Posts by Kent Delord House Museum

Hi Everyone, and welcome back to another artifact corner. Today we will be looking at a painting done sometime in the late 1830’s to early 1840’s. This is a pastoral scene of a saw mill and a log cabin. There are also some people seen down by the river, and a man walking a ox cart up a lane. You can also see some boats in the distance. This painting is attributed to the artist William Henry Bartlett, who was principally famous for his engravings. Let’s learn a bit more about this fascinating artist.

William Henry Bartlett was born on the 26th of March 1809 in Kentish Town (London), second son of William and Ann Bartlett. He was the son of middle-class parents, attended a boarding-school in London from 1816 to 1821 and in 1822 was apprenticed to the architect and antiquarian, John Britton, whose establishment in the parish of St Pancras (London) offered the boy an education that was both theoretical and practical. Bartlett studied and copied architectural drawings of the past and present and, with Britton, visited noted ruins in England from which he made detailed sketches to be engraved for some of Britton’s own publications. Bartlett continued to work for Britton as a journeyman after his apprenticeship ended in 1829, although he also provided sketches for other London publishers. On July 6th, 1831 he married Susanna Moon and thereafter his career was increasingly directed towards providing a livelihood for himself, his wife, and their five children. For the rest of his life Bartlett’s travels were extensive and continuous, and they led to illustrations for works on Syria, the Holy Land and Asia Minor, the Mediterranean coast, northern Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium, Scotland, Ireland, the coastal areas of Britain, the Bosphorus, the Danube, the United States, and Canada. Bartlett became an accomplished traveler.

William Henry Bartlett was both author and illustrator of numerous other works, including two books about the United States for which he undertook a fourth visit to North America in 1852. Although little is known about Bartlett’s itinerary in North America, a map in American scenery suggests that his travels during 1836–37 began in New York City and took him north to the White Mountains of N.H., west to Niagara Falls, N.Y., and south to Washington, D.C. His itinerary in the Canadas in 1838 and the observations he may have made also remain obscure because none of his letters from this period has been found. His route appears on a map in Canadian scenery illustrated: he seems to have traveled from Quebec City westward to Niagara Falls, and then by way of the Erie Canal to visit Willis at Owego, N.Y., before sailing for England in December 1838. No written record survives of Bartlett’s visit to the Maritimes. The dates of the engravings in Canadian scenery illustrated seem to indicate that he went there in 1841 after another visit to the United States. Bartlett’s biographer said of him that he was “a warm-hearted, sensitive, rather reserved Englishman who was devoted to his family and to a
small number of intimate friends.” Bartlett was returning from his last trip to the Near East when he suddenly took ill and died of fever on board the French steamer Egyptus o the coast of Malta in 1854. It’s likely he died of cholera. His wife Susanna survived her husband by almost 50 years, passing away in London in 1902.

This portrait is beautiful, but in need of some repairs. There are three holes in the painting, and it could definitely use a good cleaning. Regardless, it is a beautiful piece of artwork, and we are so lucky to have it in our collections. Thanks so much for stopping by!

The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Sunny Morning by MusicLFiles
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7813-sunny-morning
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfiles

Hi Everyone and welcome back to another artifact corner. Today we will be looking at this all metal curling iron or curling tong. This is from the late Victorian period, and was designed to curl your hair. Hair styles in the late Victorian period were voluminous, and curls were tres chic. But, if you weren’t born with naturally curly hair, you needed a way to remain in vogue, so, the curling iron or curling tongs were invented. Let’s learn a bit more about the history of curling irons, and women curling their hair.

Women and men have been curling their hair for thousands of years. In ancient Egypt, curling tongs have been found in serval tombs. In Greece, damp hair would be wrapped around smooth straight sticks in order to achieve the much desire cork screw curl. The Romans also liked their hair curly, but they decided to use heat to curl their hair. They used hollow metal rods, called calamistrum, which they would heat in a re, and then roll them in their hair. We don’t know much about women’s hair styles during the early Medieval period, but we know that curly hair continued to be fashionable throughout the Middle Ages. Women also used heated curling rods, copying Roman fashions. They would also braid their damp hair with scraps of fabric to achieve waves in their hair. Women in the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries also used hot rollers, scraps of fabric with damp hair, and early curling irons to keep their hair looking fashionably coiffed.

