room is therefore the first and last historically interpreted exhibit space seen in the Mansion.
The Sample Furnishing Plan proposed in this paper will necessitate rethinking the pattern of room visitation in light of the increased number of furnishings recommended for that room as well as the arrangement of those furnishings within the room. Clear passage from the West Hyphen through the Music Room to the hall would no longer be possible. An alternative to the present tour route would be to exit from the West Hyphen to the outside, walk around the front of the house, and enter through the East Hyphen. Containing visitors, by stanchions and ropes, to the area just beyond the east doorway of the Music Room would be preferable to allowing the public to walk through the room at the risk of bumping into objects in the collection.
INTERPRETIVE SECURITY
In order to protect the cultural resources exhibited inside the Mansion, tour size restricted to 15 persons or less per tour. This number should be reduced whenever possible to enhance resource security and visitor enjoyment. Protection in the form of visible barriers in the furnished areas, should be continued; the present wrought iron barriers are unobtrusive yet large enough to be recognized and sympathetic to the interior spaces. Additional barriers are necessary for larger tour groups and special events. Continuous monitoring infra-red security protection is highly recommended for sensitive areas where small, portable, fragile, and/or valuable objects are displayed. For example, in the Dining Room infra-red detectors are recommended to cover all areas beyond the physical barricades, sounding an alarm if the protected area is entered during any part of the day. In the Music Room, infra-red detectors are recommended in a pattern which will protect any and all small artifacts or intrinsically valuable furnishings. Adequate smoke and heat detectors should be operable in this room at all times. The Collection Management Plan (1993) discusses a plan for security and fire protection in-depth.
All areas containing museum collections must be fully protected for fire and security risks in compliance with NPS and Department of Interior museum policy. Security and fire detection upgrades to the present systems are recommended, and the feasibility of a practical fire suppression should be fully explored and funded as necessary. Additionally, an Emergency Plan is required, to include concerns related
to the protection and preservation of interior historic architecture and the museum collection.
RELATED MEDIA
Two types of related media are recommended for use in the Music Room. The first is a compilation of photographs, drawings, and other materials depicting the history of this room through seven generations of Ridgely occupancy, to assist with interpretation of the continuum, and the participation in this room, through household functions, of other Hampton "communities," including crafts people and servants.
The compilation of information and accessory materials will be assembled in a room notebook, containing "chapters" including photographs, lists, and related materials. The photographs may include activities such as persons lighting fires, sweeping hearths, tuning instruments, carrying firewood, dismantling winter window treatments and floor coverings in late spring and reinstalling them in the fall, serving tea, making music, or reading at leisure, etc. Historic photographs of the room in the twentieth century, both during and post-Ridgely occupancy, will also be included, as will estate inventories, and illustrations of related design plates for furnishings if useful.
Finally, fabric swatches representing reproduction textiles and floor coverings in the room will be placed in the notebook for visitors to touch and examine. Part of the problem in a "no touching" museum atmosphere is when visitors miss the learning experienced through the sense of touch. This related media will partially compensate for this lack.
Reproduction instruments and other touchable objects may be accessible in the room for special programs.
The Visitor Entry Area (currently the West Hyphen) will have available a notebook of photographs of the second and third stories and the cupola for visitors who cannot access these floors or rooms.
The second form of related media will be musical recordings, including harp, piano, violin, and flute. Particular emphasis will be on recordings of music known to have been in the Hampton collection. These recordings will be played both as background and demonstration music during particular interpretive programs. These recordings should be executed by professionals, using instruments sympathetic to those owned and used at Hampton. L.D.H. HISTORICAL DATA
LOCAL HISTORY
Hampton, constructed between 1783 an 1790, is located near Baltimore, Maryland, which experienced phenomenal growth in the years between the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Baltimore was officially designated a city in 1797, and began to rival New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Charleston as a major coastal city both commercially and culturally. A locality of less than 200 persons when the Ridgelys purchased the Northampton property in 1745, the city grew to a population of over 30,000 people by the turn of the eighteenth century.
HAMPTON 1829-1904
Many of the furnishings exhibited in the Mansion today reflect the taste of John Ridgely (1790-1867) [Fig. 2; see also Fig. 96 and Fig. 102] and his second wife, Eliza (1803-1867) [Fig. 3; see also Fig. 102], whom he married in 1828. They were the third generation to own Hampton, from 1829 to 1867. Avid travellers, the Ridgelys developed cosmopolitan tastes, importing furnishings and works of art to complement the many pieces of furniture and silver purchased locally in Baltimore.
Although he never held public office, John Ridgely was in some measure a local benefactor, donating funds for the construction of a new Episcopal church in Towson, c. 1860, and providing land for the construction of an almshouse. John, the first child born at Hampton and the first master to grow up there, died on July 1867, at 77 years of age. Eliza Ridgely died of a stroke in December of the same year.
John and Eliza Ridgely had five children, two of whom grew to adulthood. Eliza, Jr. (1828-1894) (See Fig. 102), known to her family as "Didy," married John Campbell White in 1849. The Whites had two sons: Henry, later ambassador to Italy and France; and Julian (see Fig. 103). John Campbell White died in 1853 and Didy married Thomas Buckler, a Baltimore physician, in 1865. They had one son, William H. Buckler, a famous archaeologist. Didy's diaries record life at Hampton during the 1840's, revealing a busy family life divided between Hampton and the house in town. Later memoirs, written by Henry White, also detail life at Hampton prior to 1867.
Charles Ridgely (1830-1872) [Fig. 4] was the second child born to John and Eliza Ridgely. Following his early education at Mr. McNally's school in Baltimore, Charles went to Paris in 1847-48. He was then sent to Harvard University to complete his education, graduating in 1851. Among other subjects, Charles studied French, German, chemistry, fencing, billiards, and dancing. His sister, Didy, later claimed his premier accomplishment at Harvard was learning to smoke.
In 1851, Charles returned to Hampton and married his first cousin, Margaretta Sophia Howard (1824-1904) [Fig. 5], daughter of James Howard and Sophia Ridgely. Charles immediately began to assume responsibility for the management of the Hampton estate. He stayed chiefly at Hampton, except for periods of travel, until after the Civil War. Margaretta, who had grown up as a childhood playmate of the Ridgely children, was affectionately known as "Dumps." Didy and Dumps remained close friends as well as sisters-in-law throughout their lives.
Until the time of the War Between the States, the fortunes of the Hampton estate continued to prosper. Income from inheritances and from the estate itself permitted continual technical innovations such as plumbing, gas light, "central" heating, marble steps for the North Portico, and additional outbuildings. Many of the existing dependencies were renovated or rebuilt. The Ridgelys also spent a great deal of time and money on the gardens, altering and improving them to the prevailing fashion.
At the outset of the Civil War, Charles was elected Captain and chief officer of the Baltimore County Horseguard, a group of states rights gentlemen with Southern sympathies. After preliminary hostilities, to avoid arrest and incarceration, John Ridgely eventually persuaded Charles to stay quietly at Hampton. "My grandfather (John Ridgely) always professed to be a `Union Man;' but it was not long before I noticed feelings of marked satisfaction whenever the Southerners won a victory."
The Civil War brought many changes, however. The wealth and lifestyle at Hampton depended on slave labor. While the majority of slaves were dispersed by the will of Charles Carnan Ridgely in 1829, John Ridgely inherited slaves from his first father-in-law and his first wife's estate, as well as from the estate of Eliza's father, Nicholas Greenbury Ridgely. John and Eliza Ridgely also purchased additional slaves. After 1864, the Ridgelys were obliged to hire servants to operate the estate and their city home. According to the memoirs of Henry White, his grandmother Eliza never accustomed herself to the changes, living in fear of a slave revolt during the War and not satisfied with the output of servants afterwards.
Charles and Margaretta Ridgely lived at Hampton with John and Eliza until after the War. The younger Ridgelys had seven children between 1851 and 1869: four sons and three daughters. Only one of their daughters married. After 1867, Charles and Margaretta spent much of their time abroad, uncomfortable with the political situation at home. Charles maintained an active correspondence with his estate manager at Hampton, however, always concerned with the interests of the house, gardens, and farm. He died of malarial fever at the age of 42, March 29, 1872, in Rome, Italy.
Charles and Margaretta's oldest son, John (1851-1938) [Fig. 6], was given the usual advantages of Baltimore's upper class. He was sent to Europe in December of 1865 to continue his education in Paris until the winter of 1867-68, when he returned briefly to Hampton. He completed his education at Trinity College, Cambridge University, in England. In August, 1872, the Baltimore County Circuit Court, in conformance with the will of Charles Ridgely, awarded John the Hampton estate, with approximately 1,000 acres which constituted the "Home Farm." The remainder of the estate was divided among the heirs with John receiving an additional portion. However, by the terms of the will, John's mother, Margaretta, continued to manage Hampton for many years and the expenditures took place in her name. Work continued which maintained and upgraded Hampton during this period, including major rehabilitations c. 1880.
John Ridgely married Helen West Stewart (1854-1929) [Fig. 7; see also Fig. 130] of Baltimore in 1873, after meeting her in Europe. They had six children who survived to adulthood: three sons and three daughters. Their family resided at Hampton with Margaretta and John's sisters and brothers, although John and Helen also owned a house in the city until shortly before World War I.
The fortunes of Hampton began to ebb during the tenure of John Ridgely. The financial reverses which led to the decay of the estate first became evident in the latter part of the nineteenth century. A "gentleman farmer," John's wife Helen recalls in her diary that he spent his days "saunter(ing) around with his hands in his pockets leaving work to overseer and men." With a dwindling estate and a decline in profits from farming, John was eventually required to assume more responsibility for managing Hampton. A lack of business acumen or outside occupation on the part of the master limited Hampton's financial resources. The changing economic climate also contributed to the family's problems. Margaretta died in 1904 and once again the estate's assets were reduced by further division. By 1905, Hampton's lavish and elegant lifestyle had diminished, and although the estate was cared for, fewer changes and improvements took place.
Fortunately, Helen Ridgely was a resourceful partner. Author, artist, farm manager, and excellent hostess, Helen's diaries show her hard work and commitment to tradition at Hampton. At her death, an era characterized by a succession of three remarkable mistresses of Hampton came to an end. Each of these women, Eliza, Margaretta, and Helen, made important and lasting contributions to the estate, its success and its survival.
Additional historical information may be found in the Hampton Guidebook, 1986, published by Historic Hampton, Inc., and the Historical Data Section of the Partial Historic Structure Report for the Mansion, 1980.
L.D.H. ARCHITECTURAL DATA
A complete Historic Structure Report for the Mansion has not been written to synthesize partial reports dealing with load bearings, roofing, heating, and drainage repairs with historical documents and the structure itself. However, the partial reports have been of some assistance in documenting the physical fabric, periods of development, and maintenance over time.
Copious archives including numerous account books, bills, and receipts record each phase of the Mansion's construction, including costs, materials, description of work, and in many cases individual names of workmen. These manuscripts document the progress and character of the building over time. Not all of these surviving accounts have been analyzed to date; some reside in private, inaccessible collections. Many questions regarding original features of the interior remain unresolved and have posed limitations to this study.
The country-people soon saw with amazement what was to them a palace rising in the wilderness....They called it "Ridgely's Folly."...it had too many "new-fangled notions" about it. Marble mantels, folding doors, sofas, mahogany sideboards, and chinaware, were almost unknown immediately after the Revolution. Yet Hampton must be adorned with all these....the captain would have carpets, and stoves, and carriages....
The mansion house, originally called Hampton Hall, was built between 1783 and 1790 by Captain Charles Ridgely. Considered by his contemporaries to be a very ambitious undertaking, the resulting edifice was one of the largest and most ornate country residences built in the United States prior to 1850. A fourth- generation Marylander, Captain Ridgely was part of a large group of wealthy landowners who turned, in the latter half of the eighteenth century, to increased formality in their domestic architectural and living arrangements. As the elemental needs of shelter and food became less urgent, time became available to address more aesthetic interests, including classically inspired architecture.
The English Palladian influence in America is perhaps nowhere more discernable than at Hampton (see Fig. 8 for HABS drawing). The scored stucco and rusticated finish resembling cut blocks of stone, the massive scale, domed roof line with urn finials, and enclosed central pavilions or porticos, were all derived directly from English models. Eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Americans were almost totally dependent on European precedent for style setting. The Ridgelys emulated English prototypes, especially through the use of English design books, to a marked degree. Their travels to England, broad educations, as well as their enormous wealth, empowered them to seek sophisticated models of taste for their homes and furnishings.
The vigorous exterior design of the Mansion conforms to the Georgian formula for classical detail and balanced effect: Rigid symmetry, five-part composition, axial entrances, geometric proportions, pedimented gable ends, and sash windows. A house plan, including a ceremonial center with a portico at both ends and extended wings, was very popular both in England and America for houses "at the centre of great estates where show was considered essential." Hampton's baronial scale and grandiose design, although not totally successful by academic standards, provided an elegant and spacious setting for entertaining and close-knit family life for seven generations of the Ridgely family. In a period when the vast majority of Americans lived in simple, one to four room dwellings, Charles Carnan Ridgely (1760-1829) and his family resided for part of each year in a country house with sixteen bedchambers, and spent their winters in a large townhouse.
The balance and symmetry of the exterior defines the interior plan (see
Fig. 9). Hampton's first story contains four parlours, two on each side of the Great Hall. The two larger parlours are on the west side, while two smaller rooms are separated by a stairhall on the east. Nineteenth-century floor plans show the northwest parlour in use as the Drawing Room, while the southwest room was titled the Music Room. The traditional use of the southwest parlour as a music room/library will continue to be interpreted.
Typically by this period sleeping arrangements were confined to the upper stories, although according to family tradition, Charles Ridgely the Builder died in the southeast room of the first story. The second story of the Mansion originally contained four large, principal bedchambers, and two reception rooms over the north and south portico which could be converted to sleeping chambers as needed. There were ten smaller bedchambers/storerooms for children or servants located on the third story. Slaves and other servants were usually relegated to the attic, kitchen, or separate quarters.
FEATURES: MUSIC ROOM
The architectural treatment of Room 12, the Music Room, is comparable to that of other principal rooms on the first story. The room has two entrances, one in the center of the east wall, connecting the Music Room to the Great Hall or central axis space. The second entrance is in the west wall north of the chimney, linking the main block, through the Music Room, to the west hyphen and wing. This entrance isolated the business and estate management functions from family life in the main house. It is believed that originally the Music Room also functioned as a library, a useful annex for Mr. Ridgely during his business day. Later generations of Ridgelys used the Music Room extensively, one mistress going so far as to make it a supplemental greenhouse during World War I (when energy sources were scarce) because of its southern exposure. Eliza Ridgely, Jr., writes in her diary that the family said prayers together in the Music Room and she often sat there in the morning waiting for the carriage to take her to town; she attended school in Baltimore during the week.
The architectural construction of this room is relatively sophisticated, constructed with an eye toward symmetry and balance (see Fig. 10 for west architectural elevation). The fireplace is surrounded by an architrave with a larger backboard than typical for the room, its ears similar to those over the doors and windows. Anconei above the architrave support a cornice shelf, the dentilled bedmolding breaking out above the anconei. An early 19th-century shelf was applied on top for wider ornaments of the period, and an even deeper small curved shelf was centered on top for the clock. The added shelves were removed in 1950 during initial restoration of the Mansion, but were reproduced prior to the recent graining in 1993. Below, the mantel board is simply framed, with consoles supported by the architrave around the fireplace opening; this opening has a backband with crossettes matching those throughout the room.
The wooden cornice at the ceiling is embellished with carved dentils, as is the molded mantelboard. The ceiling and upper walls are plastered, covered at various periods by wallpaper or paint. A prominent chair-rail surmounts panelled wainscoting, typical throughout Hampton. The boldly projecting baseboard is flat, with a cyma and cavetto molding at top.
The double-hung sash windows (two on the south elevation, one on the west) are well-defined, with architraves having backbands with ears. There is no cornice surmounting the window or door frames, as in other rooms. Nailing blocks under the plaster suggest this ornamentation was intended, but either removed at a later date or never executed.
Light is more than adequate in the Music Room, with a prominent south and west exposure. Windows on the south and west sides are twelve over twelve lights. The weights for the sash windows were cast at the family ironworks. The thick stone walls of the Mansion allow for recessed, folding interior shutters, which have been used continuously since the construction of the house to control heat and light, as well as to provide security. Additionally, exterior shutters were an early feature of the south and west sides.
There are two doorways, as discussed above. The doors are customary eight-panel doors, with raised panels on one side.
The floor is pine, consisting of carefully matched board widths, fitted with tongue and groove joints. Floorboards have been set in an east-west orientation.
The floor boards in the northeast corner show a patch were a floor register originally was located. According to architect James Thomas Wollon Jr., A.I.A., the soapstone base for the cast-iron grate was originally 12 to 14" square. (see Fig. 11 for example of floor register). [for more on the heating system, see p. 118] Additional floor patches can be seen in front of the west window and the southeast corner: the former being evidence of an earlier radiator, the latter from heating pipes.
Recommendation: A reproduction cast-iron grate with soapstone base should be installed in the northeast corner of the Music Room floor in order to replicate its appearance in the late nineteenth century. The carpet will need to be cut out around the grate.
SURFACE TREATMENTS
Paint:
The first physical studies of the painted surfaces in the Mansion were conducted during initial restoration c. 1950. Analysis at that time indicated "the interiors have had only two or three coats of paint in 160 years. The bottom coat is usually very thin, but distinguishable. No prime coat seems to have been used." The report of this analysis does not record the individual colors determined for each room, with the exception of the Drawing Room.
A second paint study for the Mansion was conducted in 1974 by Peter Snell of the Denver Service Center, NPS. In his summary of the music room, Snell concluded that during the period 1850 to 1880, the walls were painted tan, the woodwork was grained, and the baseboard was painted green.
The most recent paint analysis for the Music Room was conducted by Frank Welsh, in 1983 (Report dated January, 1984), and included physical examination, as well as polarized light microscope and stereomicroscopic evaluation. This modern scientific study documents many layers of finish, providing direct contradiction to the misinterpretation of the number of coats in the first study. This analysis was used to find the accurate number, color and types of coatings on the architectural elements, and identify the original colors and composition of paint films, by matching to the Munsell color system. A stereomicroscope also documented the observation of relative amounts of accumulated dirt, grime, and soot between layers of finish paints, which was used to help establish periods of time between repainting.
The 1992 restoration of painted surfaces in the Music Room focused on the c. 1855 finish coats determined by Frank Welsh's scientific report, as this was the period selected for interpretation. Note: Base or primary coats of paint were also documented under the finish layers.
The Music Room was repainted to correspond to the physical and microscopic analysis of coloration in Mr. Welsh's report.
Faux Painting: Graining
This present paint scheme, developed from the direct scientific and archival documents, includes walnut faux-grained woodwork, and plaster finished walls (see wallpaper section for additional discussion of wall treatment). On November 10, 1854, James Malbon was paid $30 to grain the Music Room "walnut".
Faux grained doors and some woodwork, especially chairrails, have been documented throughout the Mansion for two different periods, the late eighteenth and mid-nineteenth century. The paint analysis conducted by Frank Welsh uncovered original graining schemes from both these periods.
Faux graining, or trompe l'oeil work, was very fashionable in the wealthier American homes during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, when it was considered more sophisticated than mere wood. Hampton's 1791 graining is dramatic, almost fantastic in appearance; this would have alerted you to the artist's work. The design is fanciful, in keeping with the period recommendation that "all woodwork if possible be grained in imitation of some natural wood, not with a view of having the imitation mistaken for the original, but rather to create an allusion to it, and by a diversity of lines to produce a kind of variety and intricacy which affords more pleasure to the eye than a flat shade of colour." Nathaniel Whittock, a nineteenth-century observer claimed graining gave "elegance to the wood."
In fact, eighteenth-century graining differs from later nineteenth-century technique. As Nina Little has written:
"In general, the early designs were done by means of a brush with large, sweeping strokes which produced free, uncomplicated patterns." "Imitation of the actual woods was merely suggested, and the resulting effects were colorful and decorative rather than purely imitative."
By the mid-nineteenth century graining was executed in a more realistic manner. The woodwork in the Music Room was meant to copy real walnut, for an "authentic" appearance, and with a mind to the "prevailing colour of the furniture" in the room. As one nineteenth century author wrote,
"The object of the house-painter should be to give the furniture of the room he decorates as much importance as possible, and to present it to notice in the most favourable light. The eye should not be attracted by strong and various colours upon the walls; but all parts of the room should be in harmony with the moveable articles in it, so that no one colour can individually attract attention."
One of the merits of graining was its durability, which practitioners claimed would "last for many years, and by the aid of a coat of varnish, look as well after a lapse of time as when first done, and indeed, in some cases, better." The graining in the Music Room seems to have weathered time satisfactorily, if the photographs taken more than thirty years later are a valid indicator. The woodwork was painted white in the early twentieth century, but this change probably reflects an aesthetic decision rather than a practical one.
As would be expected, the microscopic color analysis for the woodwork in the music room revealed a light-reddish brown ground, with an intermediate glaze for dark brown graining, followed by a clear oil resin gloss varnish. The color of the ground was determined by the wood being imitated. Such light woods as ash, maple and birch required a yellowish-white ground, while walnut required a darker base. The middle graining coat was quite thin, allowing the base coat to show through as the lighter areas of the grain, and the final varnish coat served as a protective finished surface.
Recommendation: It is recommended that the faux graining of all woodwork in the Music Room be retained, as it matches the physical as well as written documentation for the period of interpretation.
Wallpaper:
"If your only recourse is to finish the walling in some 'typical' way, take every documented possibility into account. Wallpaper, for example, may be the answer... A growing variety of wallpaper was widely available in the nineteenth century."
While the 1887 photographs are inconclusive as regards the presence of wallpaper in the music room, Frank Welsh's 1983 analysis reports conclusive evidence of glue sizing and appropriate fiber content to substantiate the presence of wallpaper in the Music Room in the mid to late nineteenth century.
The surviving photographic images are grainy and the walls appear mottled, but their is no visible pattern or decoration. While no physical evidence for pattern or colors survives, several bills for purchase and hanging of wallpapers at Hampton document the use of wallpaper in the house. Snell speculates that the $39.98 paid to Golder and Undutch on January 12, 1855 was for the Music Room, following closely the graining in that room. In 1875,the Ridgelys paid the well-known firm of Howell and Bros. of Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York, $240.96 for papering, and in 1858 the same firm was paid about $10.00 for supplying and hanging wallpaper and a border in the office.
Many contemporary newspaper advertisements confirm the popularity of wallpaper in Baltimore. They list countless types of wallpaper available both in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Just a few advertisements indicate:
"French and American manufactured PAPER HANGINGS, consisting ofvelvet, Gilt and plain paper, &c."
"VELVET AND GOLD, WHITE SATINE AND GOLD, FINE SATINS, MEDIUM SATINS, COMMON AND BLANKS"
"Superior new and well-assorted Papers and Borders, of domestic manufacture, of beautiful patterns..." and "spring importations of a magnificent invoice of French Papers, with Borders to match... from the oldest and most favorite manufactories in France."
"American and French Gilt Paper..."
In light of the scientific evidence and written documentation for the use of wallpaper in the music room in the second half of the nineteenth century, I would recommend the selection of a light-colored paper with little or no pattern, an appropriate choice for a room furnished to the period 1850-1870 as well as being suitable for a first floor public space such as a parlor, drawing or music room.
Papers that would fit this description were described by nineteenth century writers commenting on the ideal house furnishings. Suggested one author,
"If you prefer a figured paper, get a small, cheerful pattern on a very light ground for a room that does not enjoy much sunshine. And it is best to get rather a light paper where the room is sunny, for in winter the brightness is not objection, and in summer the room is kept partially darkened during the hear of the day... A Very pretty style of figured paper is all of one color in different tints."
The frequent reference to "gilt" or "gold" papers in contemporary newspaper advertisements suggests another style of wallpaper that might have been used at Hampton. According to Catherine Lynn:
"During the 1850's and 1860's, in apparent reaction against the strong colors and dense ornamentation of wallpapers laden with scrolls, flowers, and foliage, many Americans began to hang sparsely ornamented patterns on which light touches of gold were spotted across delicately tinted ground colors - grays, beiges, eggshell shades, and white. Most of these patterns featured small embossed gold motifs on satin grounds. The gold was real gold leaf that had been subjected to the pressure of intricately detailed metal dies on heavy machines that stamped their imprint into the paper while bonding gold leaf to it."
Patterns for those papers included delicate sprigs, tiny birds, leaves, rosettes, and decorative devices such as fleur-de-lis and stiff little cartouches in widely spaced repeats.
Another possibility for wallpaper in the music room was a "plain paper" in a single solid shade brushed on the raw hanging paper stock which was popular in the late eighteenth century and well into the nineteenth. Plain papered walls had the advantage offering the opportunity to chose almost any color as well as hiding cracks in the plaster. In fact, some arbiters of taste suggested that no other style of wallpaper could be compared
"as to beauty with the plain-tint paper. The effect is fine, yet unobtrusive; it does not dwarf the size of a room as pattern paper often does; on it pictures show to good advantage; it corresponds with any style of furnishing; and it is always in fashion - or, rather, it never looks bizarre, no matter what particular fashion may happen to be popular."
This commentary went on to state: "... It will keep clean as long as any paper. There is a style, forty inches wide, beautifully finished, with a fine soft gloss that gives the wall the appearance of being painted."
Plain ground papers are available today through several manufacturers. One of these plain papers could be hung in the Music Room, and then glazed with a clear varnish to give a shiny finish, suggesting the "satin" papers referred to in the above newspaper advertisements, having "a shiney, polished finish." Other satin papers might have been more like a damask, in the "self-toned rococo, floral, or landscape designs in neutral colors - grays and stone and pearl," particularly fashionable in the mid-nineteenth century.
Marble papers, though generally recommended for halls and passages, are another alternative for the music room, in that the pattern might not have been visible in the nineteenth century photographs. Likewise solid-colored encaustic paper
"gave the effect of finely painted walls."
