18th Century Turnshoe Workshop (Part One)

You might recall that from 20-27 August 2011, we attended a workshop in 18th century ladies turnshoes at Eastfield Village.  Because of Hurricane Irene, which descended on us on the 27th and sent us all scurrying for home earlier than any of us expected (and left us without electricity at home for 8 days), our post about our experience at the workshop was never completed and has sat neglected in our "drafts" folder ever since.  After a workshop reunion this past week, however, I dug this original post out again and decided it was high time it was finally posted!  Now that our shoes will once more be on the road to completion, we figured we should begin our account of the process from the very beginning.  So here is the first part of our shoe-making project series, originally authored by Ashley back in September of 2011, beginning with a brief description of the site.  And if you're interested in getting a sneak peek at the current state of my shoes, check out our Facebook page!

- Rebecca

Brown's General Store (c. 1811) and the church (c. 1836).
Eastfield Village, August 2011.

The Old Tavern and the doctor's office.
Eastfield Village, August 2011.

The woodshop.
Eastfield Village, August 2011.

Eastfield Village is nestled in New York's eastern countryside (just east of Albany and west of Pittsfield, Massachusetts) among lush farmlands and winding back roads.  Eastfield was constructed in a manner similar to Old Sturbridge Village in that all of its historic buildings were moved from their original locations to this property to create a period "village" atmosphere.  Don Carpentier has been collecting these buildings and the massive and varied collection of antiques inside of them in order to create this idyllic historical village.  Unlike OSV, however, Eastfield is not the typical living history site of the sort you might expect; indeed, it brings the term "living" history to an entirely different level.  Anyone may stop by the village to explore on their own, but if you do, you will not find constant interpreters or docents on site.  For the casual visitor, your experience would be literally stepping into a working 18th century town, but with the residents on vacation.  While the property includes two taverns, a church, a general store, a blacksmith's forge and other trade shops, and multiple houses and barns, the village's primary purpose is to host workshops and events that promote pre-industrial crafts and trades.  To learn more about Eastfield Village, Mr. Carpentier's work, and the many and fascinating workshops currently scheduled to take place at the site, please visit his website.

Briggs Tavern, dating to 1793-1803.
Eastfield Village, August 2011.

Briggs Tavern front hall.
Eastfield Village, August 2011.

Our workshop was held in Eastfield Village's Briggs Tavern, which is a 1793-1803 building, restored to its original appearance and function, fully-furnished with usable antique furniture and household items.  Although wired for electricity in two of its rooms, electric lights and a modern water system are not available, so we cooked all of our meals over the fire in the kitchen hearth and washed all our dishes in a large soapstone sink with only cold running water (if you wanted hot water, it had to be heated the traditional way!).

Briggs Tavern kitchen, showing many signs of being lived in over the course of the week!
Eastfield Village, August 2011.

Preparing supper the first evening in the tavern's kitchen.

Eastfield Village, August 2011.

Our very traditional evening meal from the first night of the workshop.

Eastfield Village, August 2011.

The kitchen cupboard, well stocked with reproduction mugs, plates, and

utensils, all of which we used daily throughout the week.

Eastfield Village, August 2011.

Ashley doing the breakfast dishes.

Briggs Tavern, Eastfield Village, August 2011.

 

One of the public rooms of the tavern, which we used as a secondary space to prepare and serve meals.
Eastfield Village, August 2011.

Our light as we worked and eat and went about our days was provided by only natural light and candles, and yes, we even used traditional outhouses!  Most of the workshop participants also slept in this building; being a tavern, its many bedchambers are outfitted with multiple antique rope beds and sleeping spaces (for various reasons we opted for modern sleeping accommodations off-site).  Those of us participants who were reenactors dressed in our 18th century clothing for much of the week, taking full advantage of the site's unique ambiance to fully immerse ourselves as we learned our 18th century trade.

Briggs Tavern dining room, where we ate our meals and enjoyed each others' company.

Eastfield Village, August 2011.

The tavern's upstairs hall.
Eastfield Village, August 2011.

Our workshop for the week was the beautiful upstairs "ballroom" of the tavern, a large, spacious room flooded with the ideal amount of natural light during the long summer days.  Even without electricity, we were able to work until past 8pm every evening.  One evening, after darkness fell, we even cleared the center of the room and put the space to its original function for a dance, which began as it traditionally should with a minuet followed by country dances.