Frenchman Marcel Grateau is acknowledged as the official inventor of the curling tong. In 1872, Grateau revolutionized hair styling when he invented the “Marcel Wave” as alternative hairstyle to the long curls that were in trend at the time. The curling tong he invented, and used to create the “Marcel Wave,” still closely resembled the curling irons used by ancient civilizations. Over time, only the handles of curling tongs and the size of the metal barrel varied from one tool to another; handles would often be made of different types of wood, or more expensive models would have nickel-plated handles and oral embellishments. The curling tongs were designed to be heated over a gas burner. Now, this is incredibly dangerous for a multitude of reasons. You have open flames, a really hot piece of metal, and people not wearing heat protective gloves. There was also a very real risk of heating the tool up too much and burning your hair off, which happened, a lot! Women would try to take some protective measures, by wrapping the hair they were curling in paper first, but that didn’t prevent burning if the iron was too hot.

Thankfully today, we have electric curling irons, and most of them have temperature gauges. According to Redkin’s website, your curling iron should not exceed a temperature of 200 degrees, otherwise you might burn your hair. Our curling iron is in good condition, but none of us at the museum will be using it anytime soon. It is a fascinating glimpse into the lives of women in the late Victorian period, and we are so lucky to have it in our collections. Thanks so much for stopping by!

The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Sunny Morning by MusicLFiles
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7813-sunny-morning
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfiles

Hi Everyone, Happy 2024, and welcome back to another artifact corner. Today we will be looking at the honeymoon journal of Frances Henrietta Delord Webb. She wrote this journal while sailing across the Atlantic and traveling across Europe with her husband, Henry Webb. The journal begins with her departure from Plattsburgh in August of 1832. She and Henry then travel south to visit his family in Connecticut. They then headed to New York to board a vessel bound for the coast of France. Frances writes about the journey across in some detail. Here is an excerpt from her journal:
“We have occasionally seen some of the productions of the deep – our attention has been called to the shouting of whales, and the playing of porpoises about the ship – I last evening witnessed quite a singular phenomena, the emitting as if it were sparks of fire in the wake of the vessel – it appeared something like riding through fire – how it is produced I am not philosopher enough to tell, but it strikes me it may be a sort of electricity.”

It seems like what Frances is discussing when describing “riding through fire” is what we today call bioluminescence. Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by living organisms. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some bioluminescent bacteria, and terrestrial arthropods such as fireflies. She also describes hearing whales and seeing porpoises playing in the wake of their ship. The vessel they were on was called the Rhone, and was a sailing vessel. While the first steam vessel crossed the Atlantic in 1819, steam transport did not become commonplace until the 1840’s.

Frances’ next quote comes the following day, “Also among the deeds of yesterday we spoke a vessel bound for Quebec – there is something very pleasant in falling in with a vessel – like the passing of a compliment with a friend – Another day has passed over us finding ourselves in longitude 19 – latitude 48-23 – here sits my dear husband and myself driving our pens famously.”

This passage was a bit of a challenge. It took us a fair amount of time to try to locate the coordinates that Frances lists in her journal. After some calculations, we believe their ship was closing on the coast of France, but still had not passed Britain. The navigational system that the ships captain was using was called a chronometer, which were first developed for marine navigation, being used in conjunction with astronomical observation to determine longitude. By the time of their voyage chronometers were almost 100 years old, and a very reliable tool for navigating open water. The coordinates she lists were a bit wonky, but with some sleuthing, we were able to see where they were in the Atlantic when Frances was writing that passage.

The journal Frances wrote is incomplete. It is believed that she left a portion of it in Europe. It is a fascinating document detailing life and traveling in the early 1830’s. The journal is in good condition, given it’s age, and the shear miles it traveled during their Honeymoon. We are so lucky to have this document in our collections. Thanks so much for stopping by!