Recommendation: Restoration of papered wall surfaces is strongly recommended to provide correct visual interpretation of this living space. Selection of a stock pattern based on what is commercially available in one of the several options described above is recommended. Without a documented pattern for use in the Music Room, it would not be appropriate to custom order a paper; if additional documentation for a specific paper should come to light in the future, this paper could be reproduced for the room at that time. Research in cooperation with archivists and historical reproduction specialists at Brunschwig & Fils, Scalamandr‚, and Schumacher is proceeding for paper selection. It appears that no appropriate paper is available at this time which exactly reproduces a mid-nineteenth century. Several papers are made, however, which reflect in a general way the type of paper which might have been available. Sample papers of this type are included at the end of this report.
EVIDENCE OF ORIGINAL FURNISHINGS 1855-1890
Introduction
The Music Room at Hampton presents a rare and, to some extent, agreeable problem to the furnishings historian: the availability of extensive and varied primary documentation which offers intriguing, while sometimes conflicting, evidence for restoring the room to its late nineteenth century appearance. Sources include the following: interior photographs taken over a one hundred year period; estate and other inventories; bills, receipts and household account books; and diaries. The first of these sources offer a remarkably detailed, albeit incomplete, view of the room in c. 1887-1891. Given the unquestionable evidence provided by these photographs, it has been decided that this pictorial record should be given precedence over all other sources. Where vague or incomplete, however, these photographic documents will supplemented by written records. Furthermore, consideration has been given to using wherever possible the current collections of Hampton National Historic Site and other appropriate objects that may remain in Ridgely family hands.
Photographs
In her essay, "A Photographic Intimacy," written for a catalogue accompanying an exhibition organized by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities and the Photographic Resource Center, Ellie Reichlin proposes that
"there is a cryptic portrait in the furnishing and arrangement of domestic rooms, simultaneously revealing intimate traces of personal taste and habit, but also concealing them with the inscrutable layering of fashion and style. If, at a century's remove, the private meanings these rooms originally encoded are indecipherable, the moral and social underpinnings of Victorian domesticity can still be discerned, conveyed by objects and their groupings, as well as by the characteristic ways that Victorian photographers transmitted their perceptions of the home's significant spaces."
She suggests that there are three different yet overlapping pictorial approaches to the room as photographic object: commemorative, documentary and amateur. The photographs used for this report appear to reflect two of these primary approaches. The earliest photographs (late nineteenth-century) reflect the amateur approach described as including "the disorderly presence of people or the unruly array of their personal possessions," wherein the camera is positioned to "approximate the comfortable stance of one thoroughly `at home.'" The twentieth century photographs, on the other hand, were documentary, serving as a visual record of the architecture and furnishings of a room with historical significance. Reichlin points out that rooms to be photographed were sometimes enhanced with articles from other rooms or by shifting objects within the room. The Hampton Music Room photographs, due to their casual nature, are believable, although the room may have been tidied up for the occasion. I believe them to be a quite accurate record of both the specific furnishings in the room and their placement, at least some of the time. [See Appendix A for the list and description of photographs consulted for this project. Photographs in the Hampton collection are designated with the prefix HAMP].
Bills and Receipts
Housed at the Maryland Historical Society are many Ridgely family papers which relate to the period of this report. Among those documents consulted for this project were: Manuscript Collection 691: Ridgely Account Books, 1735-1886, includes check books of Margaretta Sophia Howard Ridgely (1878-1884) and Ledgers for the period 1844-1886, as well as miscellaneous household expense accounts and memorandum books.
Manuscript Collection 692:Ridgely Accounts and Correspondence, 1740-1880, Box 13, includes Bills and Receipts of John and Eliza Ridgely for the period 1817 to 1853, as well as other household records of Margaretta and Charles Ridgely, 1867-1871. Manuscript Collection 716: Ridgely Material, 1827-1921 contains scrapbooks and notebooks kept by Helen West Stewart Ridgely and her daughter Leonice Josephine Ridgely, a list of books in the Hampton library and other pertinent records, formerly at the Hampton Mansion and donated to the Maryland Historical Society by the National Park Service between 1963 and 1968. Manuscript Collection 717: D.S. Ridgely Collection, 1741-1884 includes a box containing receipts of Margaretta Sophia Howard Ridgely (1824-1904) covering furniture, fabric, clothing, silverware, as well as painting, and other repairs at Hampton between 1871 to 1884.
Estate Inventories
The earliest record of Music Room furniture for the period of this report is contained in the inventory of John Ridgely, taken in August, 1867. At the time of his death the room contained: 10 chairs @ $ 5; 1 lounge $ 10; a sofa $ 25; 1 bookcase $ 20; 1 small sofa $ 5; 2 round mirrors @ 10; and 1 large mirror $ 50. John Ridgely's inventory was brief, leading to the conclusion that much of John's estate was entailed, and thus designated to remain at Hampton for the succeeding generation.
The room-by-room inventory of the Music Room taken after Charles Ridgely's death in 1872 offers the next evidence of Music Room furniture, and in comparing this inventory to the earlier one, it is possible to track specific furnishings over time in this room.
Two additional inventories of the contents of the Music Room have been analyzed for this report: a 1945 inventory, taken at the request of John Ridgely, and the c. 1972 inventory compiled by the National Park Service at the time the Colonial Dames of America moved their furnishings to the front left parlor.
These inventories are contained in Appendix B.
Other Written Records
Margaretta H. Ridgely compiled a "Catalog of Pictures at Hampton 1875," with paintings listed according to their room locations. Included in this record are a number of original receipts, information on the artists, bills of sale, etc. (HAMP 3941).
A small account book (HAMP 16583) was kept by Eliza Eichelberger Ridgely Ridgely (1803-1867) from 1845 to 1861. Contained in this book are two separate sets of accounts, one of her personal expenditures (B) and one of the expenditures on the farm, servants, etc. (A) This distinction is retained through the majority of these accounts.
Eliza Ridgely (1828-1894), daughter of Eliza and John, kept several diaries. Some are in the Maryland Historical Society; others are at Hampton; and one important one belongs to Haussner's Restaurant, Baltimore, Maryland. The latter diary, pertaining to her early teens, 1841-1842, is particularly useful for learning of the daily routine at Hampton and the Ridgely's town houses. A transcript for this diary is on file at Hampton and was used in the preparation of this report.
Comparable inventories
Given the time limitations of this project, a comprehensive inventory search for contents of music rooms in similarly grand Baltimore area houses was not undertaken. As will be further discussed later, relatively few American houses of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries could boast a room specifically called a "music room." But it was not uncommon for the finer houses to include an informal sitting room in addition to the formal parlor, perhaps called the library or the back
parlor. David Conradsen located a small number of Baltimore County inventories which he felt corroborated the kind of essential furnishings in comparable interior settings. These inventories are included in APPENDIX C. Furnishings Study
Introduction
Were it not for the group of c. 1887-1891 photographs of the Music Room, the furnishings historian would be forced to look beyond Hampton to other houses of comparable grandeur to make generalizations about how a room so designated would have been furnished. While an extended and more general study is less needed in Hampton's case, it is nonetheless useful to address the frequency, function, and furnishing of other music rooms before beginning our specific analysis of the Hampton's Music Room.
The Music Room
"Music. There is nothing else like it. Powerful. Compelling. Beyond translation into words. Music takes us into ourselves and beyond ourselves. It bonds us to others. It enlivens and gives meaning to our present. It evokes and confirms our past. Music is a central cultural form. Those who create or perform enjoy high status. Music makers are living gods."
That music played a major role in the history of the Ridgely family at Hampton is without doubt. Both the written and material collections at Hampton National Historic Site are rich with references to music. The Ridgely family member most closely associated with music at Hampton was Eliza Eichelberger Ridgely whose famous portrait by Sully is now hanging in the National Gallery. Associated with her is the Erard harp at Hampton and an important collection of 25 volumes of bound anthologies of single printed pieces, bound manuscript collections and a large collection of unbound sheet music. This collection as well as other music-related archival materials at Hampton has been extensively studied by Beth L. Miller, whose paper, "The Ridgely's of Hampton: New perspectives on Musical Life in Nineteenth-Century Baltimore," as well as other written reports, are on file at Hampton.
Miller has summarized Ridgely bills prior to 1845 pertaining to music, specifically bills for sheet music and musically related services. In the following decades, music continued to feature prominently in Ridgely family records. For example, Eliza Ridgely purchased "songs, waltzes and polkas" for $ 2.37 in August, 1849. and in May of 1882 Helen Stewart Ridgely purchased sheet music from Otto Sutro, entitled "Israel in Egypt" for $ .50. Two bills to Margaretta Ridgely from George Ph. Gaul, dated 1872 and 1873, record payments for "music lessons on Piano" for "Miss Eliza and Miss Julia" Ridgely. At least one lesson took place at Hampton, rather than in the city.
Specific references to the Music Room at Hampton can be found as early as 1841 when Eliza Ridgely wrote in her diary,
"I rose in the morning and went down in to the music room at Hampton where I looked through some books till prayer bell rung... After prayers and breakfast I went again into the music room into the little office beyond it where my school books were and when I had collected them I put them on the sofa in the music room ready to go to town."
Other written references to the Music Room appear in various household accounts, such as the November, 1854, payment to James Malbon for "graining Music Saloon;" the entry in Eliza Ridgely's account book for 39 yds Lace Nett for Music Room curtains in 1851; and Robert Renwick's 1874 bill for "80 yds Blk ground Satine for Music Room @ $1.25." Furthermore the room is so designated on the ground floor plan drawn by John Laing, Civil Engineer and Architect, in 1875 and reproduced in the Master Plan (1968) [Fig. 9]
Relatively little has been written about residential Music Rooms in either English or American publications. According to an article in the English magazine Country Life, one of the earliest recorded references in that country to a "music room as such" was the money paid in 1663 to John Hingston, "a musician in the service of Charles II ... for moving the organ from the Queen's chapel in St. James's Palace and `remounting the same in the new musique room.'" At that early date rooms were rarely assigned such specific functions, with the hall serving as an all-purpose space, for dining, music-making, dancing, etc. In fact it was not until the second-half of the eighteenth century, that music rooms appeared with any regularity in grand houses of Great Britain in response to the growing popularity of musical soir‚es where "well known opera singers and instrumental virtuosi entertained the guests, and contemporary composers were lionized." By the mid-nineteenth century, music rooms were even more common in England, at which time, "The largest houses could boast, in addition (to the drawing room) a ballroom or gallery and a music room." Some of the grander English houses with music rooms are illustrated in Girouard's Victorian Country Houses.
A survey of public house museums in the United States indicates that relatively few eighteenth and nineteenth century residences included a room specifically designated for music. Far more common are houses with a front and back parlour or a parlour and drawing room, the main or front parlour being designated as the formal visiting space, the rear room being set aside for family use, including dining, reading, sewing and piano playing, activities suggested in the painting of The Fiedler Family (Fig. 12). The name applied to this back parlor seems to have been arbitrary, as suggested in Godey's Lady's Book where it was noted, "many prefer to use the back room as a library [while] others, again, station a piano back there and call it a music room on that solitary claim."
Whatever the name assigned to it, the second or back parlor was the more intimate space, the room
"which is lived in: which is impressed with a personality and such signs of individuality make the true value of decoration [Hinton's emphasis]. The charm is not easy to define. It does not arise only from the books and music here and there, the embroidery or sketches, the feather screens or painted china which discover the lady's skill and taste: it is rather in the whole atmosphere, the colours and the arrangement that the subtle influence reveals itself."
In The Refinement of America, Richard Bushman writes of the importance of the sitting room or library as they "implied another kind of activity and a new kind of family life." He continues,
"In these rooms people gathered, during leisure hours to read books or to write letters, sew, or converse... Here the family presented itself in repose, though not idle, engaged in refined activities in keeping with the cultivated spirit of the environment... The sitting room and library extended the genteel ideal. These rooms implied that in its leisured moments the family conducted itself with equal refinement, not in the stiffly formal parlor mode but in the relaxed, easy, cordial style that was increasingly favored, and for this they could gather in adorned rooms adjacent to the parlor."
The late nineteenth century photographs of the Music Room at Hampton illustrate the personal and intimate nature of that room, with family photographs, decorative objects and an abundance of comfortable furnishings inviting both family and friends alike to rest awhile in the room. (Fig. 13).
By the middle of the nineteenth century, the rooms at Hampton must have looked quite different from fifty years earlier. In particular, the music room was furnished almost entirely with Victorian furniture, in a variety of styles, but predominantly in the prevailing fashion of the 1850's, the rococo revival. In fact, this style has been called by some a "hodge-podge of plagiarism," an amalgamation of the legs and arms from Louis XV, the oval backs popularized by the Adam brothers and the riotous carvings associated with Chippendale.
Not only did the style of the furniture reflect this later date, but so too did the number of objects in the room and their arrangement within the space. The abundance of furnishings in the music room at Hampton was typical for the period. As one commentator has written:
"Whatever the standards reached by the objects which were scattered around the Victorian home, it could not be denied that there were many more of them than ever before. At no period before or since have movable objects played so vital a part of deciding the character of an interior as they did in mid-Victorian Europe [or American].
The evidence provided by the 1867 and 1872 inventories as well as the photographs of the 1880's suggests that the rococo furniture stayed in the music room for years after this style relinquished its immense popularity to the Renaissance revival style and later the neo-Grec, Moorish, Egyptian and so on. This apparent conservatism has been observed by one social historian as follows:
"The 1851 [Crystal Palace] Exhibition catalogue stated: `... in the United States, it is rare to find wealth so accumulated as to favour the expenditure of large sums upon articles of luxury.' Yet before the end of the century the American millionaire had stamped his influence on the decorative styles of Europe and the USA and had infiltrated the highest circles in the older societies. European and American millionaires were, however, outstandingly conservative in their tastes and their patronage served to consolidate prevailing fashions."
In the following pages, the furniture and furnishings used in the music room at Hampton will be described and discussed. Furniture currently in the Hampton collection which belongs in the Music Room will be so marked; those items to be acquired will be recommended for acquisition at the end of each entry. How exciting it is to be able to speak with certainty about the presence of so many of these objects in this room during the second-half of the nineteenth century.
I. Upholstered Furniture
"The seats of a drawing-room must be deep and luxurious ones, whatever be the style of their wood-work; and there must be varying chairs of the light fanciful kind, easily moved about, with one or two of the black lacquer and straw chairs, and those whose gilded rods give brightness; while sofas, lounges, chairs, ottomans, and all their sort, with the circular divan and its round tufted back where there is room for it and various footstools and hassocks, inviting the lingerer, are to be provided in profusion. "
Upholstered seating furniture forms the bulk of the furniture in the Music Room, and of those pieces for seating, the majority was in the Rococo Revival style.
Rococo seating furniture, despite its apparent delicacy, is often extremely strong because of its construction. Following the innovations of John Henry Belter of New York who patented his techniques, cabinetmakers "layered an average of six to eight veneers together, with each layer set at right angles to the grain of the surrounding layers." Mahogany remained popular, but as it had become more expensive and difficult to acquire due to the depletion of the forests of Santa Domingo, rosewood became a fashionable substitute. While the rococo was preempted by other revival styles by the time of the Civil War, many families, like the Ridgelys, retained their French-style furniture and continued to use it in their sitting rooms and parlors.
A. Fixed Upholstery
In 1872 when Charles Ridgely's inventory was recorded, the upholstered furniture in the Music Room included five sofas (including one tete … tete), four armchairs, and six side chairs. All of these furnishings can be seen in one or more photographs of the room taken before 1948. Following is a description of all 16 of these objects, after which will be a discussion of the upholstery recommendations for each. All of these pieces are illustrated in this plan by photographs in the Hampton collection. In the case of objects no longer in the Hampton collection, other illustrative materials have been included as desirable. I have assigned numbers to each object discussed in this paper as a guide to the Sample Furnishing Plan drawings (Fig. 168-172).
SOFAS:
U-1. Tˆte … tˆte, probably Baltimore, rosewood. (Fig. 14 a,b; HAMP2940).
Furniture in the rococo style was frequently purchased in suites, including one or two sofas, a pair of armchairs, four to six side chairs, and a center table. (Fig. 15) The Ridgelys may have purchased their set from Baltimore cabinetmaker Robert Renwick, a number of whose bills can be found in the Ridgely manuscript collections. A similar sofa (one of a pair) is illustrated in Gregory Weidman's Furniture in Maryland. (Fig. 16) Those sofas were part of a seven piece parlor set used in the double parlor of Baltimore merchant Enoch Pratt in his house on the southwest corner of Park Avenue and Monument Streets. The upholstery on the Pratt sofa is its second, having been recovered in wine red and dark green silk lampas in 1881. The two chair backs are tufted, as they probably would have been when originally covered. The term tˆte … tˆte was a nineteenth century term applied to sofas of this form, such as the one illustrated in Fig. 17, purchased by James Watson Williams from Charles A. Baudouine for Fountain Elms in Utica, New York.
Tufting began in limited use in the eighteenth century, but generally the stuffing had to be very thin in order for the buttons to be attached. Then in the 1830's tufting was introduced in Germany using shallow buttons. As Peter Thornton has written, "The development is thereafter very rapid. A sofa with deep-buttoning is shown in 1841 and there are plenty by the mid-1840's, including a sofa with star-shaped blue buttons on a yellow material in 1845." Deep buttoning, such as can be seen in Fig. 16 was common in the 1840's.
The Hampton tˆte … tˆte can be seen in the background of a photograph taken c. 1945-1938, showing the Music Room before it was replastered. At this date it was no longer tufted (see Fig. 31).
U-2. 3 part Rococo Revival sofa with armchair ends, possibly Baltimore,c. 1845-1860. HAMP 1064, Fig. 18.
This sofa can be seen in Fig. 19 behind the slipper chair. Apparently it was a permanent fixture in the Music Room through the decades, as it can also be seen against the north wall in Fig. 20, a photograph taken c. 1945. In the earlier photograph the sofa was tufted in the back. The sofa consists of a three-part back, carved crest rail with center shell and 6 elaborately carved scroll legs, with two heavy rear legs. The legs all rest on casters. The skirt is carved with a leaf pattern and a center shell.
This form was originally popular in France in the middle of the eighteenth century. Such sofas were often massive in measurement, and the two arm chairs at either end were called "confidents." (Fig. 21) The French form was later copied by the English. In the nineteenth century in Baltimore, such a piece of furniture would undoubtedly have been considered to be a one-of-a-kind conversation piece.
U.3. Oval back Rococo Revival sofa, American, c. 1845-1860. Not inHampton collection at this time. See Fig. 13; see also Fig. 22.
While this sofa is no longer in the Hampton collection, we have a fairly good idea about its appearance thanks to the late nineteenth century photographs of the Music Room and the survival of an important document, the slipcover for this sofa which can be seen in the early photographs. From the slipcovers we can determine the approximate size of the sofa (45" H x 58 " W x 25 " D). In the photographs we can see the overall outline of the sofa as well as the channeled Rococo Revival legs with projecting rounded feet set on casters so typical of the Rococo. (Fig. 23)
The back of the sofa was separate from the arms, suggesting a similarity in form to another Ridgely piece, an armchair illustrated in HAMP 19175 (Fig. 24). The slip cover confirms the existence of a small carved element, probably leafy in form, which can be seen in the photographs. This particular form of sofa is an unusual one, with the one illustrated in Fig. 23 being far more typical. An examination of the standard sources for nineteenth century as well as less mainstream sources has so-far yielded no identical examples. Furthermore discussion with dealers and curators knowledgeable on this subject has not led to any exact prototypes. The closest example appears to be a sofa in the New York City home of Theodore Roosevelt's parents, furnished in 1854. Furnished almost exclusively in furniture in the so-called "French style," the Roosevelt's parlor included a pair of sofas with a solid oblong back topped with a wooden carved decorative panel (Fig. 25).
Recommendation: A sofa fitting this description should be sought among the surviving Ridgely family members. If it is located, it should be acquired, or, at least, extensively documented in anticipation of reproducing it for the collection. Another possibility could be to try to reproduce the sofa based on the existing documentation. A third, less preferable, alternative would be to purchase a more typical rococo revival sofa to fill this space.
U-4 a,b. A pair of Grecian style lounges, possibly Maryland, c. 1830-1845. HAMP 8538, the other is missing; Fig. 26.
Typical of sofas in the Grecian style, this pair would have been juxtaposed in the Music Room with the high end of the lounge toward the outside of the room. The second sofa of the pair is no longer in the collection, but may belong to one of the Ridgely descendants and might be available for acquisition. One of the pair can be seen in an early photograph of the Music Room, HAMP 3497 C (Fig. 27), and in the background of HAMP 19782 (Fig. 28).
It was not at all unusual to find lounges on the first floor of a fancy house, for, as one nineteenth century commentator wrote, "A Lounge is a very comfortable thing to have in your sitting-room, only don't have it too handsome to be lounged on." This pair of sofas look none too comfortable, but the Ridgelys appear to have wanted to soften the lounges' hard edges by propping square pillows along the back. (see Fig. 27) They would no doubt agree with Catherine Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe who wrote of the requisites for a lounge - a chintz cover and four square pillows.
Recommendation: It is likely that there was a mate to the Grecian lounge in the Hampton collection, since two such lounges with juxtaposed backs were almost always arranged in the early nineteenth century to balance each other. Photographs of the lounge should be circulated among Ridgely descendants with the possibility of locating the mate and acquiring it for the collection. The addition of the second lounge would complete the total of five sofas listed on the Charles Ridgely inventory of 1872. Cushions should be made to accompany the lounge (see p.54) During the summer months the lounge was apparently moved away from the window to a position in front of the fireplace (see Fig. 28). This is one example of changes in furniture arrangement that would have been seasonal.
CHAIRS
U. 5.a-d. Set of four side chairs, probably Baltimore, rosewood. (Fig. 29;a-c; HAMP 2941-2944).
Pictured in a 1908 photograph of the parlor at Hampton, a single chair from this set can be seen with deep button tufting on the back as well as on the seat. (HAMP 3902: Fig. 30) By this date, the chairs had already been cut down by about two inches, with cast brass brackets placed at each side of the back at the point of reduction. The practice of altering the stance of mid-nineteenth century chairs was condoned by those who abhorred what they considered to be the Victorians' penchant for producing uncomfortable furniture. (Fig. 31) As one decorator wrote in the 1930's:
"One of the best tricks in restoring chairs of this period, for occasional use in modern rooms, is to cut about two inches off their back legs. Or cut one inch off the back legs and add an inch in front by the use of ball casters. Either method insures comfort by rectifying the original pitch that threw the sitter's body forward in a strained and uneasy posture."
In the case of Hampton's chairs, it was the backs which were shortened rather than the legs, but once can assume that improved comfort was a primary reason for the alteration. Before these chairs were cut down, they would have had the proportions of a dining room chair illustrated in Blackie and Sons manual, The Victorian Cabinet-Maker's Assistant. (Fig. 32) The entire impression of the English chair is altered by the addition of the void under the back and the consequent feeling of lightness.
Recommendation: Despite the fact that these chairs were cut down late in the nineteenth century, I would advise against trying to restore them to their original appearance, unless a photograph surfaces which gives sufficient detail to reproduce the chairs correctly. Guides should point out this discrepancy as an illustration of the reaction to Victorian style upon its demise.
U. 6. Slipper chair, probably Baltimore, rosewood. (Fig. 33; HAMP 2945)
Described by some as a lady's chair, this chair form was symbolic of the
"social hierarchy in the Victorian family. The husband, head of the household, sat in the throne-like armchair, whereas the smaller, less impressive lady's chair confirmed the subordinate position of women in the 19th century. Made without arms and with wider seats, these chairs also better accommodated the full dresses worn by women at mid-century."
The low stance of this chair combined with the extravagant carving on the crest rail contributed to a certain awkwardness which characterized American Rococo Revival furniture. As one, albeit English, author has written: "Although in general shape [American Rococo upholstered furniture was] not dissimilar to equivalent pieces made in Britain and Europe, sections of very ornate pierced carving were attached to the top of the chair- and sofa-backs, giving them a rather top-heavy look."
In the case of this chair, the carving on the crest consists of pierced and carved leaves, bell-flowers and roses. The carving continues around the upholstered concave back which is supported by two short, straight uprights, giving the impression of a cinched waist. The upholstered seat flares out from these uprights.The front seat rail is carved and incised, and on the knee are carved leaves. The legs terminate on scrolls. This chair can be seen in a photograph of the music room, c. 1885-1887, at which time the back was tufted. (Fig. 19)
U.7. Balloon-back side chair, American, c.1855-1875. HAMP 8527, Fig.34.
This small and delicate chair can be seen clearly in the foreground of Fig. 13, dressed in its summer slipcover which extends almost to the floor, covering the tapered legs and narrow feet. This chair is relatively plain and simple compared to the other upholstered furniture in the Music Room. The style of the legs suggest that this chair was made later than the previously discussed upholstered furniture, being more in the style of Louis XVI which was popular in American in the 1860's. The central ornament, on the other hand, relates to the earlier Rococo style.
The balloon back side chair has been called "the most popular [chair] of the mid-nineteenth century form," derived from English prototypes of the 1830's and 1840's. Balloon-back chairs exemplified the "rage for very light and fancifully carved chairs for drawing rooms" referred to by trend-setter A.J. Downing.
U-8. a-b. Four Restauration-style armchairs with open arms andupholstered backs, possibly New York, c. 1830-1845. These chairs arenot in the Hampton Collection at this time., but they can be clearly seenin Fig. 35 (sideview), Fig. 36 and in the background of Fig. 19.
While these chairs no longer remain in the Hampton collection, they are well documented in photographs. Furthermore, slipcovers for the back and the seat survive, giving us measurements for the chairs. (Fig. 37) The four chairs are in the style of the French Restauration, with arms and legs similar to those on an armchair made for New York merchant Luman Reed about 1832. (Fig. 38) Reed's New York armchair was, in turn, based on plate 667 of Pierre La M‚sangŠre's 1829 installment of Collection des Meubles et Objets de G“ut. The chair was identified as a "Fauteuil de Salon," and integrated both French and Egyptian precedents into its designs.
Perhaps the French style armchairs are four of the six chairs which John Ridgely purchased in November, 1841 along with a music stand from Baltimore furniture dealer [Ellion?] Cohen.
