Colonial Homes and Their Furnishings Part 5

When the colonist became prosperous, and the newest fashions of the motherland were eagerly copied, wall papers of both types were imported; many of these are still preserved, showing shadings done by hand with the utmost care, and colorings of lovely reds, blues, and browns, all produced by the use of from fifteen to twenty sets of blocks.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE XXII.--Roman Ruins paper, Lee Mansion, Marblehead.]

One of the most exquisite of French papers is shown in the Knapp house at Newburyport, Ma.s.sachusetts, built by a Revolutionary hero, at the time of the erection of the Lee Mansion at Marblehead. This paper is thought to have been fashioned in the first quarter of the nineteenth century, and in type it is like that found on the hall of the "Hermitage," Andrew Jackson's residence near Nashville, Tennessee. It is produced in wonderful shades of soft green, red, peac.o.c.k blue, and white, all undimmed by time, and it represents scenes from Fenelon's "Adventure of Telemachus," a favorite novelty in Paris in 1820.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE XXIII.--Adventures of Telemachus paper, Nymphs Swinging.]

Other fine examples of this type of paper, which have never been hung, are still preserved in the home of Major George Whipple at Salem, having been imported about 1800. These show different scenes, including representations of gateways and fountains, with people in the foreground.

Natural scenes were favorite themes with many designers, one such example being a Venetian scheme still shown on the walls of the Wheelwright house in Newburyport, a fine, colonial dwelling, built a hundred years ago by an ancestor of William Wheelwright, whose energies resulted in the first railroad over the Andes. This paper is found in the drawing-room, and another, ill.u.s.trative of a chariot race, is shown in one of the chambers.

The Bay of Naples was another favorite theme with designers; in fact, it was numbered among the best-liked subjects. Its faithfulness of detail and exquisite coloring are no doubt responsible for this popularity, and then, too, no other subject could better bear repet.i.tion. Other favorite views were scenes of France, more particularly of Paris, and these types were in great favor during Washington's administration and that of John Adams, though later they lost caste.

The new landscape papers suggest the old ones, though they are unlike them in tone and character, except in cases where specimens have been taken as models and copied with faithful exactness. Such instances, however, are rare. The best examples of old specimens of this type date from twenty-five years prior to the Revolution up to about fifty years afterwards.

Fine examples of such paper are still to be seen at the Lee Mansion at Marblehead, now the home of the Marblehead Historical Society. These, like many others, were made to order in England by accurate measurements, proof positive of this fact being gleaned a few years ago when the panel between the two windows in the upper hall was peeled off, and on the back was found the following inscription, "11 Regent Street, London. Between windows, upper hall." They are all excellently preserved, and const.i.tute probably the most remarkable set in America.

For the most part, they are done in gray, outlined in black, and depict old Roman ruins, set like framed pictures, in alternation with strange heraldic devices, like coats of arms. In some of the rooms the papers are in sepia tones, showing castellated scenery, sailboats gliding over lakes, and peasant figures loitering along the sh.o.r.e.

Another interesting wall paper is found at Hillsboro, New Hampshire, in the home of Governor Pierce, father of Franklin Pierce, fourteenth President of the United States, which is now used as an inn. The room that it adorns is set apart, and the pattern depicts galleys setting sail for foreign lands, while to the music of the harpsichord, the gentry dance upon the lawn. In its prime this estate was one of the show places of Hillsboro, with beautiful gardens surrounding the house, and interesting features in the way of peac.o.c.ks that proudly displayed themselves to the gaze of admiring guests.

Unlike these old-time papers, and yet equally as distinctive, is the wall covering in the hall of the Warner house at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This is a series of paintings, extending the length of the staircase, and const.i.tuting the most unique wall adornment in the country. Ever since the hall was finished, there has been displayed at the staircase landing, in the broad s.p.a.ces at either side of the central window, life-sized paintings of two Indians, highly decorated and finely executed, thought to be representations of fur traders of early times; but the rest of the series was lost to view for a long time until about sixty years ago, when the hall was repaired. During the process of renovation, four coats of paper that had acc.u.mulated were removed, and as the last coat was being torn off, the picture of a horse's hoof was disclosed. This led to further investigation, and soon a painting of Governor Phipps, resplendent in scarlet and yellow, seated on his charger, was brought to light, followed by the representation of a lady carding wool at a colonial spinning-wheel, who had been interrupted in her task by the alighting of a hawk among chickens. Next came a Scriptural scene, that of Abraham offering up Isaac, followed by a foreign city scene, and several other sketches, covering in all an area of between four and five hundred square feet. The entire paintings to-day are presented in their original beauty, and they lend to the fine hall an atmosphere of interesting quaintness.