Briggs Tavern ballroom, transformed to our shoemaking "workshop" for the week.
Eastfield Village 2011.

Over the course of the week, we also had plenty of time during breaks to explore the other buildings on the site, and to sample some of Mr. Carpentier's extensive collection of books, tools, antiques, and his own beautiful pieces of pottery.  In her post about the workshop, Emily has shared some lovely photos of both the tavern in which we worked, and some of the other buildings and goodies filling them on the Eastfield property.

In the next post, we'll outline the workshop and the details of the week during which we began to learn the art of shoe-making the 18th century way.  Although challenging in more ways than we could have anticipated, it was an immensely rewarding and enlightening week, and we so enjoyed our indoctrination into the community of Crispin!

Briggs Tavern.

Eastfield Village, August 2011.

 

To learn more about Historic Eastfield Foundation and events and workshops taking place there, please visit their Facebook page.

18th-Century Interiors: A Closer Contemplation (Part Two)

In the previous post in this mini-series, I shared a collection of images that give insight into the domestic life of the family at the apex of colonial Virginian society: that of the Royal Governor, who was appointed to his eminent position by none other than the King himself.  The Governor's Palace, so named as an acknowledgement of the money and time poured into the exquisite building, includes architectural and design features rarely - if ever - seen in the homes of other colonial Virginians.

Even the wealthiest of colonial families lived a noticeable (and respectful) step below their royal representative.  Next to the Royal Governor, the most prosperous citizen of Virginia's colonial capitol city was Peyton Randolph, Virginia Burgess, patriot, and president of the First Continental Congress.  It was said by many of his contemporaries that had Randolph lived through the war, he would probably have been our new country's first president.  Alas, he died in 1775.

His home in Williamsburg, just down the street from the Governor's Palace, is one of the largest in the city.  Randolph's household was correspondingly grand; though he lived alone with his wife (and the occasional niece or nephew), the inventory taken at his death reveals that 27 slaves were also housed on the property.  That same inventory has been used to furnish and present the house (it is an original structure dating to 1715) as it would have looked in 1775.  Here is a peek into the domestic space of one of Virginia's gentry on the eve of the Revolution.  Keep in mind as you view these pictures that the majority of Virginia's population lived in a single room with a dirt floor.

 

Threaded Bliss

A Blue and Red Dutch Chintz Jacket,

1775-1785

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2013.

This jacket was a Christmas gift for Ashley (well, she bought the fabric and I supplied the sewing!) and she's worn it numerous times since then, but it was only a couple of weeks ago that we were able to get pictures of it.  I have to say that I think it's one of my favorites of all our projects thus far.

The pattern: The style of this jacket should look quite familiar by now!  This is the "swallowtail" jacket from Colonial Williamsburg's collection (CW acc. no. 1962-259) patterned by Linda Baumgarten in Costume Close-up, pages 39-42.  I used the pattern a couple of years ago for Ashley's "Wetherburn" jacket and then again more recently on my own blue chintz jacket, but we both like it so much that when Ashley ended up needing some new clothes, we immediately went to this old standby to ensure a quick, appealing, and well-fitting piece.

The original jacket in a study drawer at the DeWitt Wallace Museum.

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2010.

Inspirations: The red and blue colorway of this Dutch chintz was chosen to reflect the red and blue floral cotton print on the original jacket.  This chintz is of a much finer quality than the original textile and the printing design correspondingly much more detailed, but the overall effect is quite similar.

The jacket with a stomacher.

Construction details: The construction specifics for this particular jacket pattern have already been provided in significant (three-post-long!) detail in the blue chintz jacket tutorial, so I won't waste space repeating anything here.  If you haven't already seen it, you can access the complete tutorial here: part one, part two, part three.

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2013.

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2013.

 

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2013.

The fabric: A gorgeous Dutch chintz from Den Haan and Wagenmakers called "Wilhelmina."  The jacket, like the original, is fully lined with off-white linen.  The lacing holes are finished with silk button-hole twist.

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2013.