Recommendation: Photographs of these chairs should be circulated to Ridgely family members in the hope of locating them for acquisition. If they are found but are not available, perhaps they could be reproduced. Given the excellent photographic record of these chairs as well as the existence of the original slipcovers, it is also possible that these chairs could be reproduced without the actual chair as a model. Considering the prominence of these chairs in all the 19th century photographs, obtaining these chairs is considered to be of the highest priority for the implementation of this plan.
U-9. Black painted fancy chair, Baltimore, c. 1800-1810, HAMP 3921,Fig. 39.
This chair is a part of a set of Neo-classical style armchairs, decorated in Baltimore for Charles Carnan Ridgely. The rectangular frieze on the crest rail bears an octagonal reserve with a painting of a rustic architectural ruin in a landscape. The chair has been extensively repaired and will need to be painted before exhibition. It is the mate to the "Hampton" chair, ornamented with a the earliest known image of Hampton, recently discovered under a layer of late 19th century upholstery.
This chair, seen slipcovered in Fig. 13, sat next to the oval rococo sofa on the east wall, to the left of the door to the hall. It can also be seen reflected in the large pier mirror in Fig. 27.
Recommendation: The chair (HAMP3921) has been extensively repaired, with some original elements replaced. It will need to be painted and restored before it can be displayed. Given the fragile condition and historical nature of its mate, HAMP 963, it was decided to use the less important chair in the Music Room.
U-10. Elizabethan Revival style child's chair. This chair is no longer inthe Hampton collection. It can barely be seen to the left of the table inFig. 13. A far better view is a 1928 photograph of a bedroom atHomewood, at which time these chairs were on loan (Fig. 40), and atthe rear of Fig. 73.
The Elizabethan style was particularly popular for children's chairs, perhaps because of their delicacy and relatively diminutive proportions. A chair such as this one could well have been moved from room to room as needed, and would certainly have been moved about within the Music Room.
Recommendation: Photographs of this chair should be circulated among Ridgely descendants in hopes of locating the chair for acquisition. If the chair is not found, a similar one could be purchased for the house. As of April, 1994, chairs of this type can be purchased for approximately $ 400.
U-11.a-c. Three ottomans. None of these survive in the Hamptoncollections, but they were photographed in the Music Room, twoflanking the chimney breast and the third, a window seat under thesoutheast windows. Fig. 41 and Fig. 27.
Writing in the 1950's Frances Lichten gave a brief history of the ottoman in American houses:
"While the name `ottoman' still persists in the nomenclature of furniture, it is used at present to describe an oversized footstool. In the 1830's an "ottoman" (the Turkish origin of which is obvious) was a low cushioned seat for three or four persons, placed in a recess... All during the romantic literary movement -roughly speaking from 1820 to 1850 - the ottoman stayed in high fashion, but examples could still be found even in the 1870's and 1880's."
In the photographs of the Music Room the ottomans are covered by slipcovers so they can not be seen in any detail, but they appear to have been simple box shaped forms, probably upholstered all-over. Three entries in Eliza Ridgely's Account Book in 1840 and 1841 document the purchase of two footstools, two ottomans, and cloth for ottomans. The $ 19 paid [A. and H.?] Jenkins for ottomans is enough to be the seats seen in the photographs. The source of the third is not known, although a window seat purchased in 1845 for $ 49 could be a candidate.
According to Gail Caskey Winkler, ottomans in sitting rooms in the nineteenth century often were fitted with a lid, so that the seats could be used as storage.
Recommendation: The approximate measurements of these ottomans can be determined from the photographs. 2 14" square box-like upholstered ottomans should be made and one rectangular ottoman, 14" W x 48" L. They should be upholstered with the fabric chosen for the other upholstered furniture in the room, and, during the summer months, should be covered with slipcovers. Being relatively light weight, these ottomans could be moved around the room as needed. During a musical performance, for example, they might have been moved closer to the southeast corner where the instruments were congregated.
FIXED UPHOLSTERY RECOMMENDATIONS
"The textile furnishings of the parlor operated in two ways. They contributed to the room's cultural facade through historical revival styles and offered an analogy to popular understanding of civilization's action on human character. In the alter instance, upholstery operated by influencing the sensory character of the parlor, affecting vision and tactile sensation in particular. Textile furnishings softened the world of sensation. They obliterated the edges of hard furniture surfaces and mediated, through structural padding, the contact of the body with seats. Heavy door and window curtains muffled sound, literally softened light, and enhanced domestic quiet. Thus textiles could serve as a metaphor for the softening benefits of civility, which was evidence of the progress of civilization."
Two facts need to be taken into consideration when trying to determine the appropriate fabric(s) to be used on the upholstered furniture in the Music Room. First, the Ridgelys updated their upholstery fabrics on a constant basis. Second, the photographic record, as useful as it is in determining the furnishings for the room, sheds little light on this issue, since most of the nineteenth century photographs were taken during the summer when slipcovers hid the fixed upholstry below. The only photograph of the Music Room that shows the furniture with its fixed upholstery may have been taken somewhat later than the other group with slipcovers. (Fig. 19) In that photograph the pattern of the fabric on the 3-part sofa, the slipper chair and the French Restauration style chairs appears to be a damask, in a light color. Of note is that a small fragment of yellow silk damask has been retrieved from the small balloon-back chair (HAMP 8527; Fig 34)
Family papers include numerous references to fabrics being purchased for the Music Room, but in general it seems most appropriate to chose an upholstery fabric which best suits the period of the furniture, i.e late Classical and Rococo revival. Further examination of minute fibers of fabric fragments that remain on these upholstered pieces will serve as evidence of the earliest upholstery fabrics.
It has been suggested that the 1874 Robert Renwick bill for materials and labor for redoing the Music Room be used as a guide for reupholstering the seating furniture. This bill records the purchase of "80 yds Blk ground Satine" at $ 1.25 a yard. Included in this bill were the making and trimming of "3 Sofas with Arm Chairs in end; 8 Arm chairs; 3 Stuff Back chairs, 3 Ottomans, 2 seats, 2 stools and 2 Pillows," as well as making 3 valances. But no trace of black threads has survived on any of the Music Room furniture, nor are there any black-ground printed cotton fabrics in the Hampton collection [satine having been defined in an 1892 draper's dictionary as a "Printed calico finished with a high gloss or luster."].
What does survive are a number of threads which point to a color scheme of yellow and red. According to furniture conservator, Mark Anderson, the four rococo side chairs (HAMP 2941-2944; Fig. 29) were at one point reupholstered in a red silk, with the tufting pattern which can be seen in 1908 photograph showing these chairs in the drawing room (Fig. 31). This photograph also shows tufting on the seat, but there is no way to know at this point if the seat would have been tufted at the time the chairs were made. Anderson believes that the chairs were thoroughly gone over when the backs were cut down, at which point virtually all tacks were removed, and glue consolidation was carried out where tacks removed. Considering this massive overhaul, Anderson was fortunate to find on the edge of one of the internal back frames a single tack head, on which tack head he could see what he felt to be a thread of greenish silk with a joined extrusion in silk indicating a less processed silk, i.e. two strands of silk fiber melted together.
Anderson also examined closely fiber samples from the three part sofa (HAMP 1064; Fig. 18). Fragments of several fabrics were removed from the sofa, but he found no consistent pattern in terms of what came first. In addition to a fragment of chintz, lightly tacked, removed down from the rear of sofa, Anderson found samples of four different silk threads: yellow, blue and two kinds of red. The yellow silk thread he later realized was visually identical to what had been thought to have been green on the side chairs. He now feels strongly that the same yellow silk fabric was at one point on both the side chairs and the sofa. Perhaps the yellow silk Anderson found is the fabric which can be seen on the sofa and the slipper chair in Fig. 19. It is Anderson's impression that the red upholstery is what is on the chairs in the drawing room photograph (Fig. 31).
Recommendation: According to Mark Anderson, the most thorough way to determine the original upholstery on the furniture in the Music Room would be to systematically remove all the existing upholstery from the Music Room furniture and examine each piece individually. Until this examination is conducted it will not be possible to say with certainty which fabric should be chosen for the upholstery. Throughout this report suggestions will be made about types of fabrics and a general color scheme that would be appropriate. Mark Anderson's findings of yellow and red silk having been used on the seating furniture in the nineteenth century corroborates the recommendations proposed in the section on window treatments (see p.), but there is more to be learned about how these colors were applied to all of the upholstered furniture in the room. A thorough and scientific approach to solving this problem would be very useful in deciding exactly which materials to use.
B. Slipcovers
Among the activities that accompanied the arrival of summer in the nineteenth
century household was the dressing of the upholstered furniture in light-weight slipcovers (see Appendix D for more on seasonal changes at Hampton). Slipcovers served the function of protecting the expensive winter fabrics from fading as well as adding the cool comfort of chintz, dimity or another cotton fabric to an otherwise hot chair or sofa. Compared to modern fitted slipcovering, early cases were usually loose fitted and tied with only a few fasteners.
During the second-half of the nineteenth century, slipcovers for chairs and sofas often extended almost to the floor. (Fig. 42) The Music Room slipcovers were similarly elongated as can be seen in Fig. 13 (showing the oval back sofa and the small balloon-back chair); Fig. 22 (showing the same oval sofa and the 3-part sofa with armchair ends); Fig. 27 (showing one of the lounges with matching pillow and the rectangular ottoman in the window recess); Fig. 36 (showing the French Restauration chairs with the bottom slipcovers only); Fig. 41 (showing the two square ottomans on either side of the fireplace); and Fig. 43 (a view towards the fireplace showing the French Restauration chairs with both top and bottom upholstery).
The fabric of the slipcovers is cotton with an all-over floral design of roses, daisies and hydrangea in red, white and green with green leaves and brown branches, all on a beige background. Fortunately two sets of these slipcovers have survived in in good condition in the Hampton collection (HAMP 5881 a-b, Fig. 44; HAMP 5882 a-b, Fig. 45). Made for one of the French style armchairs and for the missing oval-back rococo sofa, these documents are a remarkable and important survival. Combined with the photographic evidence, it will be possible to reproduce these slipcovers for use during the summertime, facilitating one of the setting changes as proposed in Appendix D, p. .
Recommendation: In discussion with three of the major fabric houses (Brunschwig & Fils, Scalamandr‚, and Schumacher), it appears that it would be practical to reproduce this cotton printed fabric. Proposals have been received from all three companies, although additional investigation will need to take place before a firm price can be established. It is possible that one or more of these companies would be interested in making this fabric commercially available, a possibility that would reduce the cost the Hampton. Further research and planning should take place as soon as possible in order to put this reproduction fabric into production.
C. Cushions
"As Victorian exuberance doted on curves, it is to be expected that this luxuriating in rounded forms would not be restricted to furniture, but would be manifested elsewhere, wherever possible. Cushions - today quite unimportant decorative features - reached their ornamental apotheosis in mid-Victorian days and were conceived in shapes and types which are no longer regarded either as desirable or as possessing any elements of beauty. Fancy ran riot on these accessories to comfort."
Accompanying the increasing interest in comfort in seating, cushions were to be found in abundance in mid-nineteenth century sitting rooms, but the only photographic evidence of pillows in the Music Room can be seen in Fig. 27, where a single pillow on the Grecian lounge is pictured. On the other hand, this photograph and most of the other 1880's views of the Music Room show the room as it appeared during the summertime when some of the pillows might have been put away rather than provide slip covers for them to match the slip covers for the upholstered furniture. In any case, as the above quotation suggests, pillows were used in abundance during the nineteenth century and would no doubt have been found in similar quantity in the Music Room.
Recommendation: Two to four pillows should be made for each of the lounges in the Music Room, and additional pillows on the other sofas in the room could be added as photographic evidence becomes available. For example, in one early photograph (Fig. 28), it appears that a narrow pillow was used to pad the back of one of the Restauration chairs. An examination of illustrations of period upholstery practice will offer information about kinds and quantities of pillows as well.
II. Other Soft Furnishings
A. Window Treatments
For several generations, the well-dressed window wore as many draperies as did the ladies themselves. As the early Victorians were blissfully unconscious of the baleful effect of germs and dust, they indulged themselves in all the fabrics their well-filled purses could afford, and keep out - as a matter of principle- as much health-giving sunlight as the rich stuffs would exclude. In the houses of the well-to-do, windows were literally coated with layers of curtains. Those of Brussels lace displayed, as if price-ticketed, their value to the envious passer-by. ... Over these went swathings and loopings of fine fabrics, crossing and smothering each other. These draperies were voluminous, lined affairs of silk or worsted damask, figured satins or merion cloth, hung with large rings from heavy - sometimes grotesquely heavy - brass curtain rods. The latter also supported decoratively shaped valances, be-fringed and be-corded. Elaborate gilt cornices and florid metal tie-backs topped off these Niagaras of textiles."
While not generously characterized in the above quotation, each portion of the elaborate Victorian drapery arrangement did make its own special contribution, motivated by a variety of goals: 1. practical considerations, i.e. to regulate the heat, cold and light (protecting the interior upholstery), and to muffle sound; 2. aesthetic concerns, i.e. for the framing effect for windows and doorways, the balance and quality of light and darkness; 3. respectability, i.e. limiting the possibility of people outside being able to see in.
Generally there were four basic elements of window treatment: shades or blinds; underdraperies of muslin, lawn, scrim, net or lace; valances or lambrequins nailed to a cornice or hung from a pole; and overdraperies or side panels (which could be closed or not). Hardware accompanying these four elements included metal or wooden cornices, curtain rods, curtain rings, and tie backs or metal curtain bands that held back drapery.
Among the individual decorative elements for Hamton's Music Room that survive in the collection or can be documented through nineteenth century photographs are shades, lace curtains (Fig. 27) and wooden cornices (Fig. 71) and tie backs (Fig. 27).
1. Draperies
"Parlor draperies in particular represented a large investment in households of the 1850's... The fabrics most frequently cited in this kind of advice were invariably expensive - silk and wool damasks, the earlier form of "brocatelle," brocades, and the most modest of the group, "satin-de-laine," wool woven to have a satin finish. Wealthy consumers sometimes spent astonishing sums of money on ostentatious window drapery. The yellow-and-white silk drawing room curtains created in 1856 for Samuel Colt's house Armsmear, similar in design and ornamentation to those hung in the drawing room of the Morse-Libby mansion, cost $568 for two windows, a sum equal to a year's wages for many skilled workers. Such expenditures were atypical, but they are indicative of the kind of resources wealthy families poured into creating opulent facades for their social lives."
Although none of the draperies for the Music Room appear to have survived, common practice among the wealthy of the time, our knowledge of the Ridgelys and the survival of a pair of portiŠres (HAMP 6109, HAMP 8343; Fig. 46) from the room all lead to the conclusion that the windows would have been draped by expensive curtains during the winter. Rich fabrics commonly used in the period included silk and satin brocade, silk and wool damask, and velvet. These heavy draperies would have been removed in the summer, allowing cooling breezes to enter the room. Of interest is the fact that Helen West Ridgely's diary records this seasonal activity taking place well into the 1900's.
Nineteenth century paintings, prints and photographs offer documentation for the way that the draperies at Hampton would probably have been hung. The majority of pictorial evidence points to a simple gathering of fabric upon a rod, with approximately two times the amount of fabric as the width of the window. The draperies with lace curtains behind them were held back by tassels, curtain bands, or, in the case of Hampton, with wooden tie backs shaped like stag's heads. (Fig. 47) In other instances the lace curtains were kept across the windows at all times, with the outer drapery being pulled back and rarely shut. (Fig. 48)
Writers of the 1850's and 1860's recommended that curtain and upholstery materials should be appropriate to the furniture in the room, not to the period of the house. Considering the abundance of Rococo Revival furniture in the Music Room, fabric from the period 1845 to 1865 would be a fitting choice for both the window hangings and for the fixed upholstery throughout the room.
During the mid-nineteenth century the concept of color harmony was advocated by critics. These theories suggested that "when furnishing public rooms such as parlors and dining rooms; the walls, upholstery, floor and window coverings each provided an area of correctly contrasting color in the room." According to the architect Samuel Sloan, "a good contrast is more pleasing than sameness, even though the material be rich."
Just what was the correct contrast was not universally accepted, however. A number of treatises were published in the 1860's and 1870's which described each author's view of harmonious contrasts. For the Music Room at Hampton, given that there is little, if any, documentation of the color scheme for the room in the mid-nineteenth century, it would seem advisable to follow the suggestion offered in an 1862 article in Godey's Lady's Book:
"The paper, the curtains, the sofa, and the tablecover, etc. should not `fight,' but harmonize or contrast... There must be no contrast, of course, in a library or picture gallery."
Given the abundance of paintings hanging in the Music Room, providing a wealth of color and texture to the room, the option of harmonious contrast seems appropriate. This would be choosing one or two basic colors and using a blend of tones within this color range.
All surviving evidence for colors used in the Music Room point to a combination of yellow, gold and crimson as the predominant hues used in the 1850's and 1860's. The most important document is a pair of portiŠres for the Music Room doors in crimson striated silk velvet, with gold and crimson tape (see p. 63).
There is every reason to believe that the fabric of the portiŠres and window curtains could have been the same. This exquisite fabric would have been expensive in the period, making a statement about the wealth and tastefulness of the homeowners. Imported from England or France, the curtains may have fit the description of a single window curtain found in the Ridgely papers: "Furniture to One Window as 2 Curtains of Superfine crimson cloth bordered 2 sides and bottoms with rich Silk Border, and a handsome deep Bullion Fringe," at a cost of œ 17.50.
Recommendation: Given the importance of the surviving Music Room portiŠres, every effort should be made to reproduce this fabric in sufficient quantity to be used on all three windows and the two doors. Proposals have been received from two fabric houses for reproducing the velvet in something other than silk but with the same richness in quality. Further negotiations should continue in order to move ahead on this project. If reproducing this fabric is prohibitively expensive, an alternative would be to use a commercially available striated silk velvet, but none of those which have been examined to date can compare to the textile document in Hampton's collection. In either case, the velvet should be lined to prevent fading.
2. Valances
"Lambrequins are now almost universally used, and, when gracefully draped over curtains of the same or corresponding material, increase the beauty of the effect."
Given the practice of the day, there is little doubt that the Ridgelys chose to hang valances under the gilt wooden cornices as a heading for the drapery. The exact shape of the valance is unknown, yet, as one modern historian has written,:
"The shapes of lambrequins varied with the styles currently in vogue, but the construction was the same: a decoratively-shaped piece of fabric - usually stiffened with buckram, paper, or even wood- and lined with glazed brown chintz or holland that was nailed to the window frame. Underneath, a rod supported sheer white cotton curtains or, after about 1845, curtains made of machine-made lace."
A number of different valance shapes from the period 1855-1870 are pictured in Fig. 48. In point of fact, the terms valance and lambrequin seem to have been occasionally interchanged, but, correctly speaking, a lambrequin is a flat valance with scalloped edge flowing down the side. An all-fabric valance was looser, usually hung in swags or in loose straight gathers. If this style of valance were used, it may have been in the form of a pair of deep swags, such as can be soon in HAMP 10583, a-c (Fig.50). The long swags measure 78" by 34" with the central festoon being 37" L by 45" W. Hung, this arrangement would likely resemble the window hangings seen in Fig. 51. In this view of a parlor in the Rococo Revival style in New Orleans, the draperies extend to the floor, but the swags in Hampton's collection would have overhung simple gathered draperies panels, such as were hung at the Morse-Libby Mansion in Portland, Maine.(Fig. 52)
Recommendations: The design for the draperies and valances should be linked, following the design of fabric document HAMP 10583, a festoon and two swags overhanging a simple gathered drape that hangs to the floor. This style of drapery was a popular one, and in the absence of any more specific documentation, can be seen as typical of the period.
3. Lace curtains
The first documentation for Music Room curtains is provided in Eliza Ridgely's household account book. In an entry dated March 8, 1851, Eliza records the purchase of 39 yards Lace Nett for Music Room curtains $ 19.00.
This apparently specifies the material used for new, sheer, inner curtains to be made up and hung in advance of the coming warm summer months. Perhaps it is these sheer curtains which are visible in the 1880's photograph of the pier mirror and south wall (Fig. 27). In this photograph, the netting appears to also drape the pier mirror, a common practice to protect the looking glass from fly specks. Several nineteenth century exterior views of Hampton also reveal white lace curtains parted in the breeze behind open windows.(Fig. 54)
Frank and Marian Stockton wrote of the appeal of lace curtains in the nineteenth century:
"Lace is the most beautiful, graceful, airy, and light of all curtain material, and looks equally well with the matting, and chintz covered furniture of summer, and with the warm colored carpets, and heavy furnishing of winter. Real lace can be bought now of fine quality and handsome styles, from eighteen to twenty-five dollars a yard, although there are certain styles that sell at "fancy" prices. It is not as much used now as formerly, even among the wealthy, because the Nottingham laces of the present day are so fine, soft, and fleecy that it is difficult to tell them from the real laces, and the designs on them are generally much more elaborate and beautiful."
The Nottingham laces they referred to were the machine woven curtains that became available in the mid-nineteenth century, bringing the purchase of lace within the reach of ordinary people in the United States. According to an article in The Household in 1881, in 1800 a square yard of plain net was worth $ 5; the price constantly fell with the introduction of the machine lace looms until in 1862 it was 6 cents. Eliza Ridgely spent about 50 cents a yard for her lace, suggesting that hers was a better quality than "plain net."
As mentioned earlier, lace curtains could be kept closed at all times (Fig. 48) or could be parted and tied back with the draperies by metal, fabric or wooden tie-backs. (Fig. 47) Some were particularly diaphanous (Fig. 55), others were quite opaque due to an abundance of pattern.(Fig. 56) With either treatment the lace complimented the heavier draperies, offering a subtle pattern and contrast.
Using looms that were built in the nineteenth century, English and Scottish lace makers continue to weave lace curtains in the same variety of patterns that were available then. Several possible patterns have already been identified, and discussion about lace curtains for the Music Room with three major fabric houses continues.
Recommendation: Using the Music Room photographs as a guide, an historically accurate and commercially available lace should be chosen for the Music Room. Several possible patterns have already been identified and are included in Samples section. No appropriate document fabric remains in the Hampton collection. Enough netting should be purchased to be able to cover the pier glass during the summertime, a practice documented in nineteenth century photographs.
4. Window Shades
"If it was felt that the exterior of a house was a little severe, or that the interior could stand a bit more refurbishing, window shades painted with flower or landscapes were added. As early as 1827, painted blinds were in high favor. Decorated in full color, such translucent blinds were frequently hung in parlors or on staircase windows of town houses, in which positions they were considered to `awaken a sentiment of nature in the midst of brick walls.'" (Fig. 56)
Roller shades were used in the Music Room, probably by the 1850's. One of these shades is visible in the Music Room photograph of the south wall c. 1885. (Fig. 27). This view of the pier glass shows a roller shade with a painted scene of figures in a landscape. At the bottom of the vignette is a "trophy" of, appropriately, musical instruments. Evidently the shade fit outside the frame, and could be used with open shutters to control light levels, but still allow some air circulation. This style of window blind was typical for the mid-nineteenth century when "Landscapes with appropriately sublime or bucolic subject matter - mountains and lakes, lightning-blasted trees, rushing streams, or rural vistas - were popular subjects of painted shades."
Which shades these are cannot be documented with certainty because the family purchased window shades throughout the second half of the nineteenth century. Eliza Ridgely's account book records an 1849 purchase of "7 Gothic blinds & 3 green do $ 16.87 1/2." The most promising document is a bill rendered between the Philadelphia shade maker and importer W. Henry Patten and a Baltimore merchant, S.G. Turnbull, with whom the Ridgely's evidently placed their order. Patten advertised "Church, Store and other large shades painted to order, in superior style" on his billhead.
Stylistically, the figural and landscape elements seen in the shade closely parallel wallpaper and landscape painting designs at this time. The purchase also coincides with a second wave of purchases for the Music Room. It was in 1858, for instance, that John Ridgely received a price list for painted floorcloths from Smith and Baber of Knightsbridge, London, England. The family purchased an additional sixteen shades of various descriptions and costs between 1878 and 1881.
While a number of the Hampton shades survive in the collection (see, for example, Fig.30), the shades for the Music Room are no longer at the house. They are currently in a private collection.
Recommendation: The Music Room shades visible in the photograph (Fig. 27) survive in a private collection. They should be copied and hung in the room.
B. PortiŠres
"Draperies, if they are very beautiful, are more favourably displayed when facing the light (as in the case of portieres) than at the windows, where they are liable to fade, and the light shining through them hides there beauty. Draught more often enters from doorways than by the windows; and in summer doors are often unhung for the sake of coolness and additional space, and the portieres are comfortable to use on chilly days."
A rod for hanging a portiŠre is visible in several of the Music Room photographs (see, for example, Fig. 19), but as these views were taken in the summer, the door coverings are not shown. The rod may be HAMP 977, of wood in an iron sheath, which probably had a gilt or bronze finish. The rod has pulleys which enables a curtain to be drawn from one side. The decorative brass curtain rod ends, visible in the photographs, are apparently no longer in the Hampton collection.
The hardware that survives corroborates the instruction from Isabella Beeton in 1865, describing the hanging of portiŠres:
"When a curtain is hung across a door, chiefly for the purpose of excluding any draught, it is generally attached to brass rings which are passed over a rod of similar material and no great diameter, that rests on brackets screwed to the most prominent part of the mouldings on either side of the door."(Fig. 58)
Helen Ridgely provided some documentation for bed, window, and door hangings at Hampton, when she noted the cheering effects of "the old-fashioned curtains, so brilliant in design, which hang at the windows, doors, and around the four poster beds."
While the assumption today is that portiŠres were generally hung to keep out the draughts, in fact the advantage of portiŠres was more often
"discussed in terms of their visual qualities rather than their contribution to greater physical warmth. `The PortiŠre is preferred to any door at all, and it is certainly very graceful,' an untitled note in The Decorator and Furnisher stated in 1883. `It may be elegantly embroidered so as to be really a work of art, or it may be of simple curtain material, owing its beauty to its appropriate coloring and the soft folds in which it falls.' Articles on door curtains made this aesthetic preference clear well into the twentieth century, as when the author of `PortiŠres for the Country House,' published in Country Life in America in January 1906, declared, `Doors are ugly things at best; draperies possess lines of beauty... most doorways are greatly improved by their use.'"