But whatever their type, the old wall hangings are always attractive.

Sometimes it is the subject that most strongly appeals, again it is the coloring, or it may be the effect, but in any event each and every one serves the purpose for which it was intended, and a room hung with old-time wall paper is undeniably beautiful, affording a setting that modern effects rarely equal.

CHAPTER VIII

OLD CHAIRS AND SOFAS

There is a charm about old furnishings that cannot fail to appeal to all lovers of the quaint and interesting, and a study of their characteristics is a diversion well worth while. Old-time cabinet-makers understood the value of bestowing upon details the same consideration they gave main features, and, as a result, their work shows that harmony that gives to it an interest not found in later types, and which, more than anything else, has helped bring it into prominence in the equipment of modern dwellings. While this is true of all colonial fittings, it is especially true of the chair, for this article more than any other depicts the gradual betterment of rudely formed beginnings culminating in the work of the three master craftsmen, Chippendale, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton, whose designs, even to-day, serve as an inspiration to high-cla.s.s cabinet-makers.

In the early days of the colonies, chairs were scarce appurtenances, and the few used, generally not more than three in number in each home, and known as forms, were very rudely constructed, being in reality stools or benches, fashioned after the English designs then in vogue.

Later, these developed into the high-backed settles, which are so much used in a modified form to-day.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE XXIV.--Queen Anne, Fiddle Back; Queen Anne, stuffed chair; Dutch Chair, carved; Empire Lyre-backed Roundabout on Chippendale lines, 1825.]

By the middle of the seventeenth century, chairs had come into more common usage, the type then in favor being strong and solid of frame, with seat and back covered with durable leather or Turkey work.

Generally, the legs and stretches were plain, though sometimes the legs and back posts were turned.

Specimens of the turned variety, which are the first seats that really could be termed chairs, are very scarce to-day, the best examples being found at Pilgrim Hall at Plymouth, in the home of Hon. John D. Long at Hingham, Ma.s.sachusetts, in the Heard house at Ipswich, Ma.s.sachusetts, and in the Waters collection at Salem, where one specimen shows a covering which is a reproduction, having been fashioned to exactly match in design and texture the original one it replaced when that one wore out.

The year 1700 marked the introduction of the slat-back chair, which enjoyed a long period of popularity. The number of slats at the back, characteristic of this type, varied with the time of making, the first specimens showing but two, while later types showed five. These chairs were solid and strong of frame, and in Pennsylvania were made curved to fit the back, affording a comfortable support. They included, in addition to ordinary chairs, armchairs, and it was to an armchair of this make that Benjamin Franklin affixed rockers, thus inventing the first American rocking-chair and inaugurating a fashion that has never waned in popularity. This first rocking-chair and its contemporaries, which did not antedate the Revolutionary War by any great number of years, had rockers that projected as far in the front as they did at the back,--a peculiarity that makes them easily recognizable to-day. Later, this objection was remedied, and the present type of rocking-chair came into fashion.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE XXV.--Chippendale, Lord Timothy Dexter's Collection, H. P. Benson; French Chair, showing Empire influence; Flemish Chair; Banister-back Chair.]

From 1710 to 1720 the banister-back chair was much used, though it never enjoyed equal favor with the slat-back type. Instead of the horizontal slats typical of the earlier model, the banister-back chair showed upright spindles, usually four in number, and generally flat, though sometimes rounded at the back. Its seat, like that of the slat back, was of rush, and it was fashioned of either hard or soft wood, and almost always painted black. One interesting example of this make is found at "Highfield," the ancestral home of the Adams family at Byfield, Ma.s.sachusetts, having been brought here in the early days of the dwelling's erection by Anne Sewall Longfellow, who came here the bride of Abraham Adams, and who brought the chair herself from her old home across the fields that divided the two estates, so that no harm would befall it. It has been carefully treasured by her descendants, and to-day occupies its original resting place by the side of the wide old fireplace, where, on the night before the Battle of Bunker Hill, leaden bullets used in that historic encounter were cast.