Finishing the look: The other reason Ashley selected this particular colorway for this jacket is because it coordinates so nicely with multiple different petticoats and accessories we already had.  In both incarnations, the jacket is worn over a shift, fully-boned stays, and a linen underpetticoat.  To emphasize the blue in the chintz, she pairs the jacket with my blue stuff wool/silk petticoat and a hat trimmed with blue satin ribbon poofs.  A bum roll helps the tails of the jacket drape elegantly, and a white neckerchief fills in the neckline.  A white silk taffeta ribbon laces the stomacher in across the front.

A bum roll gives the back of the jacket the cute shape so

fashionable in the late 1770s and early 1780s.

To emphasize the red and pink in the print, Ashley wears the jacket with a rosey pink cotton petticoat the same color as my pink worsted gown and a coordinating wide pink ribbon on her cap.  To give the outfit a slightly less "formal" look, she adds an apron made from the same white checked linen as the neckerchief and substitutes white cotton cording for the silk ribbon to lace in the stomacher.  We unfortunately didn't manage to get any decent pictures of the pink version this time (it was the 4th of July when she wore it and SO hot!), so you'll just have to imagine the look for now and wait for a "Threaded Bliss Postscript" post next time she wears that outfit!

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2013.

When we discovered that my new pink worsted gown is identical in color to the petticoat Ashley wears with this jacket, we decided to wear the two outfits together during UTR and had a fun time photographing them together.  We look a little too coordinated for 18th-century tastes, but the colors just looked so perfectly pretty together, so we did it anyway!  :-)

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2013.

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2013.

Additional pictures of this jacket can be found in this project's flickr set.

18th-Century Interiors: A Closer Contemplation (Part One)

During my trip to Colonial Williamsburg a couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to catch one of the new curator-led tours of the Governor's Palace.  This new series of tours, offered nearly every day this summer in the late afternoon, provides the opportunity to see the grandest building in the colonial Virginian capitol through the eyes of the museum professionals who now help to preserve and present it.  The curators leading the tours range in expertise in everything from architecture to porcelain to musical instruments - and yes, in textiles as well! - so you can be sure to find a tour that caters to your personal interests.

Curator of Costumes and Textiles at Colonial Williamsburg, Linda Baumgarten,

leads a textiles-specific tour of the Governor's Palace.

Colonial Williamsburg, June 2013.

Hearing that Linda Baumgarten, curator of CW's collection of textiles and costumes, would be doing the tour the day I arrived, I made certain to secure my ticket early in the morning to ensure I wouldn't miss this unique opportunity.  Before going into the Palace, Baumgarten briefly explained the role of the curator in general, and the highlights of her specialty specifically.  Then, bringing us room to room as we moved through the building, she paused to point out and discuss individual items: curtains and blinds, bed hangings and rugs, wallpaper and wall coverings, fashion dolls and bedcovers.  It was fascinating to hear her converse about items I've seen numerous times, and I began to look at the minutiae of details that defined each and every room through different eyes.  Here's a little photo "essay" of some of my favorite little finds as I snapped away while she talked.

The residence of the Royal Governor was the most opulently decorated building in colonial Virginia. Indeed, so excessively extravagant did it seem to the colonists that they nicknamed it the "Governor's Palace," and it's easy to see why!

The cornice of the larger bedstead in one of the bedchambers is covered
in the same fabric from which the bed hangings are made.

As this room is interpreted as one belonging to the Governor's two eldest daughters,
a fashion doll and an embroidered pocket rest on the bedside table.

One method of fastening back bed curtains.

The young ladies' dressing table.

Details of a painted cornice on the bed in the next room.

You can see the system of rings and cords used to create the
draped effect of the bed curtains.

New crimson silk damask now covers the walls in the upper center room.

The Governor's private dressing room.

The ceiling of the Palace ballroom.

Can you see the seam in the carpet?  The carpet of the ballroom was woven
and shipped in strips from England and then sewn together when it was installed.

The gilt border is paper mache covered in 24k gold.

I adore the bold, bright colors of the ballroom and the supper room.
Baumgarten explained that it is not paint that provides this stunning color, but
wallpaper, which was extremely popular in these bold shades in the early 1770s.

Clicking on any of the images will bring you to their flickr home, where you can access them in larger sizes.  You can also find the full album from the Williamsburg trip here.