The fabric document that survives for the Music Room in the form of two portiŠres provides evidence for the statement made by K.C. Grier: "the largest, most impressive expanses of heavy drapery in ordinary parlors were the door curtains or portieres." She cites a Lord and Taylor catalogue of 1881 which lists the assortment of fabrics recommended for doorway draperies, including raw silks, tapestries of worsted wool and silk, damask woven wool and jute fabrics, terries (reps), momie cloth (a linen and cotton fabric with puckered surface), and flannels for making both window and door draperies. Because almost all portiŠres were flat pieces of fabric caught with drapery pins and rings at the top, they were not difficult to sew or hang."
Recommendation: The portiŠres should be rehung in the Music Room using fabric reproduced from the existing fabric documents HAMP 6109 and 8343. They should be hung on reproduction curtain rods with brass finials, following the visual guide of photograph HAMP 3497 B (Fig. 19), 3498 B and 21960 (Fig. 43) Window curtains in the same fabric should also be made and hung. The original fabric document should be carefully stored.
C. Other textiles
The remaining textiles found in the Music Room in the nineteenth century would have been covers for other furniture forms, as was typical at that time when any and every available surface may have been covered. As the windows were draped with any number of layers of fabric, so too did the non-seating furniture in the room become submerged under a fringed covering. As one writer put it,
"It is curious that at a time when furniture was made from such good quality wood it was considered essential to cover all tables in sitting-rooms with heavy cloths which hung in luxuriant folds to the carpet. A leg, it seems, was something to be concealed, whether constructed of wood, or of flesh and bone."
Two of these additional locations for textiles can be seen in the photographs of c. 1885: the cover on the marble top table pushed to the side and seen against the north wall in Fig. 13 and reflected in the mirror in Fig. 19; and the circular scalloped table cover on the small candlestand to the left of the door to the West Hyphen, which can be seen in Fig. 41 and Fig. 43. The third likely location for a cover would have been the piano, not visible in any of the late nineteenth century photographs. Tables and pianos supplied two other locations for the display of fabric and embroidery skill.
1.CENTER TABLE CLOTH
Called "parlor tombstones" by Ella Rodman Church, marble top tables were often the recipient of handsome textile covers, made of a variety of materials.
Isabella Beeton observed that:
"The commonest, but by no means the ugliest kind, of table cloth, is the cotton ingrain red and blue Turkey check. These range in size from 45 in. by 45 in. to 90 in. by 72 in.... Velvet pile table covers printed in rich colours and elegant designs, suitable to all kinds of prevailing tones in the furniture of a room can be bought from 25s to 57s 6d. and French tapestry table covers in floral designs, medallions, &c., at prices varying from œ1 1s., to œ 21. These tapestry table covers are all 6 ft square but the sizes of the velvet pile table range in accordance with those of the fine cloths more simply embroidered in gold silk [63 in. by 63 in. to 108 in. by 72 in. and 90 in. by 90 in." (Fig. 59)
The custom of draping tables was not new to the nineteenth century; in fact, many portraits from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries featured tables draped with "Turkey work" carpets, displayed as a symbol of wealth. And, according to K.C. Grier, "Tables draped with "Turkey work" carpets in portraits from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries displayed wealth. In the Christian context, draped tables also were related to iconography of the last supper, representing here the ceremony as well as the unity of religious belief."
Furthermore a table cover had the advantage of covering any flaws in the table top, and by its volume and elaborateness it would emphasize the importance of the table. In the case of a hand-worked table cloth, the skill and domestic orientation of the lady of the house would also be highlighted.
Recommendation: The pattern of the center table cover in the Music Room is quite clearly visible in Fig. 13. An effort should be made to purchase a similar cover since there is no appropriate textile in the Hampton collection at this time. The approximate size of the cover should be approximately 55" x 50." A reproduction cover would perhaps be preferable in that a number of objects would be placed upon it according to this plan.
2.CANDLESTAND COVERS (2)
These candlestands may have only been covered during the summertime when dust was likely to blow through the open windows. In the nineteenth century photographs one can see that the cover is of the same material as that used to slipcover the furniture in the room. The cover is circular with a 6 or 8" scalloped skirt. The candlestand on the left of the fireplace would undoubtedly have been fitted with the same cover.
Recommendation: When the slipcovers are made for the upholstered furniture in the Music Room, a pair of covers for these two tables should be made at the same time. The pattern for the covers can be determined from examining the photographs (Fig. 41, 43).
3. PIANO COVER
Many photographs from the late nineteenth century show piano covers, including one of the interior of Colonel Custer's Quarters where an Indian blanket lies across the piano. More typically, however, the same fabrics that appeared on tables in the nineteenth century could also be found on pianos (see Fig. 12). As one critic suggested,
"When, as is customary for the accommodation of singers, the upright piano is turned to face the room, a square, flat hanging, of a size to cover the fluted silk at the back, may be made of Turk satin, sateen, serge, plush or linen, and embroidered, the ends fringed or trimmed with antique lace."
Eliza Ridgely's account book includes a reference to payment for a piano cover in January, 1843, one of many probably owned by the Ridgelys over the years.
Currently the red velvet cover which drapes the piano in the Music Room is on long term loan to Hampton (HAMP 4812). The cloth did not belong to the Ridgelys.
Recommendation: A reproduction cover would be appropriate for use in the Music Room, based on a documented example. The location of the piano on the east wall near the southeast window would definitely result in the consumptive use of a textile on the piano. Research should be conducted to locate a well-documented piano cover to copy.
4. ANTIMACASSARS
While not visible in any of the Music Room photographs from the late nineteenth century, it is likely that a profusion of antimacassars would have been used to protect the fixed upholstery during the winter, a function which was assumed by the slipcovers during the summertime. (Fig. 60) Once the upholstery is applied to the furniture, the Hampton collection should be searched for appropriate pieces of lace or embroidered cloth which could be used in the Music Room.
III. Floor Coverings
The Music Room floor has for years been covered with a large remnant from the Great Hall carpet, cut down in the 1920's. (Fig. 31) In the period 1850-1890, however, the Music Room floor was covered with a succession of carpet treatments. The Ridgelys replaced floor coverings regularly with each generation and each change of master. In fact, in twenty-five years of the thirty-two years between 1838 to 1870, the Ridgely papers record purchases of carpets, floorcloths, and matting.
The late nineteenth-century photographs which have elsewhere been so helpful in identifying Music Room furnishings are not as useful for this search, since foreshortened patterns seen through the distortion of the camera are less easy to identify in terms of material. Are we seeing woven carpet, painted floor cloth, matting or drugget? Also, the photographs of the Music Room, except in the case of Fig. 19, show the Music room in summer "undress," so what may look like a Brussels carpet may instead be a floor cloth. Typically in the grander houses, the floor, like the windows, was covered by a succession of layers, a practice that we can assume was followed at Hampton.
The following sections on floor treatments in the Music Room will combine documented information with our knowledge of standard practices within the period in order to make substantive recommendations concerning this portion of the furnishing plan.
A. BRUSSELS CARPET
"A small parlor should be carpeted, for even if used as a music-room, the piano and other instruments will be quite loud enough for the small room, in spite of carpets and curtains; and nothing is more disagreeable than an instrument too loud for the room, which produces an uncomfortable vibration and sense of confusion."
European luxury carpets of the mid to late nineteenth century appear to be one medium for which there are few remaining complete examples in the Hampton collection, yet there is no doubt whatsoever that there were originally handsome carpets for all of the major rooms at Hampton. In Charles Ridgely's inventory of 1872, the contents of the cellar included a large quantity of expensive carpets rolled up and stored downstairs during the summer, following the practice that
"In the spring, carpets should be taken up, well shaken and beaten, (but not banged), the dust should be beaten out of the linings, the latter rolled around the carpets, and the whole sewed up in coarse linen, and put away in a dry place until the autumn."
The woven carpets at Hampton were probably well used and then replaced. It is also worth noting one environmental factor that probably had an impact on the Music Room carpet: it may have received more traffic and wear than others in the house since it was a family sitting room, used for informal leisure-time activities, and because it was a through way, unlike any other first floor room, providing the only access to the West Hyphen and the Office.
Whatever kind of carpet was used in the Music Room when Charles Ridgely died, it was certainly expensive. In fact, at $ 200, it was valued at $ 80 more than the comparable size velvet-warp-printed Wilton laid in the Drawing Room. Could this have been the Axminster carpet for which John Ridgely paid A. J. Stewart and Co. $261.87 on 11/4/1857? Axminster carpets were described in 1865 as being
"now made at Wilton and Kidderminster, the manufacture being wholly removed from the town from which they took their name: they are an English imitation of Turkey carpeting, and are almost as expensive. They differ from Brussels - in which the yarn is disposed in short loops - in having a long rough shaggy pile as Turkey carpets have."
Until between 1866 and 1867, Axminster carpets were produced entirely by hand, in the same manner they had been produced since 1755, a process which put these carpets far out of the reach of most Americans.
The most important visual document for the discussion of the Music Room carpet is the photograph illustrated in Fig. 13, and blown up in Fig. 61. The pattern is clearly diamond shaped with light lines outlining the diamonds. Some have speculated that we are looking at a painted floor cloth, since this picture was taken during the summer months, but if it is a floor cloth it may well have been painted to imitate the carpeting normally on the floor in the winter. For example, Christopher Gilbert has suggested that the design "may well imitate the pattern of a woven Scottish carpet."
Perhaps the floor cloth, if that is what we are seeing, is an imitation of a Brussels carpet, such as the one illustrated A.D. Shattuck's portrait of his mother and other members of his family, painted in 1865. The diamond pattern of the carpet is red, blue and grayish-green. (Fig. 62) Brussels carpets, woven carpets with a looped pile, were slightly less expensive than Axminster, and the choice for many of the finest American interiors being
"best suited for reception and sitting-rooms in ordinary houses, being strong and heavy, and fitted to endure much wear and tear before showing signs of growing shabby... Brussels carpets are made of yarns that are dyed before they are woven into the material, and the pattern is formed in weaving."
Given the paucity of information about the Music Room carpet, choosing a carpet with a diamond pattern seems to be a reasonable choice. Carpets featuring a diamond design were relatively common in the mid-nineteenth century, and the design of this floor covering (if not the precise material) is known to have been used at Hampton. Furthermore, as can be seen in the color photograph of the Shattuck painting, this design would be practical, as well. As one nineteenth century critic wrote:
"Dark grounds, well covered with rich colors and tasteful designs, are much to be preferred to light or plain dark colors, in carpets for daily hard use. One scarcely perceives at first how easily a light-colored carpet is defaced, or, if not faded, how soon the color loses its freshness and looks old."
Recommendation: A diamond patterned Brussels carpet following the color scheme laid out in the Shattuck painting should be commissioned for Hampton. David Luckham, Carpet Consultant, Grosvenor-Woodward Carpet Mill, has already been consulted concerning this project and is willing to work on a design for this carpet when this project has been approved for development. At the time of placing the order, extra carpet should be purchased in case repairs are needed at a later date. Because of the expense of reproducing this carpet, visitors should not be allowed to walk over it, but should be confined to a narrow area near the east door. A protective floor covering should be used over the Brussels carpet in this area.
B. PAINTED FLOOR CLOTH
When Charles Ridgely died in 1872, the inventory of the Music Room included "about 90 Yds. Oil Cloth," a surprisingly large quantity given the size of the room, about 25' x 26.' Following the installation of the Samson Cariss pier glass and cornices (see p. 83 ff.), John Ridgely paid about $ 43 in duties and freight on floorcloths. Because duties were paid, it is evident that these floorcloths were imported, probably from England. A related bill from William Holland to John Ridgely in March-June 185[2-3?] probably records the identity of the Baltimore craftsman who laid Mr. Ridgely's imported floorcloths and mattings. According to Holland's bill, one oilcloth was removed and another replaced; he also laid forty and forty-two yards of matting, apparently in two separate rooms.
John Ridgely later requested a price list for floorcloths from the London manufacturers Smith and Baber of Knightsbridge in 1858. This date corresponds to a wave of improvements at Hampton, including the introduction of gas lighting in the house. There is, however, no evidence that the Ridgelys purchased any of Smith and Baber's goods at this time.
Available in plain colors and in a variety of decorative patterns, floor cloths were deemed appropriate for houses of all degrees of wealth. In some homes, floor cloths took the place of carpets; in others, such as Hampton, they offered a seasonal change and an underlayer for finer coverings. Best described as "a type of hard wearing painted canvas," painted floor cloths were used in America in the eighteenth century, some in imitation of Brussels carpeting.
The use of Brussels carpet-patterned floor cloth in America is particularly notable in the collection of the Melrose estate in Natchez, MS. There the Great Hall is furnished with its original floor cloth, purchased c. 1845, and decorated in imitation of a twelve-color Brussels carpet with c and s scrolls and flowers.(Fig. 63) Made in England, the cloths had been "imprinted with large wooden stencils, hung to dry, rolled, and shipped to Melrose where they were glued to the floor. During her sixty-five years at Melrose from 1910 to 1975, Ethel Kelly had preserved the cloths by having them varnished annually."
That floor cloths not only imitated luxurious carpets but were often found in the same room with the woven carpet is documented in a variety of sources. For example, floor cloths imitating Oriental carpets were listed in the 1827 records of the sale of the contents of the Grand Dining Room of Attingham Park. There on the floor were:
"A superb Turkey Carpet; A piece of Turkey-pattern Floor-Cloth undersideboard 8 1/2 yards by 2 yards wide; A Ditto under sideboard (end next hall);Two pieces Ditto, each side of fireplace; Four pieces of 32 inch wide Ditto inwindows."
The reproduction of the Brussels carpet in a painted floor cloth may be the best interpretation of what originally existed at Hampton in the Music Room. What we may be seeing in the nineteenth century photographs is the diamond-patterned floor cloth exposed during the summer months, the Brussels carpet of the same pattern being rolled up and stored in the cellar. The top layer is likely to have been matting which was laid upon the floor cloth to absorb dust and dirt.
Recommendation: A painted floor cloth in the diamond pattern as seen in Fig. 62 (the Shattuck painting) should be made to run wall-to-wall in the Music Room. During the winter months, it will be hidden under the Brussels carpet of the same pattern, but in the summer, when the Brussels carpet is rolled up, the floor cloth will be seen around the edges of the room. During spring cleaning time (see Settings, Appendix D), the floor cloth will be the only floor covering, perhaps with the Brussels carpet rolled up and ready to be moved to the cellar. A proposal for making a floor cloth has been received from David Luckham of Woodward--Grosvenor Carpet Mills, England.
C. MATTING
"It is not desirable to have carpets on the floor in summer. They get filled with dust, they add much to the warmth of a room, and if there is any taint in the air, the woolen carpet is apt to seize upon and hold it... Carpets, or something similar, will probably be used for all time in the winter season, not only for the warmth they actually impart, but for the feeling of cozy comfort that their very appearance suggests. But in summer we need something cooler, and that is not so retentive of dust and floating exhalations."
Numerous references to purchases of matting can be found in the Ridgely family papers, including 80 yards of straw matting purchased in 1841 and 60 yards in 1844. Matting was commonly used as a summer floor covering after the carpets were taken up, both in America and England, where they were popular from the Elizabethan age until the 1920's.
Nineteenth century matting available in this country was described in detail by Frank and Marian Stockton in 1873 in their advice manual, The Home: Where it Should be and What to Put in it:
"Matting is the most popular floor covering for summer. Serviceable Canton matting, of coarse texture, can be bought as low as thirty-five cents a yard, and a very good quality for fifty-five. These are a yard wide. Other widths are a yard and a quarter, and a yard and a half, with prices in proportion. The custom that many persons follow, of tacking the breadths of matting to the floor, spoils the floor and is destructive to the matting. Every tack driven in and pulled out breaks at least one straw. These Canton mattings are made on boats, and they are woven together in pieces two yards long. These short pieces are joined together on the shore into lengths of forty yards. Now, where these two-yard pieces are joined they should be sewed across and across, to keep the joints from opening... A good matting should last six or seven years."
Their comments about the longevity of matting is particularly noteworthy, as it explains the frequent purchase of quantities of straw matting for Hampton.
Observable in the photograph of the northeast corner of the Music Room (Fig. 13) is what appears to be a straw mat, woven in strips (36" wide or so), sewn together at noticeable seams, patterned with light-colored rectangles with a darker square in the center of each. The strips are attached so that the contrasting rectangles are staggered from strip to strip. The contrasting rectangles appear to be approximately 15-20 inches apart. The matting stops approximately two feet short of the north wall and, although it can not be seen, it probably stands away from the other walls as well, making the overall carpet approximately 21 x 22 feet.
Recommendation: A straw matting with the above described specifications should be commissioned. Inquiries have been made to commercial floor cover manufacturers concerning the feasibility of such a design. Mattings made of Japanese tatami, which is woven entirely of grass, and a product of grass with a cotton warp which closely resemble nineteenth century matting are available, but they are somewhat fragile. Jute carpeting is a possible alternative, resembling grass mats but better serving for high traffic areas. A decision about the fabric of the matting will depend on the amount of wear that will be given to the rug, a consideration that will rest upon the visitor traffic pattern as determined by the interpretive staff.
D. DRUGGET
Another kind of floor covering that was intended to protect a good carpet was what became known in the late eighteenth century as "drugget," a "coarse woollen fabric similar to felt, available in a range of colours which was employed both to save fine carpets from wear and sometimes as a substitute for carpets." The floor covering visible in Fig. 19 resembles some kind of felt-like material, as does the floor covering visible in Fig. 41 and in Fig. 43, where the cover appears to be rolled back upon itself in front of the fireplace. Neither the pattern nor the texture of this floor covering looks like the matting visible in Fig. 13.
Because the furniture in the photograph is draped in slipcovers, one can assume that this picture was taken in the summer, so how does one account for this pictorial discrepancy? We are not certain of the precise date of any of these photographs, nor can we document which were taken first. In the absence of this information, a decision should be made about whether to reproduce the matting or the drugget, since one or the other would have been used during the summer, not both.
Recommendation: If the purchase of matting for the Music Room floor during the summer months is not feasible, the possibility of purchasing a drugget should be pursued. Gail Caskey Winkler suggest using awning canvas to reproduce the look of nineteenth century drugget. Matting remains the first choice because of its durability.
IV. Other Furniture
A. TABLES:
F-1. Center Table (Fig. 64; HAMP 2274).
"The center table is the emblem of the family circle."
"Whatever may be said to the contrary by those who condemn center-tables, a goodly sized round table with a crimson cover on it, and on that a handsome lamp, emitting a soft steady light, and two or three new books and magazines, looks cozy and delightful, and as though the room was really lived in and enjoyed."
By the 1850's the fashionable parlor was not complete without a marble top center table, a household necessity which by that time was "synonymous with domesticity and the valued lessons learned at home." So popular was this item of furniture that Godey's Lady's Book regularly featured a column dubbed "Center Table Gossip." And while a center table was de rigeur in the formal parlor, it was around the center table in the informal sitting room that the family more typically assembled in the evening.
The one in the Music Room can be seen in early photographs stored against the north wall and covered with a Turkish-style cover (Fig. 13) [For a discussion of the table cover, see p. 66] Made of rosewood with a marble top and brass casters, the music room table was of a design which was popular in Baltimore, with a central rounded-vase turning carved with melon-like reeding and four legs composed of interlacing foliated scrolls. It is possible that this is the "sofa table" for which Eliza Ridgely paid $ 40.00 on May 1, 1851.
Sitting rooms and parlors whose visual focus was the center table can be studied today through paintings, prints and photographs. A photograph of an anonymous library of about 1860-1865, for example, shows a family at evening prayer around a covered table with its necessary companion, an columnar lamp providing the necessary light. (Fig. 65; see also Fig. 152) At Hampton, the center table would certainly have been moved into the middle of the room when needed, for serving refreshments, as a place for reading or writing, or as the place on which to place a lamp. But when not in use, it was apparently moved off to the side, thereby uncluttering the center of the room and allowing for easier movement between the large number of chairs and sofas which also occupied the room.
Recommendation: The marble top table is an example of transient objects within a living area. In the summer, when members of the family were more likely to visit outside, the table may have rested against the wall. During the winter months, it was probably used in the center of the room, with chairs clustered around it. On a particularly cold day, it may have been moved close to the fire for added warmth. Being on casters meant that the table was easily moved from one place to another.
F-2.a,b. Two stands (Fig. 35, 41, 43; no longer at Hampton.
There were four stands listed in Charles Ridgely's inventory of 1872. Of these, two probably referred to the music stands now in the Music Room. The other two may be the two small candlestands which flanked the chimney breast in the 1880's photographs. The candlestands, dating to c. 1790-1810 (Fig. 66), would have been of very little value in 1872, perhaps $ 5.00 or less, and the two music stands could account for the difference for a total of $ 20.
Recommendation: a pair of candlestands should be acquired for the Music Room. The photographs showing this pair should be circulated among Ridgely descendants to see if they are still in the family. If so, attempts should be made to acquire these for the collection. If not, a similar pair should be purchased.
F-3. Fancy tables and drawers. HAMP 1156-9; HAMP19972.
The "Fancy Tables and Draw[er]s" valued in Charles Ridgely's inventory at
$ 30 may refer to lacquered or "japanned" pieces, such as a set of nesting tables found in the Hampton collection. (Fig. 67; HAMP 922-925) Perhaps the term "draw[er]s" could refer to a small case that sat upon these tables, such as one in the Hampton collection which has been mounted on legs as a side table (HAMP 19972) These objects could have been purchased in Baltimore or in Europe, or purchased from the New York firm Tiffany, Young and Ellis whose billhead advertises "English, French, German, Italian, Swiss and Chinese Goods." The Ridgely's made payments to this firm in 1844 and 1851 for undetermined objects.
These tables do not appear in any of the Music Room photographs, so their inclusion in the furnishing plan is based on our understanding of the terminology used by the inventory taker.
Recommendation: Until additional documentation about these tables is found, a pair of japanned tables now in storage (HAMP 1156-9), which resembles those in Rm. 21, could be moved into the Music Room. Considering the condition of the legs and stretchers that have been added to the jewel box (HAMP 19972), the box should be restored to its original state and placed it upon the tables, thereby suggesting the tables and drawers as described in the inventory.
B. CASE PIECES:
F-4. Large Bookcase (Fig. 68; HAMP 1148).
"No single item was more essential to a respectable household than a collection of books, and no activity more effectual for refinement and personal improvement than reading... To own books implied sensibility, taste, even polish. Books placed and defined their owners... One measure of serious devotion to books was the purchase of a bookcase, not just to hold books but to display them."
As mentioned earlier, the back parlor of mid-nineteenth century houses was often designated "the library," with books generally considered "unsuitable for a formal drawing room," with conversation considered to be a more proper activity. At Hampton where culture and learning was a part of daily life, it is no surprise to find books in great number, and the Music Room was no doubt considered an excellent place to sit and read.
According to Gregory Weidman, Curator of Furniture, Maryland Historical Society, the Hampton bookcase can safely be attributed to the well-known Baltimore cabinetmaker, William Camp, based on its style and the quality and technique of construction. Although it is not known if the Ridgelys patronized Camp (1773-1822), who made furniture for only a relatively short time, c. 1801-1822, it is certainly likely that they would have purchased furniture from the one firm most responsible for the stylish mahogany cabinetwork in Baltimore in the first two decades of the nineteenth century.
At some point in the later nineteenth century, the bookcase was altered by the addition of a "mahogany [pierced wooden] cornice," supplied by cabinetmaker John Weaver in 185[7]. This addition can be plainly seen in a photograph c. 1891 showing five people perched on a sofa in front of the bookcase(HAMP 20499; Fig. 69), and a reproduction of this cornice should be made from this visual evidence.
Of course the bookcase should be filled with books. The two primary sources for determining the appropriate contents of the bookcase are: HAMP 16534, a handwritten alphabetized inventory of books and their location at Hampton, compiled by Margaret H. Ridgely in 1900; and HAMP 16649, a leather volume containing a list of Hampton books in each room of the mansion, compiled by William D. Hoyt, Jr. in 1930. Most of the original volumes remain in the collection.
Recommendation: The cornice for the Camp bookcase, as illustrated in Fig. 69, should be copied using the visual evidence offered by the photograph and any physical evidence to be derived from the bookcase itself. A proposal for this work has been submitted by Michael Sandor Podmaniczky, conservator of furniture, wood and gilded objects (see cost estimates, p.).
F-5. Fancy bookcase and Secretary (Fig. 70; HAMP 1148).
There is only one location in the Music Room that would accommodate a second bookcase, after all the furniture listed in Charles Ridgely's inventory and/or seen in the 1880's photographs is arranged in the room (see Fig. 168). That remaining location is in the southwest corner of the room against the south wall. Exactly what might be the meaning of "fancy" as applied to the bookcase is not certain. As in the case of the "fancy tables and draw[er]s," this term may suggest painting or japanning. It might also designate pierced ornamentation (such as that added to the Camp bookcase). There is one such desk in the Hampton collection, HAMP 8520, veneered in mahogany and topped with a fretwork crest. Small in dimension, being only 27" wide, it could easily fit in the assigned location.
Recommendation: Further examination of the Hampton collection may be in order for a secretary bookcase that might fit this description, but in the meantime, the drop-front desk (HAMP 8520) could be installed in the Music Room, following some conservation, particularly on the top which appears from the photograph to be mottled and faded. Ridgely family members could also be asked about the whereabouts of an appropriate desk.
C. CORNICES, MIRRORS, and TIE BACKS
All newly constructed Victorian houses bore a close resemblance to each other. Every city parlor in conventional circles boasted a tall gold-framed pier-glass between the two front window... accompanied by matching elaborate window cornices. In front of the pier glass was a stand which held either a pair of SŠvres vases or a clump of wax flowers under a glass dome.
F-6,a-c. Gilt wood and gesso cornices. Fig. 71. HAMP 1030, 1032, 1033.