Slightly later than these types came the Dutch chair, sometimes severely plain in design, and again pierced and curiously carved. One excellent example of this model, formerly owned by Moll Pitcher, the famous soothsayer of Lynn, who told one's fate by the teacup at her home at High Rock, is now preserved in a Chestnut Street dwelling at Salem, and shows the straight legs and straight foot of the best cla.s.s of the Dutch type, and the usual rush seat. Most Dutch specimens found their way to Dutch settlements, though many were brought to New England direct from northern Holland.

Easy chairs which came into style not long after the slat-back model, proved the most comfortable type yet invented, and served as a welcome variation from the straight and stiff-backed chairs up to that time in favor. They were stuffed at back and sides, and covered with patch or material of like nature. Owing to the amount of material which was used in stuffing and covering them, their cost was considerable, varying from one to five pounds, according to the style and quality of covering used.

The most common and popular chairs of the eighteenth century were those of the Windsor type, manufactured in this country as early as 1725, and deriving their name from the town in England where they originated. The story of their origin is most interesting. The reigning George of that day, the second of his name, saw in a shepherd's cottage a chair which he greatly admired. He bought it to use as a model, thus setting the stamp of kingly approval on this type, and bringing it into immediate favor. It is not related what color he had his chairs painted, but the general coloring employed was either black or dark green, though some chairs were not painted at all. The finish of the back of this type was varied to suit different fancies, some few having a comblike extension on top as a head-rest, while others had a curved or bowlike horizontal top piece, like a fan. These types originated the names comb back and fan back, by which Windsor chairs of these types are known.

American manufacturers in general copied the English styles, though they also developed several variations. Many American Windsors, particularly the fan backs, are equipped with rockers, the date of their manufacture coming after the Revolution.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE XXVI.--Chippendale Arm Chair, showing straight, square legs; Chippendale Chair; Chippendale, one of a set of six, showing Rosette design; Chippendale Arm Chair with Cabriole legs, Ball and Claw feet.]

But Windsor chairs, popular and fine as they were, by no means were the best type developed in this century, for this period marked a great change in the history of cabinet-making, resulting in the development of wonderful designs, exquisitely blended and finished. First on the list of the new master craftsmen was Chippendale, who in 1753 issued his first book of designs, and whose models were given first consideration for more than thirty years. Then, in 1789, followed Hepplewhite, and two years later came Sheraton, while lesser lights, such as the Brothers Adam, Manwaring, Ince, and Mayhew, all contributed their share to the betterment of chair manufacture.

The chair seems to have been Chippendale's favorite piece of furniture, and in its design he has blended the finest points in French, Dutch, and Chinese patterns. His first chairs showed Dutch influence, and for these he used the cabriole leg, greatly improving its curving, with the Dutch or ball-and-claw foot, the latter more frequently than the former. His chair seats were broad and flat, and in his backs he disregarded the usual Dutch types, his uprights generally joining the top at an angle, and his top piece being usually bow-shaped. His backs were a little broader at the top than at the bottom, and he used the central splat carved and pierced.

Next, his chairs showed Louis the Fifteenth characteristics, notably in the splats, which were often handsomely carved and pierced. During this time he produced his ribbon-back chair, though his best chairs, showing this influence, were upholstered armchairs, with legs terminating in French scroll feet. Later, he introduced in his chairs Gothic and Chinese features, even though the backs still preserved the Dutch and French features. Finally, the details of the several features became much mixed, and at length resulted in a predominance of Chinese characteristics. Most of his chairs were done in mahogany, which was a favorite wood in his day, and his skill is especially displayed in the wonderful carving which is typical of much of his work. Not only are his chairs excellently proportioned, but they are so substantially built that even to-day, after more than one hundred and fifty years' usage, they show no sign of wear.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE XXVII.--Empire Sofa; Cornucopia Sofa; Sofa in Adams style, about 1800.]

Not a little of his work found its way to New England homes, many fine specimens at one time gracing the dwelling of "Lord" Timothy Dexter, Newburyport's eccentric character, who made his fortune by selling warming pans to the heathen, who used the covers for scooping sugar, and the pans for sirup. His home was filled with quant.i.ties of beautiful furniture, including many excellent Chippendale chairs.