The cornices, pier mirror and tie-backs in the Music Room (Fig. 71) were ordered in 1850 and 1851 from the firm of Samson Cariss, Looking Glass and Picture Store at 140 Baltimore Street. All are ornamented with the Ridgely family crest of a raised stag's head in a shield. The cornices appear to have been made first, probably in late 1850. The bill for these cornices is dated Feb. 12, 1851 and includes "2 [New] Cornices [very Rich] @ $ 44; 1 do @ 11" and three pairs of stag's head curtain bands.
F-7. Large pier mirror with gilt and wooden frame. HAMP 1227.
It is clear that the cornices were in place when Cariss made the sketch of the proposed pier glass, including detailed specifications for these embellishments(Fig. 72):
"/To Mrs. Jno. Ridgely/ Sise (sic) of Pier to Top of Window Cornice is 100 Inches high from chair board and 81 inches wide [.] Glass of 6 [feet=72 inches] x 54 [inches] would leave 13 1/2 inches each side of frame, space to window frames as [in[ drawing and 11 inches each side from ornament. The Top would be above the Glass 22 inches and [from the] bottom of frame 3 [inches] making in all 25 [inches] added to plate [.] [Thus,] if 6 [feet, it] would be just 100 inches high and would reach up as high as the Top corner of the Gilt window cornices. The Glass 80 c 60 [inches] would diminish the distance at [the] sides [by] 6 inches [,] 3 [inches on] each side [,] and would leave the space marked 13 1/2, only 10 [inches.] [I]t would also reach 5 or 6 inches higher in the centre of top ornament, and would of course suit much better than the other [,] but is more expensive per my statement./
100 x 60 $ 272 90 x 60 $ 228.00
Frame 55 Fr[ame] 53.00
329 281.00
Respectfully, S. Cariss/ May 6/ 1851
These plans were apparently approved quite quickly, since Cariss' bill to the Ridgely's for their installation at Hampton is dated June 26, 1851.
F-8, a-e. Marble console shelf, apron and cast metal brackets. HAMP1037, 1049, 1044,1045, 1046.
Accompanying this order were a console table, consisting of a skirt with egg and dart border above diapered portions and a lower border of scrolling acanthus leaves(HAMP 1049), a marble top (HAMP 1037), and three right angle brackets cast in large scrolled leaves with an urn (HAMP 1044-1046) [see Fig. 27]. The entire order was itemized as follows:
1 French l'g glass plate $ 235.00
Richly ornamented frame 52.00
1 Large Bracket Table 20.00
Expenses to Hampton 8.00
315.00
The original location for these cornices is particularly visible in photographs taken at the time that the Music Room was replastered, c. 1949, as the shadows from the cornices were clearly demarcated. (Fig. 73) According to one nineteenth century writer, this location high above the window was typical for a house such as Hampton:
"If you live in an old-fashioned house, where there is a wide space between thetop of this window and the ceiling, you will find lambrequins very useful to hang above the windows, in which case, of course, the material must be heavy enough to conceal the wall. The cornice can then be placed high, and the curtains made as long as for larger windows."
While cornices of this degree of embellishment were expensive at the time, they were often used through several succeeding curtain treatments. For almost 100 years, they hung in the Music Room at Hampton and they await rehanging with the implementation of this furnishing plan.
Recommendation: The rehanging of the Cariss cornices and pier glass is critical to the implementation of this plan. They are currently boxed in storage and need considerable conservation before reinstallation. These objects have not been completely catalogued to date because of the limitations caused by the storage facilities, so precise measurements were not available for this report. Upon cleaning and necessary restoration the Cariss mirror, cornices and tie backs should be rehung in the Music Room, using the existing photographic documentation to determine the location for installation.
F-9, a-c. Three pairs of stag's head curtain bands. HAMP 1192.etc,
Fig. 74.
The stag's head curtain bands were ordered in pairs from Cariss in 1844, 1850 and 1851. The prices vary sharply from $ 11.50 per pair in 1844 to $ 1.62 in 1851. Perhaps the costlier "lacquered" curtain bands were metal with a gold finish, while the cheaper are of gilt wood. The earlier sets may have been Drawing Room fittings, with the later bands presumably for the Music Room. It is difficult to determine if these bands were made or retailed by Cariss. David Conradsen speculated in his earlier research report that the wooden bands were made by Cariss, the lacquered metal bands having been imported by him.
F-10, a-b. Pair of girandole mirrors with carved eagles. HAMP 1180, 1181; Fig.75.
Made in either the United States or England, these wall mirrors were of a form which was extremely popular, not only at the time of their manufacture, c. 1800-1820, but for years thereafter. In 1881 one critic recommended the use of convex mirrors whose
"solid old-fashioned make enabled them to appear in perfect beauty... they are usually surmounted by an eagle, well-moulded, and carved, and sometimes have side branches for candles. Their frames are massive but delicate, elaborate but honest; decorated with tiny chains and balls, they form splendid spots of sparkling reflection, and are at last elevated by fashion to suitable rank and position."
These mirrors can be seen in the 1880's photographs, hanging on the east wall of the Music Room, one to the left, the other to the right of the door leading into the hall [Fig. 13, Fig. 22, Fig. 27 (reflected in the pier mirror)]. Originally they would have been fitted with candles, but by the time the photographs were taken, they no longer hold candles. Instead a metal gas wall bracket has been placed directly below them, the light from which would have been reflected in the looking glass. (see p. 125-6)
V. Musical Instruments and Related Furniture
A. Musical Instruments
M-1. Steinway piano. HAMP 4804. Fig. 76.
"The piano, like some other high-culture artifacts, both past and present, conveyed a sense of stability, permanence and timeless good taste."
Whether or not a house was equipped with a so-designated "Music Room," music was an important part of nineteenth century life among the middle and upper class. From the President of the United States down to the average American, music was found to be an "elevating and delightful recreation." Without question the most important music-making instrument in the house was the piano, called by one historian "the Romantic-era instrument par excellence."
As Elizabeth Donaghy Garrett has written:
"The proliferation of the (piano) in the early nineteenth century was an indication of the diffusion and diversity of consumer demand and of the growing emphasis on the polite accomplishments deemed necessary to a polished young lady. When a daughter sat down to perform for a parlorful of guests, such tunes pronounced the genteel education her parents had procured her, and not without considerable expense. Even if not used, `the diminutive, thin-legged, wheezy piano, purchased during some paroxysm of thoughtless extravagance,' stood triumphant as a symbol of the family's recognition of polite refinements."
By the 1830's pianos could be found in many well-to-do American homes, mostly in the form of the piano-forte, either square or cabinet. In 1829 it was "estimated that twenty-five hundred Piano Fortes, of the aggregate value of $750,000, were made this year in the United States, of which nine hundred were made in Philadelphia, eight hundred in New York, seven hundred and seventeen in Boston, and a considerable number in Boston." To document the accomplishments of the ladies of the household, many homeowners commissioned likenesses of the mistress or the young lady of the house painted while performing on the piano.
By 1850 more than 9000 pianos were produced and sold. "It was in that year when A.J. Downing pronounced the pianoforte `the universal accompaniment of the drawing-room' and condoned the unequal ration of many pianos and few pianists - as long as the desire for musical attainments was there - the piano had swelled in size as well as in number, assuming the bulbous contour of a `kettle in disguise.'"
So essential was the piano for the proper parlor, in fact, Catherine Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe included it as one of only two pieces of furniture required for the socially-correct drawing room in their ideal American Woman's Home, the other being the sofa. (Fig. 77)
In 1877 John Pyke Hullah wrote his treatise Music in the House in which he claimed, "In no country perhaps is more music to be heard at this present time than in our own, - out of `the house.'" He applauded the domestic setting where
"the instrumental concerted piece, the pianoforte solo, the song not requiring orchestral accompaniment, can be better heard, and is likely to be better understood, in a drawing-room of average capacity than in a modern `hall,' calculated to give effect to the combined efforts of three or four hundred performers."
He urged the consideration of the kind of music which could be accommodated in a "moderate-sized dwelling room," where the pianoforte was "deservedly called the `family orchestra.'" One particularly attractive attribute of the piano, according to Hullah, was the fact that relatively little skill was required to play the piano
moderately well, particularly compared to string instruments.
And so, as was observed in Godey's Lady's Book, the parlor or music room became the location that "witnessed musical events, which served both to entertain guests and to display the accomplishments of the young lady players." The relative ease of learning to play the piano is undoubtedly one of the principle reasons why the piano continued to be popular throughout the nineteenth century and even today.
The Ridgely papers reveal that throughout the nineteenth century the family bought a number of new pianos. John Ridgely's Memoranda Book records the purchase of a Steinway piano costing $600 from Baltimore music dealer Charles L. Benteen on December 3, 1869, and a piano and organ were purchased by Margaretta S.H. Ridgely from Otto Sutro in 1875. In this bill, dated May 26, he charged for carting the instruments to his West Baltimore Street shop and then to Hampton, suggesting that they were specially ordered from a New York manufacturer or from abroad.
The piano currently in the Music Room at Hampton [HAMP 4804] is the so-called "square" type, the kind which was produced in abundance through the second-half of the nineteenth century. Those pianos with a rounded case design, C-scrolled lyres and massive cabriole legs were popular from the 1850's to the 1880's.
Hampton's Steinway piano was made in 1878 and sent to Otto Sutro on October 4 of that year. While no bills for the purchase of this piano have surfaced in the Ridgely papers, its date of manufacture and shipment to Sutro is recorded in the Steinway archives.
Other evidence survives to document the Ridgelys' pianos. One "old piano" was recorded in the Music Room in the 1867 inventory of John Ridgely, appraised at $10. A "Steinway piano, stool, and cover" were valued at $ 400 in Charles Ridgely's 1872 inventory. Presumably this Steinway was the piano bought in 1869 from Benteen. By 1881 there were two pianos at Hampton when, in May, Charles Isaacs came to Hampton "to tune two pianos -- $ 4.00." As late as 1945, one piano was kept in the Music Room and another in the Great Hall.
The 1945 inventory of John Ridgely records "1 Knobe piano $ 17.50." This is probably the upright piano seen in the 1940's photograph of the Music Room (Fig. 71), properly spelled Knabe after the well known Baltimore piano dealer, established in 1836. In the Great Hall was "1 square Steinway Piano $ 50 which is probably the instrument currently in the Music Room. By the 1972 inventory, this Steinway had been returned to the Music Room. Underscoring the importance of the piano in the life of the Ridgely's is the frequent and regular references to piano tuning that appear in family accounts.
Since the piano is not visible in the nineteenth century photographs, and because all of walls in the room were photographed except the East Wall, I recommend that the piano be placed against that wall to the right of the hall door during reinstallation. This was the location of the piano in the 1940's, as can be seen in Fig. 71.
Contemporary images of music rooms or parlors with pianos show pianos placed against walls, never moved to the center of the room. A consideration in placing a piano against a wall in part is the difficulty of moving the case of hardwoods and iron, weighing several hundred pounds, and the effect that frequent shifting might have on the tuning of the instrument. Of interest, however, is the fact that the back of the case of the "square piano" is fully veneered and ornamented, an usual degree of finish for the "wall side" of furniture.
Probably the greater concern for families arranging pianos was that of maximizing the available light, whether natural light from windows or from carefully positioned lamps and mirrors. A painting by Henry Darby, The Reverend John Atwood and His Family, shows a middle-class New Hampshire family posed around the center table in their best parlor in 1845. [Fig. 78] In the corner, next to a heavily draped window, is a square pianoforte. A conversation piece, featuring a Hartford family in the 1840's, shows a family seated at their piano in the parlor. Above it hangs a large gilt-framed pier glass. Two gilt oil lamps with glass globes stand at either end of the piano, positioned so the light would be reflected in the mirror for optimum light. [Fig. 79] A third example, dated 1859, shows the interior of a New York home. [Fig. 80] A lady sits at a rosewood piano, under a large circular looking glass. The piano and mirror are opposite the fireplace and its overmantel glass, well placed to catchy additional reflected light. Contemporary photographs also illustrate this tendency to place pianos and work tables near a strong source of natural or reflected light.
Recommendation: The Hampton piano should be placed against the east wall to the right of the hall door, where natural light from the south facing windows would be plentiful for most of the day. To augment the natural light, a pair of lamps should be placed on the piano, the light to be reflected in the girandole hanging above it. Additional light might originally have been cast by candles in the girandole and laterd by gas light from the brackets which were mounted directly underneath the girandole. [See the section on lighting (p.125-6) for further information].
M-2. Sebastian Erard patent double movement harp, London, England, 1817.HAMP 2598, Fig. 81.
In many nineteenth century paintings and photographs featuring a piano, a harp stands nearby. While not found in such abundance as the piano, the harp, as a classical and ancient musical instrument, was seen by some as the ultimate symbol of taste and accomplishment. As one writer put it, "there could be nothing more picturesque than a gilded harp standing near the piano," or as stated by another commentator, "in the window embrasure stands the most Regency of instruments, with Ossianic associations, the harp." Among the cultured young women who were painted with a harp were Eliza Eichelberger Ridgely [Fig. 3] ,Louise Catherine Johnson Adams, and Susan Gaston Donaldson. Eliza's harp was purchased in 1818 from Sebastian Erard, "Inventor of the Harp with double movements, and also of the Single movement Harp brought out in 1794." According to Beth Miller, the Erard harp was probably the "earliest of its type to be imported to the U.S."
Room interiors from the early nineteenth century frequently included harps as well as pianos. A harp much like the one owned by Eliza Ridgely can be seen in a view of a room in India c. 1830, where the piano and the harp as well as the other English objects in the room suggest a "cheerful middle-sized English country house," thousands of miles away. [Fig. 82] Somewhat less lofty in tone than the aristocratic harp portraits mentioned above, but nonetheless serving as a fascinating document, is the painting of "The Music Lesson," c. 1870, which features an ornate harp, much like Eliza Ridgely's found in Hampton's Music Room. (Fig. 83) Harps were not just for the finest houses in the East, however. In Custers' Quarters, a harp stands beside the elegant square piano, instruments that they had hauled from post to post, but which Mrs. Custer refused to do without.
In the nineteenth century photographs of Hampton's Music Room, the harp seems to have generally rested in the northeast corner (Fig. 13) or against the north wall between the center table and the bookcase. In one view it is partially draped in a leather cover. (Fig. 84).
Recommendation: The harp should be placed on the north wall near the northeast corner, except when it is to be a part of a musical setting, wherein it would be moved into the center of the room or near the piano as a part of an orchestral grouping. A leather cover should be made and kept on the harp when it is not in use. Investigation is currently underway concerning the design and cost of such a leather harp cover.
M-3. Six string guitar and case. HAMP 8657, 8658, Fig. 85.
One additional Ridgely musical instrument, currently on display in the music room, is a six string guitar inlaid with mother of pearl hearts. The guitar was sold by "Carusi's Piano Forte Music Store," in Baltimore, and was purchased by the Ridgelys around 1870. It is housed in its original wood case, bearing the label of the "Southern Express Company, Thomson, GA." The guitar could be propped against a wall, placed on a stool, or stored on the music stand, to be brought out to a more prominent place when the room is specifically arranged for a musicale. (See APPENDIX D: Setting the Stage).
B. Other music related furniture
1.PIANO AND HARP STOOLS
The last thing that absolutely demands notice in connection with the drawing-room, &c., is the music stool. Two of these are necessary to accommodate two performers in the execution of a duet. They are usually made in walnut or rosewood, and consist of a handsomely-carved tripod below, supporting a pillar in which a strong screw with a deep-cut thread works in order to raise the top, which is stuffed and upholstered with leather or ornamental needlework to such a height as may be suitable for the performers."
Piano stools were recurrently mentioned in Ridgely family inventories, including a piano stool in Charles Ridgely's 1872 inventory; a Victorian piano chair as well as a Victorian piano stool listed in the 1945 inventory taken at John Ridgely's death, and a rosewood piano stool found in the Music Room when the National Park Service inventoried the room in 1972. Several piano stools remain in the Hampton collection.
M-4. Empire style piano stool with back HAMP 4805 (Fig. 86).
Consisting of a u-shaped upholstered slip seat, a 4-sided baluster pedestal and an urn-shaped back splat, this stool was made between 1840-1841 by Der Ualen Cabinetmaker Warerooms of Baltimore. This stool may have been the one used by the Ridgely's at their Steinway.
M-5. A backless stool with a four sided convex pedestal HAMP926 (Fig. 87).
A stool of this type might have sat beside the piano chair for duets or for a singer, or it might have been used by other musicians during a concert. This stool, currently in storage, can be seen in the 1945 photograph of the music room before the furniture was removed (Fig. 71), as well as in the photograph of the Music Room at the time of the replastering in 1949 (Fig. 73). Perhaps this is the stool which the Ridgely's purchased from [John and James?] Williams in June, 1840. These two related stools should be upholstered in the same fabric, either a velvet or a horsehair or an equally durable fabric.
M-6. Round upholstered stool with 3 turned legs. Fig. 88, HAMP2528.
A third music stool is currently in the music room, a round upholstered seat with three turned and slightly splayed legs with a flat shaped 3-arm stretcher. Made around 1820 and owned by the Ridgely's, this extra stool could sit beside the piano, ready to be used whenever an evening of musical entertainment was planned. Currently upholstered in black horsehair, it would ideally be covered in the same material as the other two stools.
M-7. Harp stool. Fig. 89, HAMP 21433.
This stool is of the form normally associated with the harp. While this harp stool was not originally owned by the Ridgely's, it is most likely of Baltimore manufacture. Formerly in the Collection of the Colonial Dames of America, Chapter I, the stool descended in the Lowndes family of Annapolis. With a swivel seat mounted on a tripod base with animal feet, the stool is a rich interpretation of the late neo-classical style, incorporating such fashionable motifs as acanthus leaves, a winged lyre, Grecian scrolls and gilt anthemia and palmettes. The high style of this stool complements the similarly embellished harp, and could be stored in the northeast corner near it, ready to be moved out into the room as needed.
2. MUSIC STANDS
M-8. Brass and mahogany music stand. Fig. 90, HAMP 4806.
Four stands were listed in Charles Ridgely's 1872 inventory. Of these, two may have been music stands currently in the Hampton collection. One is a mahogany and brass stand, consisting of a rectangular rack with open diamond fretwork, a columnar pedestal with brass collars, a turned base and tripod saber legs with ball feet.
M-9. Black and gilt music stand. Fig. 91, HAMP 3936.
The second music stand in the Music Room is a more elaborate one, painted black with gilt lines, a brass center support and two brass urn-shaped candle holders. The fluted column pedestal ends in a richly carved and gilded foliate base, terminating in gilded acanthus leaf knees and black animal paw feet. This music stand can be seen in the photograph taken from the West Hyphen looking into the Music Room. (Fig. 22) Both stands, dated c. 1820, may have been made in Baltimore, and were owned by the Ridgely family. These stands could be tucked out of the way near the piano, to be brought out for used as needed.
M-10. Tiered music stand. Not in Hampton Collection, Fig. 92
Among the Ridgely family possessions was an early nineteenth century tiered music stand, one which appears on the 1945 John Ridgely inventory. Although no longer at Hampton, this stand would be an appropriate piece of furniture to be included in the music room, immediately to the left of the piano on the east wall. Samples of the volumes of sheet music could be displayed on this stand.
M-11. Music box. Fig. 93, HAMP 2961.
Apparently sitting on top of the music stand when John Ridgely commissioned the inventory in 1945 was a Swiss music box. Bearing a paper label indicating manufacture in Geneva, this cylinder style music box contains brass works in a rectangular rosewood case. The presence of a music box in the music room at Hampton would further augment the presence of an assortment of music-making objects, and the music played by the music box could be taped and played for visitors.
Recommendation: Members of the Educational and Curatorial staff at Hampton should consider the best ways to introduce the sounds of music into the Music Room through tape recordings, live performances, visual vignettes. With the range of music-making objects in the room - a piano, harp, guitar, and music box - an auditory program would be an important addition to the visual resources.
VI. Artwork
A. Paintings, photographs, and prints
"Care must be taken that [pictures] are not simply spotted round the room at convenient intervals, but that they are arranged with a purpose; not only with an eye to the best light for the picture itself, but also to its work in the tout ensemble of the room, which must not be suffered to have a patchy or scrappy look."
Oil paintings represent the most complete collection of Ridgely-owned objects remaining at Hampton. This collection is particularly strong in family portraits, "Old Masters and copies thereof, and nineteenth-century landscapes. These paintings are complemented by works on paper -- watercolors, photographs, engravings, lithographs, and reproductions -- representing portraits, genre scenes, maps and other illustrations. The pictorial collection, in sum, helps to locate the tastes and aspirations of the Ridgely family in the context of other well-to-do families in the nineteenth century.
We are aided in selecting and hanging pictures in the Music Room by several documents and the 1880's photographs. No paintings were specifically mentioned in John Ridgely's 1867 inventory. It records "12 pictures @ $ 2.50 ... $ 30." Valued at less than three dollars each, the "pictures" are likely to have been prints. The brevity of this estate inventory suggests that many of his material possessions were bequeathed to Eliza, John's wife, or were entailed, to remain with the house, and therefore were not included in his estate.
In 1872 "9 Engravings @ $ 6 ... $ 54, 4 Ditto @ $5... $ 20," and "12 Paintings @ $ 15... $ 180" were appraised in the Music Room. This seems to indicate that at one print was acquired since 1867, and the paintings, passed from mother Eliza to son Charles, were also appraised. It is equally possible that the "paintings" were pictures other than family portraits, those having been entailed.
In 1875, a detailed inventory of Hampton portraits were taken (HAMP 3941). This document records the family pictures in each room, and gives some biographical information and has led to the identification of one unknown subject. Eighteen oil portraits and watercolor miniatures were specified for the Music Room. Photographs, taken in the late 1880's, provide additional evidence. They have fairly good resolution, and it has been possible to identify some pictures, although portions of each wall and the entire south wall are not visible.
The 1875 inventory records the following paintings. Titles and descriptions in quotes are from the Catalogue of Pictures at Hampton.
West wall over mantel (see Figs. 19, 28):
Governor Charles Ridgely (HAMP 1189/4484): This is a copy of the original by Thomas Sully, now owned by the National Portrait Gallery. This portrait was discussed in the Federal Republican and Baltimore Telegraph, (December 22, 1820): "We have visited Mr. Sully's room, and examined his pictures... The best in our opinion, the very best, is that of Charles Ridgely of Hampton, our former governor. It is a noble picture; full of character, boldness, and resemblance." (see P-W. 2)
Left of mantel (See Fig. 35)
John Ridgely of Hampton (HAMP 22317/4810): This miniature portrait of the "5th Owner, in Cambridge gown" was possibly made in England, c. 1872, upon his graduation from Cambridge. It is an "opalotype," or hand-colored photograph on a milk glass support. (see P-W. 4)
Mrs. John Ridgely (HAMP 22318/4809): "n‚e Helen West Stewart." Also an "opalotype," this miniature was taken c. 1873, the year of her marriage to John Ridgely. (see P-W. 3)
North wall - left of bookcase
Mrs. Charles Ridgely (HAMP 1094/5695): "n‚e Priscilla Dorsey, wife of Gov. Ridgely." This is a c. 1810 copy by Rembrandt Peale of his original, now at the Maryland State House. (see P-E. 4)
John Ridgely (HAMP 1114/5934): "2nd son of Gov. and Mrs. Ridgely & 3rd owner of Hampton." This painting is recorded in John Ridgely's Memoranda book as "1 January 1841 Pd for Portrait by Sully of Self $ 200." (see P-N. 16).
Amy Watson (HAMP 1108/unfr.): "friend of Maggie Ridgely [signed `T.E. Watson, Paris']". Painted c. 1872, this picture is currently unframed. (see P-N. 9)
Man and Dog (HAMP 5677/5678): [formerly attributed to] "Lukas Cranach." Probably c. 1880, this painting was recorded in 1827 by Helen W. Stewart Ridgely with the following provenance: "It was bought in the 1870's by the late Mrs. Charles Ridgely from Ms. de Bonneville, a descendant of Huguenot refugee's [sic] who migrated to South America with what they could carry of their household goods." Helen recognized in it "the well-known attributes of the school to which [the painting] belonged, tho' so far no vogue for that particular master had dawned upon the art lovers of the new world of recent years, however, the picture had found admirers among visitors at Hampton and has been conceded by some to be a museum piece of some importance." (see P-N. 13)
North wall -- right of bookcase
Mrs. James Carroll (HAMP 880/4816): "n‚e Achsah Ridgely daughter of Gov. and Mrs. C. Ridgely." Painted c. 1830-40, the portrait is framed in a later oval gilt frame, c. 1860. (see P-N. 18)
Margaretta (Margie) Ridgely (HAMP 1106/10318): "youngest daughter of Charles and Margaretta S. H. Ridgely, missionary to Liberia, W. Africa," painted c. 1872. (see P-N. 10)
Charles Ridgely with a gun (HAMP 10001/unfr.): painted by G. L. Saunders, may have been paid for in 1841 at a cost of $ 122. (see P-N. 5)
East wall left of door to hall (Fig. 27)
Eliza Ridgely as Little Red Riding Hood (HAMP 856/4846): Eliza Ridgely was the eldest daughter of Charles and Margaretta S. H. Ridgely. It is a painting on a solar enlargement, based on a carte de visite by Black and Case of Boston and Newport, dated October 26, 1864. The painting is signed "AR" for Alexander Ransom, Newport, 1864. The cartoon of the painting is a solar enlargement. (see P-E. 16)
This picture is discussed in a letter dated Newport, November 7, 1864, from Eliza (Didy) Ridgely White to Margaretta (Dumps) Howard Ridgely:
"I will now tell you about the painting. He has partly finished Red Riding Hood, which is lovely -- everyone that sees it admires it extravagantly -- She is seated at the foot of a large tree, the setting sun shed a rich reddish glow, and behind the tree the fiery eyes of the wolf are seen as stealthily he draws near her -- her Grandmother's cottage is seen in the distance across a small plain -- Ransom says he has been offered several hundred dollars for it ... the paintings are perfectly lovely -- yours of Red Riding Hood will cost $ 175 -- which we all think cheap."
Mrs. James Howard (HAMP 4827/4828): "n‚e Sophia Ridgely, daughter of Gov. and Mrs Charles Ridgely seated with [harp]". This portrait was rendered by an unknown artist, c. 1818. (see P-E. 6)
Four miniatures by George Lethbridge Saunders (1807-1863), all 1842: (framed together as HAMP 4813) (see P.E. 9).
These portraits can be dated by a payment made to G. L. Saunders on February 7, 1842, for the sum of $ 606. Eliza (Didy) Ridgely also identified Mr. Saunders as "the gentleman who took our pictures." Saunders was an English miniaturist also active in the United States. He met Thomas Sully in Philadelphia in 1843, and is also known to have worked in Baltimore, Richmond, Charleston, and Columbia, South Carolina. Saunders painted portraits of most of Baltimore society during his stay here in the 1840's.
Mrs. John Ridgely (HAMP 4819/4818): "n‚e Eliza Ridgely."
Mr. John Ridgely (HAMP 4821/4820): Robert Gilmor wrote to Helen W.S. Ridgely (or Margaretta) in 1901 regarding the "striking likeness" of this portrait to the sitter. Gilmor had been a visitor to Hampton as a youngster.
Eliza Ridgely (HAMP 4825/4824): "married to John White, Dr. Buckler."
Mrs. Martin Eichelberger (HAMP 4823/4822): "1 fostermother of Mrs. John Ridgely."
East wall right of door
Julian White with Bow and Charlie Ridgely (HAMP 826/10320): A painted solar enlargement, this picture signed and dated by 1864 by Alexander Ransom, Newport. It has also been referred to as Tyrolean Boys. The painting is based on a solar enlargement of a carte de visite by J.W. Black of Newport, c. 1864. A letter of November, 1864 to Margaretta from Didy mentions the fashionable convention of using horses or goats and carts as props in photographic portraits, despite the difficulty of keeping the animals still while making the exposure. (see P.E. 10)
South wall
John Ridgely, Henry White, Julian White, and Charlie Ridgely (HAMP 1128):
"4 cousins in Hampton garden." The painting is signed and dated 1856 by John Carlin. (see P-S. 1)
The information included in the inventories and in Helen Ridgely's list of paintings sometimes corroborates and sometimes contradicts the evidence found in the photographs documenting the interior of the Music Room in the 1880's. Because the decision was made at the outset of this project to use the photographs as the primary documents for this furnishings plan, the arrangement of the paintings follows the evidence presented in the interior photographs in the case of a contradiction of sources. Unfortunately none of the south wall is visible until the late 1940's photographs where shadows on the plaster hint at paintings having been hung there (Figs. 71, 73). Neither are portions of the north wall to the left of the bookcase and the right half of the east wall visible in these photographs.
Here we have had to make an educated guess, following the organizing principle of symmetry without rigidity, as described in Thornton's Authentic Decor:
"During this period it was common to hang pictures in several tiers, the uppermost being set high on the wall. Pictures were often grouped in arrangements which, though quite carefully balanced, differed from the more architectural groupings favoured in the eighteenth century in seeming less rigid, with less attention being paid to matching the frames.... Pictures were usually hung canted forward but this, while sometimes advantageous in the highest row of the crowded gallery, is useless when every picture is hung `on the line.' "
The size of the Music Room, the dimensions of the paintings which are known to have been hung in the room, the Ridgely family records, the pictorial evidence that remains and the comments of both nineteenth century and modern-day historians have all contributed to the development of the following list, where the name, HAMP number, brief catalogue information and the number assigned to it for the Sample Furnishing Plan are included. The letter P designates painting, the letters E, W, N, S indicate the wall in the room where the picture is hung. Photographs of each of these pictures are included in the section of illustrations at the rear of this report. When a painting is visible in a nineteenth century photograph, this has been noted, with a reference to the Fig. number assigned to it in this report.
East Wall, left to right (See Sample Furnishing Plan, Fig. 169):
P-E. 1. Landscape, oil, showing cows herded by dog and peasant girl with goat following behind. Possibly Baltimore, c. 1880. Painting: 12.75" H x 16" W. Frame 22" H x 25 " W x 4 " D. HAMP 10055/10056; Fig. 94. [See also Fig. 22. The exact painting which hung in this spot may no longer be in the collection. This landscape was chosen for this location because of its size and subject matter, both of which fit the space where it has been assigned.]
P-E. 2. Seascape, oil, with wooden boat in center foreground filled with fishermen, some casting nests. Possibly Dutch, c. 1860. Possibly by same artist as HAMP 867, HAMP 868 and HAMP 1093. The frame is labeled "William S. Conely, Carver and Gilder - Plain and Ornamental Framer/19 Essex St./ New York (partially illegible). Painting:: 18" H x 25.66" W . Frame: 26.66" H x 34.5" W x 2" D. HAMP 1092/4835; Fig. 95. See also Fig. 13, Fig. 22, Fig. 27.
P-E. 3. Portrait, oil, of John Ridgely (1790-1867). Full-length, leaning against a stone wall, holding black hat in his left hand. Strongly attributed to William James Hubard. Hampton may be in the background. Baltimore (?), c. 1832. Painting: 20.75" W x 15" H; Frame 29.5 " H x 23.66 " W x .38" D. HAMP 1099/4831; Fig. 96. See also Fig. 13, Fig. 27.
P-E. 4. Portrait, oil, oval format, of Priscilla Dorsey (Mrs. Charles Ridgely), showing head and shoulders to waist. Copy by Rembrandt Peale of one of his own portraits, now at the Maryland State House. Baltimore, 1810. Painting: 29.5" H x 24.5" W. Frame: 37.5" H x 33.5" W x 4" D. HAMP 1094/5695; Fig. 97. See also Fig. 22. [see also p. 102].
P-E. 5. Portrait, oil, of Diana the Huntress, to waist in oval format. American (?), c. 1815-30. Painting: 5.88" H x 4.75" W. Frame: 14" H x 12.5" W x 2.5" D. HAMP 4838/4839; Fig. 98. See also Fig. 13, Fig. 22, Fig. 27.
P-E. 6. Portrait, oil, on marble, oval format of young girl seated playing harp: Identified on back as "Sophia Gough Ridgely Howard/ D of Governor Charles Ridgely of Hampton/ wife of James Howard, son of Colonel John Eager Howard." Baltimore, c. 1818. Painting: 6.5" H x 5.5" W. Frame: 13.25" H x 12.5" W x 2.5" D. HAMP 4827/4828; Fig. 99. See also Fig. 13, Fig. 22, Fig. 27. [see also p. 103].
P-E. 7. Landscape, oil, showing deer approaching stream with trees. Plate on frame says, "CH. Volkmar, Jr." Baltimore, c. 1870. Painting: 20" H X 24" W. Frame: 26.66" H x 29.75" W x 2.75" D. HAMP 10051/10052; Fig. 100. See also Fig. 22.
P-E. 8. Seascape, oil, of fishermen with recent catch and two women mending baskets. Possibly Dutch, c. 1860. Possibly by same artist as HAMP 868, HAMP 1092 and HAMP 1093. The frame is labeled "William S. Conely, Carver and Gilder - Plain and Ornamental Framer/19 Essex St./ New York (partially illegible). Painting:: 18" H x 25.75" W . Frame: 26.66" H x 34.5" W x 2.25" D. HAMP 867/4834; Fig. 101. See also Fig. 13, Fig. 22, Fig. 27.
P-E. 9. Four framed miniature portraits framed within one large frame (HAMP 4813; Fig 102. See also Fig. 13, Fig. 22, Fig. 27 [see p. 103-104]:
Top left: Portrait, watercolor of Eliza Ridgely, wife of Mrs. John, 3rd Master of Hampton. Attributed to George Saunders, c. 1840. [photographic reproduction on display of the original in Hampton collection] Painting: 4.25" H x 3.25" W. Frame: 9" H x 7.5" W x 1.13" D. HAMP 4819/4818.
Top right: Portrait, watercolor on ivory, of John Ridgely (1790-1867), 3rd Master of Hampton. Attributed to George Saunders, c. 1840. [photographic reproduction on display of the original in Hampton collection] Painting: 4.25" H x 3.25" W. Frame: 9" H x 7.5" W x 1.13" D. HAMP 4821/4820. Label on back of frame: "J. Guy/manufacturer of/ Ormolu/ miniature frames/mats morocco cases and Glasses/ ??L St. John St. Rd,/Clenerwell/Trade supplied.
Bottom left: Portrait, watercolor on ivory, of Eliza (Didi) Ridgely White Buckler. Attributed to George Saunders, c. 1840. [photographic reproduction on display of the original in Hampton collection] Painting: 4.25" H x 3.25" W. Frame: 9" H x 7.5" W x 1.13" D. HAMP 4825/4824.
Bottom right: Portrait, watercolor on ivory, of Eliza Welsh (Mrs. Martin Eichelberger. Attributed to George Saunders, c. 1840. [photographic reproduction on display of the original in Hampton collection] Painting: 4.25" H x 3.25" W. Frame: 9" H x 7.5" W x 1.13" D. HAMP 4823/4822.
P-E. 10. Double portrait, oil over paper solar enlargement photograph, mounted to canvas, of John Ridgely and Julian White, showing full figure of two boys, one with bow and arrow. Signed "AR 1864" in lower left corner. Baltimore, 1864. Painting: 30.25" H x 25" W. Frame: 39" H x 34.25 W x 4" D. HAMP 826/10320; Fig. 103. [see also p. 104-105]
P-E. 11. Seascape, oil, view of fishing boats pulled up on shore, several figures in various poses in front of boat. Possibly Dutch, c. 1860. Possibly by same artist as HAMP 867, 868, and HAMP 1092. Painting: 18" H x 25.75" W . Frame: 27" H x 35" W x 3" D. HAMP 1093/4836; Fig. 104.
P-E. 12. Pastoral scene, oil on canvas in original stretcher, little girl in peasant costume with female dog and four puppies. European, c. 1870. Painting: 16" H x 12.75" W . Frame: 23.75" H x 20.75" W. HAMP 7469/7470; Fig. 105.
P-E. 13. Religious figure, oil, oval format of woman praying, head and shoulders shown to waist. Oval frame has label on back: "Samson Cariss, No. 140 Baltimore St. Balt. ect. Baltimore, c. 1850. Painting: 20" H x 15.5" W . Frame: 23.75" H x 19.75" W x 1.5" D. HAMP 846/10324; Fig. 106.
P-E. 14. Portrait , oil on wood, oval format of young woman, perhaps Sophia Ridgely Howard (b. 1830). Attributed to Hubard, but style is different from his other work. Baltimore, c. 1830. Painting: 7" H x 5" W . Frame: 13.25" H x 12.5" W x 2.5" D. HAMP 4842/4843; Fig. 107.
P-E. 15. Portrait , oil on wood, oval format of head and shoulders of James Howard (b. 1797). Attributed to William James Hubard. Very similar stylistically to portrait of James Howard, HAMP 1100 (P-N. 18). Baltimore, c. 1837. Painting: 7" H x 5" W . Frame: 14" H x 12.5" W x 2.5" D. HAMP 4840/4841; Fig. 108.
P-E. 16. Portrait, oil over paper solar enlargement photograph, mounted to canvas, of Eliza Ridgely (1858-1954) as Little Red Riding Hood.. Signed "AR 1864" below her right foot. Baltimore, c. 1864. Painting: 30" H x 25" W. Frame: 39" H x 34.5 W x 4" D. HAMP 856/4846; Fig. 109. [see p. 103].
P-E. 17. Landscape, lithograph, with figures and cows in foreground, with stream, bridge and castle in mid ground. American (?), c. 1880. Lithograph: 14.75" H x 19" W . Frame: 21.25" H x 25.75" W x 2.25" D. HAMP 9917/9918; Fig. 110.
P-E. 18. Landscape, oil, river with man fishing, boat on a river. In pencil on canvas stretcher, "View of Shenandoah River near Harper's Ferry." Maryland, c. 1850-70. Painting: 12.25" H x 16" W . Frame: 19.5" H x 23.25" W. HAMP 1098/4803; Fig. 111.
North Wall, right to left (See Sample Furnishing Plan, Fig. 170 ):
P-N. 1. Landscape, oil, View of the Matterhorn with trees, milkmaid and cow in foreground. Possibly Baltimore, c. 1794 (?). Painting: 18" H x 23.75" W. Currently unframed. Need frame approximately 22" H x 28 " W. HAMP 827/unfr.; Fig. 112. [See also Fig. 27.]
P-N. 2. Seascape, oil, of various figures including child, dog and man with sword. Possibly Dutch, c. 1860. Possibly by same artist as HAMP 867, HAMP 1092 and HAMP 1093. Painting:: 18" H x 25.5" W . Frame: 27" H x 35" W x 3" D. HAMP 868/4833; Fig. 113. See also Fig. 13, Fig. 27.
P-N. 3. Landscape, oil, showing stream or lake with reeds and grasses in foreground. Baltimore (?), c. 1880. Painting: 14" W x 18" H; Frame 21 " H x 25" W x .38" D. HAMP 2514/10057; Fig. 114. See also Fig. 13, Fig. 27.
P-N. 4. Exterior scene, oil, two young men in Renaissance costume in gothic ruin. Italy, c. 1840. Painting: 18" H x 15" W; unframed. Need frame approximately 24" H x 21" W. HAMP 7425/unfr.; Fig. 115. See also Fig. 27. The original frame can be seen quite well in this photograph, but it is apparently no longer in the collection.
P-N. 5. Portrait, watercolor of young Charles Ridgely holding a rifle on his lap. Baltimore, c. 1845. Attributed to George Saunders. There is an illegible signature at the bottom. Painting: 10.88" H x 8.75" W; unframed. Need (wooden) frame approximately 19" H x 17" W. HAMP 10011/unfr.; Fig. 116. See also Fig. 13, Fig. 27, Fig. 84. [see p. 103]
P-N. 6. Seascape, oil, showing figures in various poses on rocky shoreline in foreground, sailing ships in background. European (?), c. 1780. Painting: 23" H x 36" W. Frame: 32" H x 44.5" W x 3.5" D. HAMP 2508/10058; Fig. 117. See also Fig. 69.
P-N. 7. Landscape, oil, showing village, bridge, stagecoach with stream under bridge, mountains in background. European (?), c. 1870-90. Painting: 21" H X 28.75" W. Frame: 30.5" H x 37.5" W x 3.75" D. HAMP 864/10073; Fig. 118. See also Fig. 13, Fig 69, Fig. 84.
P-N. 8. Religious scene, oil, of the Madonna and child and Joseph. Half-figure of Mary and Joseph, full figure of baby Jesus. European (?), c. 1760-1790. Painting: 15" H x 19" W . Frame: 23.75" H x 27.75" W x 3" D. HAMP 884/10309; Fig. 119. See also Fig. 13, Fig. 84.
P-N. 9. Portrait, oil, showing head and shoulders of a young girl with blonde curly hair and hazel eyes. Identified in 1875 Catalogue of Paintings as "Amy Watson a "friend of Maggie Ridgely. Signed in lower left corner "T.B. Walsh (?), Paris". Paris, c. 1872. Painting: 18" H x 15" W; unfr. Need frame approximately 24" H x 21" W. HAMP 1108/unfr.; Fig. 120. The original frame on this painting matched the one on P-N. 10 (HAMP 1106). Neither of these frames survive, but they can be seen clearly in Fig. 69, and could, therefore, be reproduced as a pair. [see p. 102]
P-N. 10. Portrait, oil, of Margaretta Ridgely (b. 1869) as a child, shown to shoulder with short blonde curly hair and blues. Attributed to T.B. Walsh, Paris". Possibly Paris, c. 1872. Painting: 18.25" H x 15.25" W. Frame: 27.25" H x 24.5" W x 2.75" D. Not the original frame, see P-N.9. HAMP 1106/10318; Fig. 121. [see p. 102].
P-N. 11. Pastoral landscape, oil, showing cows, goats and a horse in foreground. European (?), c. 1860-1880. Painting: 22" H x 18.5" W . Frame: 30.25" H x 27" W x 3.25" D. HAMP 855/11773; Fig. 122. See also Fig. 69.
P-N. 12. Landscape, oil, subject unclear. This painting apparently is no longer in the Hampton collection. Approximate frame size: 26" H x 32" W. See Fig. 69.
P-N. 13. Portrait, oil, of half figure of young boy dressed in 16th century style clothing. He holds a dog. Written in top right corner, "AETAT SWE/ANNO 1573. Attached label reads "Lukas Cranach 1515-1586." Probably a nineteenth century copy, c. 1850-1880. Painting: 15.75" H x 11.25" W . Frame: 21" H x 17.5" W. x 3" D. HAMP 5677/5678. See Fig. 69.
P-N. 14. Landscape scene, oil, cupid reclining. Bow rests on the ground and quiver of arrows hangs on tree. Red wax seal on back of canvas, hard to read. European (?), c. 1825. Painting: 18.5" H x 15" W . Frame: 26" H x 22.5" W x 2.5" D. HAMP 832/10091; Fig. 123.
P-N. 15. Double portrait, oil, oval format within square frame of Charles Morton Stewart (b. 1779) on right and John Stewart (b. 1881) on left. Dressed in green suits with wide white collars and black bows. Baltimore, c. 1840. Painting: 26.5" H x 26.5" W . Frame: 34.38" H x 34.38" W x 4" D. HAMP 1130/4815; Fig. 124.
P-N. 16. Portrait, oil, of John Ridgely (b. 1790), head and shoulders to waist. Plate on front of frame: "J. Ridgely 1790-1867/ by Th. Sully. Baltimore, c. 1841. Painting: 30.25" H x 25.25" W . Frame: 39.75" H x 34.75" W x 3.38" D. HAMP 1114/5934; Fig. 125. [see p. 102].
P-N. 17. Portrait, oil, of James Howard (1797-1870, head and neck only. Written on back of frame: "Probably James Howard, son of John Eager Howard and Margaretta Chew Howard, his wife." Attributed to William James Hubard. Baltimore, c. 1832. Painting: 20.75" H x 15" W. Frame: 27.66" H x 23.66 W x .38" D. HAMP 1100/4814; Fig. 126.
P-N. 18. Portrait, oil, in oval format of Achsah Ridgely Carroll (1792-1841), daughter of Charles Carnan Ridgely and wife of James Carroll, wearing a black dress with ruffled muslin collar and cap. Painting: 30" H x 23" W . Frame: 39" H x 34" W x 4" D. HAMP 880/4816; Fig. 127. [see p. 102]
West Wall, right to left (See Sample Furnishing Plan, Fig. 171):
P-W. 1. Landscape, oil, scene showing pond with waterfall, trees and cows. Lake and mountains in mid-ground. Attributed to Charles Volkmar, Baltimore, c. 1840. Painting: 39" H x 66" W. Frame: 48" H x 75" W x 4.75" D. HAMP 871/4832 a.b; Fig. 128. [See also Fig. 35.]
P-W. 2. Portrait, oil, 3/4 length of Charles Carnan Ridgely (b. 1790), shown sitting in an elaborate gilded and carved chair. Copied after the original 1820 portrait by Thomas Sully, donated by John Ridgely to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Copied by C.G. Stapko, c. 1950. Painting: 48" H x 38.25" W . Frame: 57.25" H x 47.5" W x 3.5" D. HAMP 1189 a-b/4844; Fig. 129. See also Fig. 19, Fig. 35. [see p. 101]
P-W. 3. Opalotype (hand-colored photograph on milk glass support) of Helen West Ridgely (Mrs. John), c. 1873. Photograph: 2.5" W x 2.5" H; Frame 6 " H x 4.75" W. HAMP 22318/4809; Fig. 130. See also Fig. 35. [see p. 102]
P-W. 4. Opalotype (hand-colored photograph on milk glass support of John Ridgely of Hampton, c. 1872. This photograph was possibly taken in England, upon his graduation from Cambridge. Photograph: 2.5" W x 2.5" H; Frame 6 " H x 4.75" W. HAMP 22317/4810; Fig. 130. See also Fig. 35. [see p. 101]
Recommendation: The two opalotypes of Helen and John Ridgely should be copied, with the photographic reproduction on view and the original to be stored safely, protected from light damage.
South Wall, right to right (See Sample Furnishing Plan, Fig. 172):
P-S. 1. Group portrait, oil, of 4 small boys: John Ridgely (b. 1851), far left; Charles Ridgely, second from left; Henry White, third from left; Julian White, on right. Signed and dated in lower right corner, "John Carlin 1856," Baltimore. Painting: 17.88" H x 24" W. Frame: 28" H x 32" W x 3.38" D. HAMP 1128/4817; Fig. 131. [see also p. 105].
P-S. 2. Portrait, hand colored lithograph of Evangeline. Kneeling female figure in white garment grasping a garland of roses. France, c, 1870. Print: 16.5" H x 12.75" W . Frame: 22.75" H x 19" W x 1.5" D. HAMP 7401/7402; Fig. 132.
P-S. 3. Genre scene, oil, of young woman giving water to bearded man. Egyptian scene with desert town and camels in background. English (?), c. 1870. Painting: 18" W x 14.25" H. Frame 25" H x 22" W. HAMP 7396/7397; Fig. 133.
Recommendation: While many of these recommended paintings are currently hanging in the Music Room and are in good overall condition, several are in storage and are in need of extensive restoration, both to the painting and/or to the frame. The frame restoration has been addressed in a previous report by William Adair, but the conservation of the paintings has not yet been estimated. Before implementation of this plan can take place, a detailed analysis of the cost of conservation must be undertaken.
B. Picture rods
Also visible in the photographs are the picture rods, from which the paintings were hung. This was clearly the method of hanging pictures in the Music Room and the Great Hall, at least as early as the beginning of photographic documentation of the interiors at Hampton.
The bill survives which identifies the date this feature was introduced at Hampton. The bill, rendered by William H. Anderson, a Baltimore house and sign painter and glazier, charged for "Furnishing and Gilding Rods and Hooks for Pictures and putting up Same, $ 10.00," in May, 1875. Picture rods appear only in photographs of the Music Room and Great Hall, for it was these two rooms which were clearly "gallery spaces, containing most of the family portraits and other paintings. Anderson also charged for paint and seventy-two and one-half days' labor at the house; in addition this job required eight days' labor by an unnamed grainer and $ 54 worth of carpentry work.
Picture rods could be hung on the upper wall at the cornice, or lower to accommodate a frieze, wallpaper border, or other architectural division. Hampton's were placed immediately beneath the cornice. No hardware remains with the rods, although the photographs suggest that C-shaped screw hooks attached the rods to various lengths, from twenty-five feet to four feet. The longer picture rods hung in continuous lengths across the east, north and south wall, and in shorter lengths on the west wall over the office door, chimney breast, and window. (Fig. 19) By the 1940's, the rods appear to have been painted white, or the same pale color as the walls.
The picture rods (HAMP 17293) used in the Music Room survive in the collection, although in unusable condition. The extant rods are corroded, probably from prolonged storage in the garage. They can, however, serve as models for reproductions. The rods are hollow iron tubes with finely shaped acorn terminal at each end, probably of brass or copper. The rods and terminals originally had a gilt finish. Chemical analysis of the best preserved rods might reveal whether the original finish treatment was gold leaf or a metallic powder.
Gold-colored brass or other metal "S" hooks, stamped with decorative patterns, caught the picture rod on one end and wires or picture cords on the other. (Fig. 134) One or two hooks could be used for each picture. Some stamped-brass "hooks" remain in the collection, consisting of two lots of different designs. One set of nine hooks is sheet brass stamped with a scroll pattern (HAMP 19460). The other set (HAMP 19514) concists of seven unadorned brass hooks, more round in section than flat. One of the seven is a strip with a stamped "reform" design, which probably was made somewhat later than the others.
In the 1880's photographs some picture cords are visible indicating how the paintings were hung, as suggested in a nineteenth century advice book: "Upon the wall, suspended with covered copper wires, as near the color of the wall as possible, let figure pictures be hung." (Fig. 27, reflected in mirror). The larger pictures hang from two wires, forming a triangle, while the smaller paintings are usually suspended from a single wire. (Fig. 135) Where several pictures hung in a column, the lower picture may have been suspended from the lower edge of the frame directly overhead. (Fig. 13, Fig. 69) In at least one instance, a low-hanging heavy-framed portrait appears to have hung from a nail driven into the wall, rather than from either the picture rod or the painting above. When the paintings are reinstalled in the Music Room, they should be fixed to the wall for security. The gilt "S" hooks should also be used with picture cords or wires (they will not be load bearing) to replicate the appropriate late nineteenth century manner of hanging.
The Music Room pictures were hung so that the bottom edge of the frames were level. The rows were roughly aligned on adjacent walls, but they appear to have been guidelines only. The resulting patterns on the walls are symmetrical but not static. (Fig. 136)
Recommendation: The entire art collection at Hampton was studied in the process of preparing this report, and the most suitable art was selected. The wall elevations (Figs. 169-172) have been drawn as accurately as possible to reflect the size of the artworks and their relationship to each other. Every attempt should be made to recreate this arrangement in hanging the paintings on the walls. Should one or more of these pieces of art not be available for the Music Room, another example of comparable measurements should be hung in its place.
VII. Fireplace Equipment
"A fire-place goes farther than anything else in giving to a room character and beauty. Every parlor, dining-room, and nursery, at least, should have one. In the cool weather of spring and fall, when the morning and evening air is a little sharp or when a long cold rain-storm is making everything damp, moist and uncomfortable, there is nothing more delightful, both for old and young, than a brisk fire upon an open hearth."
Photographs taken of the Music Room in the 1880's show clearly that the family continued to use an iron fireplace insert in this room through the nineteenth century, and well into the twentieth century. (Fig. 19, Fig. 41, Fig. 43, Fig. 137).
Wood is visible in the grate, and the presence of tongs and a brass and marble fireset stand suggest that, at least by the 1880's, wood had replaced coal as a fuel source. With the portrait of Charles Carnan Ridgely hanging over it and the mantel decorated by a number of handsome objects, to say nothing for the handsome woodwork, the Music Room fireplace was clearly a focal point for the room's composition.