Hepplewhite, the second of the master cabinet-makers, succeeded Chippendale in popular favor in 1789, and his furniture, while much lighter and consequently less durable than that of his predecessor, showed a beauty of form and a wealth of ornamentation that rendered it most artistic. He employed not only carving of the most delicate and exquisite nature, but inlay and painting as well, introducing j.a.panning after the style of Vernis-Martin work.

The shield or heart-shaped back is one of the characteristics of his chairs, though he also used oval backs and sometimes even square backs.

They are all very graceful and delicate, with carved drapery, and many of the shield-shaped type show for decoration the three feathers of the Prince of Wales, Hepplewhite being one of the Prince's party when sentiment ran strong during the illness of George III. Other decorations employed by him were the urn, husk and ear of wheat. The wood he generally used was mahogany, though occasionally he made use of painted satinwood.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE XXVIII.--Sheraton, mahogany frame, about 1800; Sheraton with solid arms and straight, slender legs; Sheraton, about 1790. Note the graceful curve of the arms.]

Following close upon the heels of Hepplewhite came Sheraton, the last of the three great masters in cabinet-work. His designs were delicate, but strong, and generally his chair backs were firmer than those of Hepplewhite. When he had exhausted other forms of decoration, he indulged his fancy for brilliant coloring, mixing it with both inlay and carving. Later he embellished his work with the white and gold of the French style, finally employing features of the Napoleonic period, such as bra.s.s mounts and bra.s.s inlay. His last seats show the influence of the Empire type, which came into vogue in the early days of the nineteenth century, and the curved piece which he brought in about 1800 served as a model for nearly a century, though it was not adorned with the bra.s.s mounts that he had intended.

His greatest glory as a constructor lies in his skillful workmanship and his excellent choice of woods,--satinwood, tulipwood, rosewood, applewood, and occasionally mahogany, being his selection; and as a decorator in the color and arrangement of his marquetry, as well as in the fact that he never allowed consideration of ornament to affect his work as a whole.

Among the chairs he fashioned was one that has come to be known in this country as the Martha Washington chair, from the fact that a specimen of this type was owned at Mount Vernon. Several excellent examples of his chairs are found at "Hey Bonnie Hall," in Bristol, Rhode Island, one of them being the chair in which John Adams is said to have died.

Chairs of all types are found in any number of old-time homes, those in Salem being as representative as any, for to this old seaport more than to any other, in proportion, rare furnishings were brought. Many of the pieces are of historic interest, such as the old-time chair of Flemish make, brought over in the ship _Angel Gabriel_, which was wrecked off the coast of Maine; much of its cargo was recovered, including this old chair, which was later brought to Salem in another ship. Another fine old specimen is the armchair, for many years the prized possession of Hawthorne, and an heirloom in his family, which he presented to the Waters family, in whose possession it now is.

With the pa.s.sing of Sheraton, Empire models held full sway, and, while some of these were comfortable and graceful, the majority were ma.s.sive, stiff, and extreme in style. Early nineteenth-century chairs manufactured in America are of this type, some of them of rosewood, some of mahogany, and some painted, while many are of mahogany veneer.

But while chairs were the most common seats in the colonies, they were not the only ones, for old-time homes were supplied with sofas as well.

To be sure, these did not come into use until many years after the advent of the chair, the time of their appearance being about the year 1760; the majority shown are the work of the master cabinet-makers.

Sheraton models are those most commonly found here, though the earliest specimens are of Chippendale manufacture, excellent examples of his work being still found, many of them characterized by Louis XV features. A special design of Chippendale's much in favor was "The Darby and Joan"

sofa, in reality a double seat, which model, as well as many others that became very popular, was never shown in his catalogue.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XXIX.--Sheraton, about 1800; Sofa, about 1820; Sofa, about 1820, winged legs.]

Sheraton sofas came in vogue about 1800, their graceful designs and handsome carving making them at once favorites. Many of these showed eight legs, though later, when his designs became heavier and more elaborate, only four legs were used. The coverings of these later specimens were generally haircloth, fastened with bra.s.s nails.

The Brothers Adam also made some of the sofas found here, their designs showing a peculiar slanting or curved leg which is known as the Adam leg, and which is also characteristic of some of Sheraton's pieces.

About 1820 what was known as the Cornucopia sofa came into style, the carving at the arms showing horns of plenty, which design was often repeated in the top-rail, while the hollow made by the curve of the decoration was filled with hard, round pillows, known as "squabs."