The tools -- tongs and stand (HAMP 9106, Fig. 138) and the matching brass-topped shovel (HAMP 9107, Fig. 139), which does not appear in the photos -- remain in the collection (FP-1. a-c). The multi-part fireplace insert (FP-2. a-f; HAMP 19993, 14145, 14146, 14152, 14153, 14158, Fig. 140, 141) is in storage, along with the wire screen (FP-3; HAMP 14170, Fig. 142) which probably accompanied the set used in the Music Room.
The stove bears the manufacturer's name, "Thos. S. Dixon & Sons/Philad:" and the pattern or model number "3," cast in the outside back of the firebox. (HAMP 19993) Thomas S. Dixon appears in the Philadelphia directories from 1854 to 1868; "Sons" only appear in the firm's name from 1869-1886. That seems to indicate a date of manufacture between c.1870-1885. Perhaps a bill to Mrs. Charles Ridgely from Healy & Bro. documents the changes to the fireplace in the Music Room. The bill, dated September 12, 1873 for work executed in June includes: "To facing fire place & Harth [sic]/ With Black Marble & setting Grate/ 1 Grate Bricks frame etc. Complete/ with Expenses $ 70.20."
An identical fireplace appears in a c. 1904 photograph of Wyck, the Germantown home of Reuben Haines. (Fig. 143) A second fireplace, closely related in design but which remained a coal-burner, survives at Wheatland, the home of James Buchanan, in Lancaster, PA. Wheatland was built in 1828 by ironmaster William Jenkins. Buchanan resided there from the late 1840's to 1868, and may have updated the fireplaces during the period.(Fig. 144)
Documentation of the purchase of these grates (an almost identical one, a Dixon & Sons model # 2, was used in the Dining Room) is not certain. From the 1830's to the 1850's, the memoranda book records the purchase of coal and the purchase and repair of grates. Two entries in 1839 record the purchase of "2 stoves and fireboards $ 39.25" and payment to "C. Bryan for stoves $ 20.75." A payment in 1857 to S. B. Seaton "for grates and altering same $ 55" is less specific, but more appropriate in date, to judge the design. In addition, gas lighting was introduced in 1857. Perhaps Dixon's fireplace grates were part of a campaign of improvements at Hampton.
In the future, Seaton may be identified through newspaper advertisements or directories. He may have been a retailer of foundry products from Philadelphia. It is also possible that John Ridgely purchased or placed an order while in Philadelphia, and the payment is not recorded in the family papers at all. The date and use of the term "grate," is, however, significant for further research.
The Dixon grate employs technology developed in England by the 1850's. It resembles "Stephen's Patent Grate." (Fig. 145) The innovation of both Stephen's grate and Dixon's was an aperture in the top of the firebox which effectively vented smoke and created a good air supply to burn the fuel completely. The use of cast iron and the stoves' curved firebox also served to retain and reflect heat into the room. A molded firebrick lining protected the iron from excessive heat.
Decorative elements embellish the grate. A heavy, curved molding around th iron face plate was polished to a high lustre, and the iron rail of the base plate appears to have been brass - or bronze -plated. The finials on the bars of the grate may also have had a plated finish.
The difficulty of heating large, high-ceilinged rooms was evidently great, as several diary references make clear. Helen Ridgely noted that a servant had brought in fuel enough "to keep us as warm as the large rooms make possible." These environmental factors make a case for the Ridgely family's use of the Music Room as an informal sitting room. Situated on the south side of the house, it received the most sunlight each day and was probably one of the warmer rooms at Hampton, where a variety of activities from music-making, to reading, to visiting were pursued.
The fireplace was not the only source of heat in the Music Room, according to two sources, the Architectural/Engineering Data Section of the Historic Structures Report, written by John B. Marsh, and a memo from W. B. Curtis, dated April 14, 1994. According to Marsh, a brick hot-air furnace was installed in the basement in the mid-1850's, supplementing the fireplaces on the first and second floors from that time forward. A hot water system was installed in the twentieth century, c. 1910.
Curtis describes the gravity feed hot air system as follows:
"Pipes led to the NE corner of the Music Room, the SE corner of the Drawing Room, and the Great Hall about four feet outside the door to the Dining Room. The size and location of the grates is easy to see because the patch on the floorboards is still evident [see p. 20 and Fig. 11]. The original intent apparently was to install similar grates in the other rooms on the first floor; this however was blocked by the presence of the corner closets... The location of the pipes can be traced by the holes in the basement walls through which they ran."
The fireplace flue in the Music Room was left open after the fireplace was closed off from the interior opening within the room, in order to provide a vent for the disposal of fumes from the boiler below.
XIII. Lighting
"We have the child of the nineteenth century and of science - gas - cheap, brilliant, convenient, ubiquitous... We must perhaps look upon gas as a necessary evil, or at best as a good servant with many grave faults. Its hard, unsympathetic lustre, and its fumes, alike injurious to the health and to the more delicate objects contained in the room where it is employed, are formidable drawbacks. Yet the convenience of gas in the house was commended and will continue to commend it to general use. "
The 1867 and 1872 inventories of the Music Room contain only passing references to the lighting in that room. John Ridgely's inventory includes "2 Candelabras @ $ 4 [$ 8] and "2 Bronze do @ $ 4 [$ 8]." The 1872 inventory of Charles Ridgely mentions one "Lamp $ 15," one "Chandelier $ 25," and mantel ornaments $ 10." These seem to be scanty lighting devices for a room devoted to music, where, it was advised: "the lights must be arranged so as best cast the light on the music. Sconces on the wall seem best for this. The grand piano, the violin stands, the harp, the big violoncello leaning up against the wall..."
While the written documentation concerning the lighting in the Music Room is incomplete, the photographs taken in the 1880's offer strong evidence of the quantity and identity of the lighting fixtures in this room, most of which objects remain in the Hampton collection. In Fig. 19, for example, one can clearly see the French chandelier that hung in the center of the room (L-1: HAMP 1124; Fig. 146, see also Fig. 19). On the mantel, as seen in Fig. 41, are a pair of brass and glass girandoles (L-2.a,b: HAMP 4807, 4808; Fig. 147) and two pressed glass candlesticks with prisms (L-3. a,b: HAMP 4222, 4223; Fig. 148). Two candelabra, each with four sockets (a fifth receives a center finial), sat on the marble-topped console table under the pier glass (L.4. a,b: HAMP 9043,9044, Fig. 149; see also Fig. 27). Two carved and gilded wood girandoles, each with four candle arms and prisms, hung on the east wall (F-10. a,b; HAMP 4808, 1180, Fig. 75, see also Fig. 13.) Two carved and gilded wood eagle brackets held a pair of three-branch, figural, gilt-metal girandoles on the north wall. (L-5 a,b: HAMP 4217, 1218; Fig. 150, see also Fig. 13). Also visible in Fig. 13, directly under the girandole mirror on the east wall, is a gas bracket (L.6). While this bracket may not remain in the collection, it appears to have at one time supplanted the candle-holders in the girandole as the source of light to be reflected in the mirror.
Two additional lighting fixtures, not seen in the photographs, will be proposed here, in order to further the interpretation of this room as a center of activity, wherein ample light would have been necessary for a variety of pursuits. These include a lamp to be used on the center table when used in the middle of the room (L-7: HAMP 5759. a,b; Fig. 151) and a pair of Argand lamps that would have provided light for the piano player and other instrumentalists grouped around the piano (L-8.a,b: HAMP 2953, 2954; Fig. 153, see also Fig. 31).
The placement of the lighting in the Music Room followed the recommendation of Frances Byerley Parkes who, in 1831, suggested the best way to light a public room "was by a chandelier or lamp suspended from the centre of the room. Lustres placed on the mantel-piece, and branches on tripods in the corners of the room, are also ornamental," and, as Betsy Garrett has written, "it was essential that the lighting devices be arranged so that they might not be easily overturned by a crowd of guests. Chandeliers and sconces were favored and there might be supplemental candles on lamps high up on the mantel shelf or wall brackets, or on sturdy corner tables and center tables.
L-1: 12 light chandelier of gilded brass and porcelain. Fig. 146; HAMP 1124;see also Fig. 19.
This chandelier may have been one of the items purchased in the early 1850's, when the family redecorated the Music Room. Precise documentation for the purchase of the chandelier has not been identified, although there are several possible references in the Ridgely family papers. In 1852, John Ridgely paid nearly $ 70 duty on "Lamps from France." Although lamps sounds more like table lamps, the amount of duty paid reflects a high-cost object. A few months later in 1853, the account book records the purchase of a "box of lamps from Paris" for the smaller sum of $ 15. The chandelier, if purchased in 1852, would have been introduced simultaneously with the other Music Room improvements, where it was advantageously placed before the enormous expanse of the 1852 pier glass, both to reflect light and to make the greatest visual impact.
Stylistically, the chandelier is difficult to date. A watercolor sketch, owned by the Victoria and Albert Museum, illustrates a French ormolu candelabrum and oil light incorporating a Chinese porcelain vase, dated about 1860. The similarity of the designs on the Chinese vase to Hampton's is striking. Originally the chandelier was designed to burn oil. The fixture employed a "moderator lamp," invented in 1837, which controlled the flow of fuel by means of a valve. The Chinese porcelain vase would serve as a reservoir for fuel, which flowed to burners at the ends of the gilt-bronze arms. A conservator who repaired this object felt that it had been purchased as an oil burning fixture, which was then converted to burn gas when introduced in to the Music Room. There is no evidence to suggest that the burners of this chandelier were ever covered by shades, and while glass shades were generally used to protect burners from drafts, nineteenth century illustrations do show chandeliers with unshaded burners. One of the 1880's photographs (Fig. 19) clearly shows the chandelier fitted with gas candles and no shades.
There is no certain documentation for the initial use of gas at Hampton. The introduction of gaslighting came first to London in 1812, with the first domestic use being seen in that city in 1815. Baltimore had a gas works as early as 1817, the first company for the manufacture and distribution of illuminating gas chartered in the United States. An 1833 bill, rendered by Mr. [John] Bouis to John Ridgely, charged for hanging a chandelier, a balance weight, shot for the weight, and brass chain. These items alone would not lead one to believe that this fixture burned gas. However, there is an additional item: "18 ft. copper pipe omitted in 1831." This would almost certainly have supplied fuel, but this bill may well refer to work done at one of the Ridgely's city houses, rather than Hampton.
Curator Lynne Hastings feels strongly that gas was introduced to Hampton in the 1840's, when the first evidence of gas burning fixtures appears in documents. A bill rendered in 1843-1845 by the Gas and Light Company of Baltimore records payment for 13,900 cubic feet of gas, purchase of "BW burners" and ceiling rosettes, and labor charges for taking down and packing old chandeliers and hanging new ones. The memoranda book kept by John and Charles Ridgely records payments in 1844 to Cornelius and Company "for chandeliers," which could refer to either gas-burning fixtures or oil-burners for Hampton. The Philadelphia firm's founder, Robert Cornelius, designed an improved gas jet in 1841, and in 1844, merited praise by the judges of the Franklin Institute exhibition "for richly ornamented gas fixtures and pendants in ormolu." Cornelius and Company's 1846 design for a gas burning chandelier and bracket fixtures is the first known by an American manufacturer.
In rural situations, such as Hampton, a home gas plant would allow the occupants to burn gas produced from coal or resin, distilled and stored in an outbuilding designed for the purpose. Gas was manufactured on the estate, in a separate gas house, and piped into the house to ceiling fixtures, wall lights and mantel girandoles. Additional table fixtures used portable hoses attached to the gasolier pipes. When the Ridgely family installed a gas plant at Hampton, they spent almost $ 900.00 on the gas apparatus alone: in 1856-7 the Ridgelys purchased apparatus to begin making gas for household use at Hampton. Payments related to gas and lighting fixtures were recorded in 1856 and 1857, including the construction of a gas house. In 1857, Charles Kaflinski was paid $ 190 on "account gas fixtures." The Portable Gas Company received more than $ 850 for "apparatus." The firm West and Jevens received [$ 854.75?] for "taking down and packing chandeliers." A further payment in 1861 to "P. Callaghan for gas burners," may mark the conversion to gas of outdated oil lamps.
L-2.a,b. Three light girandoles, originally for gas and now electrified. Fig. 147;HAMP 4807, 4808.
When gas was introduced, the glass and brass candelabra, which were probably set up for gas when they were new, were fed from tubes or pipes directly into the west wall. According to one writer, "the sense of quiet comfort was increased by the gentle purring sound made by the gas as it emerged from the flame holder." Attributed to Cornelius & Sons, c. late 1830's-1860, these girandoles resemble a lamp at the Metropolitan Museum. They can clearly be seen on her side of the mantel in Fig. 41 and Fig. 43.
Imagine the profound changes in the use of the Music Room once the chandelier and girandoles were fitted for gas! As Peter Thornton has written:
"The introduction of gas lighting, whereby one could perform the astonishing feat of illuminating a room with several sources of light at the turn of a small tap, raised people's expectations and provided a challenge to the makers of other lighting devices, and so the level of illumination in rooms after dark was generally increased. This in itself had a profound effect on interior decoration; one could now see properly after dark. Decorators had to take this into account and had to consider the effect the different forms of light had on various colours and materials. One of the drawbacks of gas-light was that it made some colours look sickly; and it was not at all flattering to the complexion!"
Other advantages of gas included its relatively low cost and its safety. Gaslight could be left unattended, for it could not spill, and "it did not require receptacles that might tip over and set the carpet on fire."
Recommendation: The chandelier and girandoles should be restored to look as they would have when gas burning. Fiberglass candlesleeves, painted gloss white enamel, can be used to simulate the original porcelain gas candles. A proposal for this retrofitting as regards the girandoles is included in the section on cost estimates.
L-3. a,b. Clear glass candlesticks with leaf bobeche and 12 prisms. Fig. 148;HAMP 4222, 4223.
The introduction of gas lighting into the Music Room did not result in other fixtures, specifically candlesticks, being removed. They were left in the room, probably primarily as decoration. These small glass candlesticks, made in England c. 1850-1860, remained on the mantel in the Music Room throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. See Fig. 41 and Fig. 43.
L.4. a,b: Pair of four branch candelabrum, France, c. 1820. Fig. 149; HAMP9043,9044; see also Fig. 27.
Made in France in the early nineteenth century, this elegant pair of candelabra featured the patinated brass figures of Cupid and Psyche standing on a square pedestal. On their hands rests an ormolu cup-shaped foliate base for the four Greek scroll candle cups. Long standing on the marble console shelf in front of the pier mirror, the candelabra were reflected in the looking glass so that it could be viewed from all sides. When its candles were lit, the effect would no doubt have been spectacular.
Speaking of a similar French candelabrum, one historian wrote:
"Large candelabra with figure sculpture are doubtless the most typical and remarkable form of Empire-period lighting fixtures. The stiffness of the figures endows these candelabra with a monumental character missing from examples made in the reign of Louis XVI... The manufacture of candelabra with figure sculpture continued uninterrupted throughout the Restoration period with little change, so that only minor details enable some pieces to be dated relatively late."
L-5 a,b: Pair of double armed girandoles with glass prisms and marble bases.Fig. 150; HAMP 4217, 1218;, see also Fig. 13.
Probably made in America in the mid-nineteenth century, girandoles of this type were a popular and elegant form of Victorian decoration. In the 1880's photographs, they can be seen on the north wall, on the carved and gilded eagle brackets. (Fig. 13) These girandoles are typical of the rococo revival which often include sentimental or romantic scenes portrayed in the central figural section. The arms are typical rococo branches with bobeches and holders carrying out a floral theme. Glass drops form a contrasting material. When lit, these candlesticks would have sparkled with the light of the flame reflected off the prisms.
The terminology used in the nineteenth century to describe candlesticks with two our more branches can be confusing. One writer explains the difference between girandoles and candelabra as follows:
"Girandoles and candelabra both have several branches, but the word girandole is properly applied to the branches themselves. At the beginning of the nineteenth century the word girandole was generally employed instead of candelabrum. Around 1840 only the latter term was in use, so we shall keep to it here. The only real way of distinguishing between the two is by size and weight. The heaviest candelabra, such as those whose body is formed of a bronze figure on a marble base, are often more than three feet high. They are difficult to move and are normally placed in pairs on a mantelpiece, console table, or commode, sometimes on a specially designed socle."
L-6:.Gas brackets on east wall. See Fig. 13, directly under girandole mirror.
While these gas brackets may not remain in the Hampton collection, closer examination of the photograph in Fig. 13 may lead to the identification of the precise shape and period of what appear to be simple, triangular brackets. Whereas in an earlier period the candles on the girandole mirror might have been lit at night, by the late 1880's it appears that the gas brackets would have provided the necessary light which could be reflected in the convex mirrors directly above.
Recommendation: Gas wall brackets should be acquired and mounted on the wall below the girandole mirrors. If period brackets can not be located, reproduction cast brass brackets could be purchased.
L-7: Gas table lamp with etched and cut glass shade. Fig. 151; HAMP 5759.a,b.
Although it resembles earlier sinumbra lamps, the gas table lamp in Fig. 151 was originally fitted to burn gas. This lamp could have sat on the marble top table which was moved between the north wall and the center of the room. In its location below the chandelier, it could have received gas directly from the fixture above.
By the middle of the nineteenth century tables connected by a rubber tube to the chandelier had been introduced. Such an arrangement can be seen in Fig. 152, where the tube from the overhead chandelier is clearly visible.
L-8. a,b: Pair of Argand-type double armed lamps. Fig. 153; HAMP 2953, 2954,see also Fig. 31.
Old-fashioned by the 1880's, it is likely that in the 1850's when the Music Room was being refurbished that lamps such as these would have been in the room. Earlier in the century, argand lamps had been a true status symbol. They were practical, providing formal and informal gatherings with much needed after-dark illumination. A pair of argands might have sat upon the piano against the east wall, providing excellent light for whatever music making was taking place in that side of the room. Even with the introduction of gas, extra light might have been needed in that potentially dark corner. These lamps would have been fitted with elegant glass globes, such as those seen on the lamps in Fig. 31.
IX. Other Accessories
"Elegancies have become essential in modern housekeeping as every dwelling now looks bare and unfinished unless a few articles of taste are scattered through the various apartments."
It is the bric-…-brac, the curious trifles, the movable ornaments and gew-gaws used for filling up the picture, for giving an enhanced brilliancy, and creating interest - the things that "notable housewives" call trash and trumpery that have about as much to do with the impression a room conveys as the heavier articles and their arrangement do. Indeed, a few moments' observation in the drawing-room of any family will usually give much information concerning the grade of that family's culture by nothing more than the character of the bric-…-brac to be seen there."
While few items of "bric-…-brac" were listed in the 1867 and 1872 inventories [mentioned in 1872 were a "clock @ $ 50," a "mantel clock @ $ 30," "mantel ornaments @ $ 10, and "2 [fire] buckets @ $ 6"], several of the decorative objects in the Music Room can be seen in the photographs taken in the 1880's. These accessories, including two clocks (probably those mentioned in the 1872 inventory), several pieces of porcelain, a plaque, a pair of brackets, an ink stand, and a paper weight, do indeed give us a revealing impression about the Ridgely "family's culture." Their accessories represent three continents, several countries, and an awareness of what was current among the upper-class both in America and abroad.
A. Ceramics
While news of the marvels of the Orient had reached the west as early as the 13th century, trade with the Far East began to flourish in the late 18th century when American colonial merchants entered into trade with China. The China trade, and trade with Japan which opened up to westerners in the 1850's, were stimulated during the last quarter of the 19th century, in large part due to the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876 when Americans were exposed to a whole collection of Chinese and Japanese handicrafts. Perhaps it was at this time that the Ridgely's purchased their two pair of large Chinese vases which stood under the console table below the pier mirror. (Fig. 27)
O-1. a,b. Pair of Chinese floor vases, c. 1810-1830. HAMP 1117, 1118; Fig. 154.
An urn shape, with blue background and white raised overall designs, these vases have applied Foo dog handles. Perhaps the Ridgelys had in mind a "personal room," when they purchased these vases. By the 1880's this was a common concept the intent of which was to humanize and revitalize the appearance of rooms, giving them the aura of individuality and warmth otherwise lost in the modern, industrialized society of the late nineteenth century.
O-2. a,b. Pair of Chinese floor vases, c. 1840-1870. Not in the collection;see Fig. 27.
This second pair, which flanked the blue and white vases, appears to no longer remain at Hampton, although one of the same form, HAMP 4233 (Fig. 155), is in storage. Perhaps these are the "pr. Canton Vases @ $ 75.00" purchased in April, 1857 from Wethered Brothers, Dry Goods Commission Merchants. The original pair were probably of the "Rose Medallion" pattern, c. 1840-1870 (Fig. 156).
Recommendation: The single vase (HAMP 4233) could be placed under the console table temporarily, with the eventual goal being to acquire a pair of Rose Medallion wide-mouthed Chinese vases matching those in Fig. 27.
0-3. a,b. Pair of French porcelain vases, c. 1830-50. Not in the collection; seeFig. 41, 43, 137.
Listed in the 1872 inventory were "mantel ornaments @ $ 10." Were it not for the 1880's photographs, we would not know for certain that these consisted of, among other embellishment, two pairs of vases, one large the other small. The 1940's inventory gives an added clue to the identity of two of the four: "1 Pair Sevres vases (1 broken) $ 62.50." Apparently neither of these vases remain in the collection. A possible substitution is HAMP 10248, 10249 (Fig. 157), a pair of Chinese export vases, c. 1780-1790, currently in storage. These have flared tops, tapered necks and bulbous bodies, decorated with Oriental figures and landscapes.
Recommendation: A pair of porcelain vases (9-15" H) should be placed on the mantel. Perhaps a pair of vases already in the collection would be suitable, but a pair of French vases would be ideal. Members of the Ridgely should be shown photographs of the missing vases in order to determine if they remain in the family.
O-4. a,b. Small pair of porcelain vases, c. 1830-1850. Not in the collection; seeFig. 41, 43, 137.
Between the larger pair of vases and the girandoles was a pair of small footed vases, approximately 6-8" high in a teardrop form. Probably European, this pair may still be owned by a member of the Ridgely family.
Recommendation: A pair of teardrop vases should be acquired for the mantel. Members of the Ridgely family should be shown photographs in order to determine if the vases are still owned by a family member. If not, a similar pair of vases should be acquired.
O-5. Porcelain wall-pocket. Not in the collection, but currently owned byRidgely family member; Fig. 158; see Fig. 28.
This small porcelain vase rested on the wooden shelf formed by the panelling inside of the fireplace surround. In the late nineteenth century photograph (Fig. 28), this vase can be seen perched, it would seem, fairly precariously and empty of flowers. This vase remains in Ridgely family ownership.
Recommendation: This small vase should be acquired for the Music Room if at all possible.
O-6. Majolica pottery flowerpot. HAMP 9598; Fig. 159.
On the candlestand to the right of the fireplace, visible in Fig. 41 and Fig. 43, is a flowerpot which appears to be the same as, or very similar to, HAMP 9598. The colors on the pot are pink, yellow, green and brown. The decoration consists of a raised and molded fence panels with raised and embossed flowers and vines.
The term majolica was defined in the nineteenth century as
"a peculiarly interesting product of art, for its ornamentation requires singular facility and talent: the vessel of common terra-cotta, fashioned on the wheel and burned, then dipped into a paste whose moisture its porous substance absorbs, leaving a soft and exceedingly tender coating on the surface, is painted in enamel colors by artists who know that every line must tell and be complete at one stroke, that no erasure can be made, and that even to delay with a lingering brush one instant is to cause a ruinous suffusion of color; the vessel is then enclosed in another of the same clay, and again cast into the flames, out of which at lasts it arises glorified."
B. Clocks
0-7. French porcelain mantel clock. HAMP 4280. a,b; Fig. 160.
At one time two clocks occupied the Music Room, one on the console table the other on the mantel. Of these only the mantel clock remains at Hampton. The porcelain mantel clock was probably made in France c. 1850-1875, and may be the one referred to in the 1872 inventory as a "mantel clock" valued at $ 30. It was placed on the mantel at Hampton on a shelf specifically built to accommodate it. In the 1940's, still on the mantel, it was described as "1 Sevres clock with Dresden ornament," valued at $ 125.
Practical yet ornamental, this porcelain clock, would, we can imagine, have satisfied the critical taste of Clarence Cook who wrote,
"If a clock must usurp the place of honor on a mantel-piece, it ought to have so good a form, or serve as the pedestal to such a bit of bronze, or such a vase, as to make us forget the burden of time-and-tide in the occasional contemplation of art eternities. We get this habit of clocks, with their flanking candlesticks or vases, on all our mantel-pieces, from the French, who have no other way, from the palace to the bourgeois parlor. But they get rid of the main difficulty by either making sure that the clock does not keep good time, - the best French clocks being delightfully irresponsible in this particular - or by having clocks without any insides to them..."
0-8. Ormolu and bronze clock, with figure of Cincinnatus. No longer in thecollection; see Fig. 27.
No longer at Hampton, this clock is documented by the 1880's photograph in Fig. 27 as having sat on the console table, reflected in the pier glass. In the nineteenth century it was common to place a sculpture or figural group on these low tables beneath mirrors. In this case the Ridgelys substituted a clock for a marble or bronze figure.
The ormolu and bronze timepiece, depicting the Roman farmer-warrior Cincinnatus, is documented by an 1834 bill rendered by the firm Lerolle, PŠre et Fils, Paris to "Mr. [John] Ridjily." The clock cost 525 francs. Lerolle, Lerolle PŠre et Fils, and later Lerolle FrŠres, was active in Paris from 1820 to 1862. It is worth noting here that the Ridgelys could also have purchased such a clock from a Baltimore merchant, rather than dealing directly with the French firm. T. Palmer & Co., and later their successors, Cariss and Schultz, featured a similar timepiece in their advertisements of c. 1835-1842. (Fig. 161)
The Cincinnatus clock was not recorded in the 1867 inventory, but was appraised at $ 50 in 1872. This clock may have been one of the three "fine French" clocks repaired in 1873, and probably the clock repaired by A.E. Warner in 1879. Catalogued by the National Park Service in 1960, the clock was missing by 1981. A not dissimilar example was once owned by Harriet Ridgely Chew, a direct descendant of Charles Carnan Ridgely, and was illustrated in Edgar G. Miller, Jr., American Antique Furniture (Fig. 162).
Recommendation: Every effort should be made to acquire this clock. Family members should be sent the 1880's photograph showing the clock on the marble commode, in hopes that the clock remains in Ridgely hands. Once this avenue is exhausted, the next option to pursue is to acquire a similar French clock.
C. Wall decorations
O-9. Gilt and wood eagle brackets. HAMP 1170, 1171; Fig. 163, see also Fig.13.
On the north wall to the right and left of the Camp bookcase, these brackets supported the two-armed girandoles (HAMP 4217, 4218; Fig. 150). On each bracket, a carved spread-winged eagle, one looking left, the other looking right, is perched on a rock pile and supports a wooden semi-circular top. The brackets are American and were made c. 1820.
0-10. Porcelain stag's head placque. HAMP 19968; Fig. 164, see also Fig. 69.
This plaque hung directly above the Camp bookcase, serving not only as a surrogate "trophy" but also whimsically recalling the Ridgely family crest, a stag's head in a shield. In the case of this wall plaque, the stag's head is of porcelain, painted in appropriate colors with real antlers, mounted on a shield-shaped wood plague. Carved on the plaque are other hunting trophies: three "hung" rabbits, backed by grapes, pomegranates, a rifle stock and a portion of a rifle barrel.
C. Miscellaneous accessories
O-11. Stag's head paper weight. HAMP 9341; Fig. 165
One of a pair, this stag's head paperweight is made of cast metal. Like the porcelain stag's head plaque, this small decorative object embodies the Ridgely family shield. One of the paperweights can be seen on top of some books on the marble center table, which was placed against the north wall in Fig. 13.
While the stag had had a special significance for the Ridgely family for decades, during the Victorian era it took on an even greater meaning. In England, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert purchased a small castle in Scotland, Balmoral. There plans were to use this private residence as a peaceful get-away. Here deer would approach the house at feeding time, captivating the Queen who became very attached to them. Albert on the other hand appreciated the deer as an object of sport, enjoyed deer "stalking", and was frequently pictured as a mighty hunter. Original paintings by Edwin Landseer, the Royal Family's favorite artist, painted a number of pictures of stag hunting, paintings which were later abundantly replicated as prints for the British and American home. Soon heads of deer "sprouted from walls of the royal residences... and though the actual mounted specimens - perhaps in deference to the taste of the ladies - were kept out of the drawing room, that did not prohibit the use of pictures of the same animals..."
Throughout her travels, Victoria was faithful in noting deer in her Journal. In 1872 at Dunrobin Castle, she mentions the stags' heads spaced around the walls of the dining room. "`Behind one (a very fine one) gas pipes have been introduced, which light up each point.' With decorative hints such as these filtering over the sea, it was not long before unassuming American homes, utterly dissimilar in character to even the most modest of baronial residences, began to ape these traditional displays of noble sporting achievement." Before long, deer were featured prominently in all materials and all categories of the arts: "cast in iron, shaped in terra cotta, sculptured in stone, molded in glass, and carved ad nauseam in wood."
0-12. Inkstand with cast bronze greyhound. HAMP 10399; Fig. 166.
On the same marble top table sat a marble inkstand mounted with a bronze statue of a greyhound. Set into the marble are glass bottles with mushroom-shaped glass tops, one for ink and the other sand. At the front, shaped into the marble, is a well for holding pens. Like the stag's head paper weight, this decorative object reflects a popular Victorian them:
"Another interest of the Prince Consort's which had decorative repercussions in iron on this side of the Atlantic was the greyhound. The greyhound had for a long time been a fashionable as well as a sporting breed, but the sinuous tribe took on added lustre when it became known that the Prince's favorite, "Eos," a very famous specimen, had been painted by Landseer at the express commission of her Majesty. Moreover, "Eos" appeared again, this time in the Great Exhibition [The Crystal Palace, 1851] , as a sculpture cast in zinc. This novelty caught the public's eye,and only a year or so later, an enterprising American manufacturer was ready with copies in iron of this graceful hound."
0-13. 2 Fire buckets. Not in the Hampton collection, see Fig. 167.
The 1872 inventory of Charles Ridgely included "2 Buckets @ $ 6," probably referring to leather fire buckets, "usually painted with the name or initials of the owner and some other ornamental device [such as a family crest], [which] in some places remained in use into the second half of the last century." Many communities required homeowners to have their own buckets, and houses in the country needed to be self-sufficient when it came to fire protection.
Recommendation: Reproduction fire buckets should be acquired for the Music Room. They should be of plain black leather, and the family crest should then be painted upon them.
O-14. Small metal easel. Not in the Hampton collection, see Fig. 13.
Sitting behind the books on the fabric-covered marble top table, against the north wall of the Music Room, is what appears to be a gilt metal easel, perhaps for supporting a small picture or a small book. This object is no longer in the collection.
O-15. Small jade carving mounted on wood. Not in the Hampton collection,see Fig. 13.
To the left of the books on the marble top table sits a small carving, probably of jade. It is likely that this is Oriental, and, like the two pairs of jars underneath the marble console, reflect the great interest of the late Victorians in Chinese and Japanese arts.
Recommendation: These two incidental objects may still be in the Ridgely family. If not, they should not be difficult nor expensive to acquire. Furnishing Plans
I. Arrangement Recommendations
"The chaste reserve of the Enlightenment parlor had given way to the Victorian propensity for accumulation and love of ornament. Chairs "deep and luxurious," chairs "of the light fanciful Kind," side chairs, armchairs, sofas, lounges, ottomans, hassocks and footstools "in profusion" swallowed the staid lineup of a dozen side chairs and pendant pair of elbow chairs. A multiplicity of small stands and a great variety of light and fanciful tables ... [gave] `an air of feminine taste and occupation to an apartment, without which it is apt to look stiff and solemn.'"
The sample floor plan (Fig. 168) and the four wall elevations (Fig. 169-172) include all of the numbered objects itemized in the following List of Objects
(p. 139 ff). The arrangement was primarily determined by examining the 1880's photographs of the music room. When photographic evidence or other documentation was unavailable, decisions were based on an overall understanding of room arrangement in the second-half of the nineteenth century. For example, "In the eighteenth century, most public rooms of the house contained furniture ranged around the walls and the centre was left almost empty. Nineteenth century domestic arrangements created `islands' for different activities and made the table a feature of great importance." These islands of activities include the music area, the concentration of objects around the pier mirror, the central seating area, and the grouping around the harp in the northeast corner.
This philosophy of grouping the objects within the room was also advocated by Harriet Spofford, writing in 1878. The Music Room appears to have been furnished with these precise words in mind:
"Sameness can be avoided only by breaking up the room into parts, never losing sight in the mean time of their ultimate union, and after each separate part has been well treated, reuniting them in a whole. The patchy look is prevented by arranging the furniture with a view to masses, and then combining the masses themselves with a view to harmony; that is, where the heavier objects, such as cabinets or pianos, tables or davenports, and the darker paintings, make a place of deep shadow, that place must be balanced by another having relation to it, and must be relieved by lights - by the bare wall surface, by gilded articles, by marbles, by the delicate window drapery; and masses and shadows can always be created by the tall and slender dark articles flanked, immediately or by the foreshortening of the view, by smaller ones."
Yes, the Music Room is full. The list of objects attests to the number and variety of furnishings found within those four walls, but the Victorians would not have used the adjective "cluttered" to describe their interiors. Said one proponent of the heavily-furnished room:
"There are those who think that to fill a room is to rob it of half its size; but they are mistaken. A great painter secures far-reaching water surfaces by line after line continually breaking monotonous space, each catching the eye with new interest and carrying it to the next, till it has travelled far enough to gain the full idea of the long distance it has passed over; and so the eye, following on from divan to table, from table to chair, from chair to portfolio stand, none breaking rudely on the unisons of one characteristic shape, and all under one soft light, obtains the idea of depth and distance in the room."
In addition to the preceding comments about Victorian room arrangement, the following recommendations should be considered in order to enhance the interpretation of the Music Room, to make the room historically accurate over the course of a year, and to encourage repeat visitorship.
The use of reproduction soft furnishings is appropriate. They will look relatively new, as they were when John and Margaretta and Charles and Helen Ridgely lived here. They will be changed seasonally, as discussed earlier, including floor coverings, curtains and slipcovers.
Other seasonal changes will include moving objects where needed. The section on "Changing the setting" will contain specific recommendations about these changes.
The impact of these seasonal changes on our modern consciousness is enormous, and should be encouraged through active interpretation of these obsolete practices. Additionally, changes should occur during the year in the placement of so-called transient objects, particularly the objects of use. Seating groups and furniture placement could change as well. (L.D.H.)
For example, the lounge might be moved in front of the fireplace during the summer (see Fig. 28) when the warmth from the fire would not be blocked.
Above all, this furnishing plan must be organic. Research and study of the Ridgelys and their use of Hampton's interiors is a dynamic, ongoing endeavor. New documented information and relevant scholarship both at Hampton and in the museum community at large, with regard to social history and the decorative arts, as well as changing perceptions of the past, should be continually reviewed, an appropriately incorporated into this document on an ongoing basis. (L.D.H.)
As part of this organic effort, this plan includes three different settings, called here "Setting the Stage." These settings are included as APPENDIX D. These arrangements include furnishings already in the room. Other objects which may be required to supplement interpretive endeavors should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and can be appended at a later date to this report.
II. Comprehensive List of Objects
"An open fire and pictures are the most important thing in a parlor - having, of course, begun with the six sides of it (ceiling, floors and walls) being harmonious in color - an open fire, pictures, a piano and curtains."
Architectural:
Paint
Faux Painting: Graining
Wallpaper
Floor registers
Furnishings
Window Treatments
1. Draperies
2. Valances
3. Lace Curtains
4. Window Shades
Portieres
Center table cover
Candlestand covers
Piano cover
Antimacassars
Floor Coverings
Brussels Carpet
Painted Floor Cloth Straw Matting or Drugget
Slipcovers
Cushions
Upholstered Furniture:
U-1. Tˆte … tˆte, probably Baltimore, rosewood. Fig. 14 a,b; HAMP 2940.
U-2. 3 part Rococo Revival sofa with armchair ends, possibly Baltimore, c.1845-1860. Fig. 18; HAMP 1064.
U.3. Oval back Rococo Revival sofa, American, c. 1845-1860. Not in Hamptoncollection at this time. See Fig. 13; see also Fig. 22.
U-4 a,b. A pair of Grecian style lounges, possibly Maryland, c. 1830-1845. Fig.26; HAMP 8538; the other is not in the collection at this time.
U. 5.a-d. Set of four side chairs, probably Baltimore, rosewood. Fig. 28; a-c;HAMP 2941-2944.
U. 6. Slipper chair, probably Baltimore, rosewood. Fig. 33; HAMP 2945.
U.7. Balloon-back side chair, American, c.1855-1875. Fig. 34; HAMP 8527.
U-8. a-b. Four Restauration-style armchairs with open arms and upholsteredbacks. Not in the Hampton Collection at this time. Fig. 35 (sideview); Fig. 36;Fig. 19.
U-9. Black painted fancy chair, Baltimore, c. 1800-1810. Fig. 39; HAMP943.
U-10. Elizabethan Revival style child's chair. Not in the Hampton collection.Fig. 40.
U-11.a-c. Three ottomans. None of these survive in the Hampton collectionsFig. 41 and Fig. 27.
Other furniture:
F-1. Center Table. Fig. 64; HAMP 2274.
F-2.a,b. Two candlestands. No longer at Hampton. Fig. 35, 41, 43.
F-3. Fancy tables and drawers. Fig. 67; HAMP 1156-9; HAMP19972.
F-4. Large Bookcase Fig. 68; HAMP 1148.
F-5. Fancy bookcase and Secretary. Fig. 70; HAMP 1148.
F-6,a-c. Gilt wood and gesso cornices. Fig. 71; HAMP 1030, 1032, 1033.
F-7. Large pier mirror with gilt and wooden frame.Fig. 71; HAMP 1227.
F-8, a-e. Marble console shelf, apron and cast metal brackets. Fig. 71; HAMP1037, 1049, 1044,1045, 1046.
F-9, a-c. Three pairs of stag's head curtain bands. Fig. 74; HAMP 1192.etc.
F-10, a-b. Pair of girandole mirrors with carved eagles. Fig. 75; HAMP 1180,1181.
Books in bookcase
Two to four books on center table
Musical Instruments
M-1. Steinway piano. Fig. 76; HAMP 4804.
M-2. Sebastian Erard patent double movement harp, London, England, 1817.Fig. 81; HAMP 2598.
M-3. Six string guitar and case. Fig. 85; HAMP 8657, 8658.
Music-related furniture
M-4. Empire style piano stool with back. Fig. 86; HAMP 4805.
M-5. A backless stool with a four sided convex pedestal Fig. 87; HAMP 926.
M-6. Round upholstered stool with 3 turned legs. Fig. 88; HAMP 2528.
M-7. Harp stool. Fig. 89; HAMP 21433.
M-8. Brass and mahogany music stand. Fig. 90; HAMP 4806.
M-9. Black and gilt music stand. Fig. 91; HAMP 3936.
M-10. Tiered music stand. Not in Hampton Collection, Fig. 92
M-11. Music box. Fig. 93; HAMP 2961.
Paintings, photographs and prints
East wall:
P-E. 1. Landscape, oil, Fig. 94; HAMP 10055/10056.
P-E. 2. Seascape, oil. Fig. 95; HAMP 1092/4835.
P-E. 3. Portrait, oil, of John Ridgely (1790-1867). Fig. 96; HAMP 1099/4831.
P-E. 4. Portrait, oil, oval format, of Priscilla Dorsey (Mrs. Charles Ridgely).Fig.97; HAMP 1094/5695.
P-E. 5. Portrait, oil, of Diana the Huntress. Fig. 98; HAMP 4838/4839.
P-E. 6. Portrait, oil, of Sophia Gough Ridgely Howard. Fig. 99; HAMP4827/4828.
P-E. 7. Landscape, oil. Fig. 100; HAMP 10051/10052.
P-E. 8. Seascape, oil. Fig. 101; HAMP 867/4834.
P-E. 9. Four framed miniature portraits framed within one large frame Fig.102; HAMP 4813 [Eliza Ridgely; John Ridgely (1790-1867); Eliza (Didi)Ridgely White Buckler;Eliza Welsh (Mrs. Martin Eichelberger].
P-E. 10. Double portrait, oil over paper solar enlargement photograph,mounted to canvas, of John Ridgely and Julian White. Fig. 103; HAMP826/10320.
P-E. 11. Seascape, oil. Fig. 104; HAMP 1093/4836.
P-E. 12. Pastoral scene, oil on canvas. Fig. 105; HAMP 7469/7470.
P-E. 13. Religious figure, oil. Fig. 106; HAMP 846/10324.
P-E. 14. Portrait , oil on wood, Sophia Ridgely Howard (b. 1830). Fig. 107;HAMP 4842/4843.
P-E. 15. Portrait , oil on wood, of James Howard (b. 1797). Fig. 108; HAMP4840/4841.
P-E. 16. Portrait, oil over paper solar enlargement photograph, mounted tocanvas, of Eliza Ridgely (1858-1954) as Little Red Riding Hood. Fig. 109;HAMP 856/4846.
P-E. 17. Landscape, lithograph. Fig. 110; HAMP 9917/9918.
P-E. 18. Landscape, oil,"View on Shenandoah River near Harpers Ferry." Fig.111; HAMP 1098/4803.
North Wall
P-N. 1. Landscape, oil, View of the Matterhorn. Fig. 112; HAMP 827/unfr.
P-N. 2. Seascape, oil. Fig. 113; HAMP 868/4833.
P-N. 3. Landscape, oil. Fig. 114; HAMP 2514/10057.
P-N. 4. Exterior scene, oil. Fig. 115; HAMP 7425/unfr.
P-N. 5. Portrait, watercolor, Charles Ridgely. Fig. 116; HAMP 10011/unfr.
P-N. 6. Seascape, oil. Fig. 117; HAMP 2508/10058.
P-N. 7. Landscape, oil. Fig. 118; HAMP 864/10073.
P-N. 8. Religious scene, oil, Madonna, child and Joseph. Fig. 119; HAMP884/10309.
P-N. 9. Portrait, oil, of Amy Watson. Fig. 120; HAMP 1108/unfr.
P-N. 10. Portrait, oil, of Margaretta Ridgely (b. 1869). Fig. 121;HAMP1106/10318.
P-N. 11. Pastoral landscape, oil. Fig. 122; HAMP 855/11773.
P-N. 12. Landscape, oil, subject unclear. No longer in the Hampton collection.See Fig. 69.
P-N. 13. Portrait, oil, of young boy and dog. HAMP 5677/5678. See Fig. 69.
P-N. 14. Landscape scene, oil, of reclining cupid. Fig. 123; HAMP 832/10091.
P-N. 15. Double portrait, oil, of Charles Morton Stewart (b. 1779) and JohnStewart (b. 1881). Fig. 124; HAMP 1130/4815.
P-N. 16. Portrait, oil, of John Ridgely (b. 1790). Fig. 125; HAMP 1114/5934.P-N. 17. Portrait, oil, of James Howard (1797-1870) Fig. 126; HAMP1100/4814.
P-N. 18. Portrait, oil, of Achsah Ridgely Carroll (1792-1841). Fig. 127; HAMP880/4816.
West Wall
P-W. 1. Landscape, oil. Fig. 128; HAMP 871/4832 a.b
P-W. 2. Portrait, oil, of Charles Carnan Ridgely (b. 1790). Fig. 129; HAMP1189 a-b/4844.
P-W. 3. Opalotype, of Helen West Ridgely (Mrs. John), c. 1873. Fig. 130;HAMP 22318/4809; Fig. 130.
P-W. 4. Opalotype, John Ridgely of Hampton, c. 1872. Fig. 130; HAMP22317/4810.
South Wall
P-S. 1. Group portrait, oil, of 4: John Ridgely (b. 1851); Charles Ridgely;Henry White; Julian White. Fig. 131; HAMP 1128/4817.
P-S. 2. Portrait, hand colored lithograph of Evangeline. Fig. 132; HAMP7401/7402.
P-S. 3. Egyptian genre scene, oil. Fig. 133; HAMP 7396/7397.
Fireplace Equipment
FP-1. a,b. Fire tongs and stand (HAMP 9106, Fig. 138)
FP-1. c. Matching brass-topped shovel (HAMP 9107, Fig. 139)
FP-2. a-e. Multi-part fireplace insert (HAMP 14145, 14146, 14152, 14153,14158, Fig. 140, 141)
FP-2. f. Stove (HAMP 19993, Fig. 141)
FP-3. Wire screen (HAMP 14170, Fig. 142)
Lighting
L-1. French chandelier (HAMP 1124; Fig. 146, see also Fig. 19).
L-2. a,b. Pair of brass and glass girandoles (HAMP 4807, 4808; Fig. 147).
L-3. a,b. Pair of pressed glass candlesticks with prisms (HAMP 4222, 4223; Fig.148).
L-4. a,b. Pair of French figural candelabra (HAMP 9043,9044, Fig. 149)
L-5. a,b. Pair of three-branch, figural, gilt-metal girandoles (HAMP 4217,1218; Fig. 150).
L-6, a,b. Pair of gas wall brackets. Not in the collection; see Fig. 13.
L-7: Gas center table lamp with glass shade.(HAMP 5759. a,b; Fig. 151)
L-8. a,b. A pair of Argand lamps (HAMP 2953, 2954; Fig. 153).
Other Accessories
O-1. a,b. Pair of Chinese floor vases, c. 1810-1830. HAMP 1117, 1118; Fig. 154.
O-2. a,b. Pair of Chinese floor vases, c. 1840-1870. Not in the collection; see
Fig. 27.
O-3. a,b. Pair of French porcelain vases, c. 1830-50. Not in the collection; seeFig. 41, 43, 137.
O-4. a,b. Small pair of porcelain vases, c. 1830-1850. Not in the collection; seeFig. 41, 43, 137.
O-5. Porcelain wall-pocket. Not in the collection, but currently owned byRidgely family member; Fig. 158; see Fig. 28.
O-6. Majolica pottery flowerpot. HAMP 9598; Fig. 159.
O-7. French porcelain mantel clock. HAMP 4280. a,b; Fig. 160.
O-8. Ormolu and bronze clock, with figure of Cincinnatus. No longer in thecollection; see Fig. 27.
O-9. Gilt and wood eagle brackets. HAMP 1170, 1171; Fig. 163, see also Fig.13.
O-10. Porcelain stag's head placque. HAMP 19968; Fig. 164, see also Fig. 69.
O-11. Stag's head paper weight. HAMP 9341; Fig. 165
O-12. Inkstand with cast bronze greyhound. HAMP 10399; Fig. 166.
O-13. Two leather fire buckets with Ridgely crest. Not in the collection.
O-14. Small metal easel. Not in the collection; see Fig. 13.
O-15. Jade carving on wooden stand. Not in the collection; see Fig. 13.
Paper, pen and ink
III. Cost estimates
A. Cyclic (replacements, i.e. curtains, wallpaper, etc.)
Architectural:
Painting (woodwork) 10-15 year cycle, beginning in
Graining 10-15 year cycle, beginning in
Wallpaper 15-20 year cycle, NEW INSTALLATION $ 20,000
Soft Furnishings: ALL REPRODUCTION MATERIALS
Floor Coverings:
Brussels Carpet 20 year cycle NEW INSTALLATION ESTIMATED AT $ 25,000
Floor Cloth 15 year cycle NEW INSTALLATION ESTIMATED AT 4,000
Matting 10 year cycle NEW INSTALLATION ESTIMATED AT 4,000
Drugget 1 year cycle NEW INSTALLATION ESTIMATED AT 1,000
Window and Door Hangings:
Draperies including 120 yds. 20 year cycle NEW INST.EST. AT $ 18,000
valances
Labor 20 year cycle NEW INSTALLATION EST. AT $ 4,000
Lace curtains 100 yds. 10 year cycle NEW INSTALLATION EST. AT $ 4,000
Labor 10 year cycle NEW INSTALLATION EST. AT $ 2,000
PortiŠres 60 yds. 20 year cycle NEW INSTALLATION EST. AT $ 9,000
Labor 20 year cycle NEW INSTALLATION EST. AT $ 2,000
Trim 20 year cycle NEW INSTALLATION EST. AT $ 2,500
Upholstery and other soft furnishings
Upholstery 125 yds. 20 year cycle NEW INSTALLATION EST. AT $ 8,000
Labor 20 year cycle NEW INSTALLATION EST. AT $ 8,500
Slipcovers 150 yds 10 year cycle NEW INSTALLATION ESTIMATED AT $15,000
Labor 10 YEAR CYCLE NEW INSTALLATION ESTIMATED AT $5,000 Cushions20 yr cycle NEW INSTALLATION ESTIMATED AT$ 1,000
Harp cover 20 yr cycle NEW INSTALLATION ESTIMATED AT $ 2,000
Piano cover 20 yr cycle NEW INSTALLATION ESTIMATED AT $ 500
Table cover 20 yr. cycle NEW INSTALLATION ESTIMATED AT $ 500
Antimacassars 20 yr. cycle NEW INSTALLATION ESTIMATED AT $ 750
Reproduction photographs HAMP 22317 and 22318 @ $ 100
Frames needed for HAMP 827; HAMP 7425; HAMP 10011; HAMP 1108; HAMP 1106 @ $ 500$ 2,500
Conservation needs
Immediate needs:
Nesting tables @ 1,000 for cleaning and conservation
Small secretary desk @ $2,000 for conservation
Paintings as needed @ $3,000 for large painting
@ $2,000 for medium painting
@ $1,000 for small painting
Frames as needed @ $2,000 for large frame
@ $1,000 for medium frame
@ $ 750 for small frame
Mantel girandoles @ $ 900 for refitting as for gas
Chandelier - refitting as for gas- estimate needed
Table lamp - refitting as for gas- estimate needed
Future needs:
Must be determined on an ongoing basis as need arises. See Housekeeping section for monitoring schedule.
B. One Time Expenditures/Donations
The active participation of the Furnishings and Conservation Committee of Historic Hampton, Inc., should be solicited for assistance in acquiring the necessary missing objects to complete the furnishings of the Music Room through donation of appropriate objects or materials. The acquisition of objects recommended in this plan through gift (particularly from members of the Ridgely family) should alleviate a significant portion of the costs indicated below.
Priority should be given to the acquisition of original Ridgely objects if available at the present time. Throughout this report, those objects being sought have been indicated. A letter with photographs of all needed pieces should be sent as soon as possible. The furniture that may remain with the Ridgelys is marked in bold in the Comprehensive List of Objects which precedes this section.
If these objects must be purchased, an estimated cost is listed as follows:
U.3. Oval back Rococo Revival sofa, American, c. 1845-1860. $ 3500
U.4.b. Grecian style lounge, American, c. 1830-40. $ 3500
U.8.a-d. Four Restauration style side chairs, American or French, c. 1840. $ 4000
U-10. Elizabethan revival child's chair, American, c. 1835-45. $ 400
U-11.a-c. Two small and one large ottoman, upholstered. $ 2100
F-2.a-b. Two candlestands, American, c. 1790-1810. $ 2000
M-10. Tiered music stand, English or American, c. 1790-1820. $ 1500
P-N-12. Landscape, American, c. 1850. $ 4,000
L-6.a,b. Pair of wall brackets. Reproduction. $ 400
O-2.a,b. Pair of Chinese floor vases, c. 1840-70. $ 6,000
O-3.a,b. Pair of French porcelain vases, c. 1830-50. $ 1,750
O-4.a,b. Small pair of porcelain vases, c. 1830-50 $ 500
O-5. Porcelain wall pocket. $ 150
O-8. Ormolu and bronze clock. $ 15,000
O-13.a,b. Reproduction leather fire buckets $ 1,000
O-14. Small metal easel $ 100
O-15. Jade carving on wooden stand $ 2,000
Floor registers (reproduction) $