The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Sunny Morning by MusicLFiles
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7813-sunny-morning
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfiles

Hi Everyone, and welcome back to another artifact corner. Today we will be looking at a picture from our collections. This picture is not dated, but was likely taken in the mid to late 1890’s. The picture was taken in Dallas Texas, as we can see from the writing on the cardboard frame. On the back of the picture it says, “Frank Hall Wright and Family.” So, who are the Wright family, and why do we have this portrait in our collections? Let’s learn a bit more about Frank Hall Wright.

Frank Hall Wright was born on January 1st, 1860 in Atoka County in Oklahoma. His father was Allen Wright a full blooded member of the Choctaw Native Americans. Hi mother was Harriet Newell Mitchell Wright who was of Scotch-Irish decent. Frank’s father, Allen was left an orphan at an early age and was adopted by a Christian Missionary. He converted to Christianity and was educated at Union Theological Seminary of New York City. Frank himself also attended this college, following in his father’s footsteps, and becoming a minister. In 1885 Frank married Ada Lilienthal from Saratoga Springs, NY. They had two children together, Frank Hall Wright, Jr. and their daughter Gladys Wright. Both children were born in New York State. Frank and his young family traveled the country, while Frank gave sermons. One parishioner who attended said of Frank;
“One of the chief charms about Dr. Wright both as a man and evangelist, is his wonderfully sweet voice. I have heard few sweeter tenor voices than he has. Every time I heard him, he concluded each sermon with an appropriate song. Although it has been a long time since I saw and heard him, some of the songs he sang with such marvelous sweetness and wonderful effectiveness linger with me still.”

A minister friend of Rev. Wright wrote of him “”As well as I can remember, Dr. Wright is a man of medium height. At the time I knew him his hair and mustache were black. He wore glasses. He is half Indian. Somebody twitted him once about having to use glasses and also having some trouble with his teeth. He replied: That is the white blood in me.” Tragedy struck the family when their only son was killed in World War I on April 12, 1918. He was just 27 years old. Frank continued to travel the country giving sermons. He traveled to Canada in 1922, and on July 16th, he passed away. His local newspaper reported on it, and here is what they said: “Information was received here of the recent death at Muskoka Lake, Ontario, Canada, of Dr. Frank H. Wright, known as the “Indian Evangelist.” He was sixty-one years old and a son of the late Governor Allan Wright, who was a full-blooded Choctaw Indian, and a noted minister of the Southern Presbyterian church. The body of Dr. Wright was taken to St. Louis for interment beside the body of his son, who lost his life in the world war.”

This picture is in quite good condition, given it’s easily 120 years old. We don’t know if Frank Wright knew our Frank Hall, but given how much Frank Wright traveled, it would not be surprising if the two did meet. They were both ministers and men of faith. The picture is lovely and we are so lucky to have it in our collections. Thanks so much for stopping by!

The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Sunny Morning by MusicLFiles
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7813-sunny-morning
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfiles

Hi Everyone, today we will be looking at some amazing photos from our collections of our museum. This series of pictures is from the 19- teens through the 1930’s. We are so lucky to have these in our collections. Thanks so much for stopping by.

The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Sunny Morning by MusicLFiles
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7813-sunny-morning
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfiles

Hi Everyone, and welcome back to another artifact corner. Today we will be looking at an absolutely stunning umbrella. This piece likely dates to the early part of the 19th Century. It is made from multiple materials. The canopy is made of silk, the shaft is made of wood, the ribs are made of steel, the handle is made of brass and ivory. The ferrule, or the tip of the umbrella is also made of brass that has an engraved design on it. The handle has a name engraved in the ivory, Matthew Lane, who appears to hail from Troy, NY. We do not know who Matthew is, or why his umbrella ended up in our collections, but I’ll talk about that more in a bit. First let’s learn a bit more about umbrellas.

The English word “umbrella” comes from the Italian word “ombrella”, which traces its origins from the Latin word “umbella”, which is then derived from “umbra”. These Latin terms translate to shade or shadow. Like the word “parasol”, which is a combination of the French words “parare” and “sol” to mean “shield from the sun”, the umbrella was originally used to give oneself shade from the heat of the sun. Almost every ancient culture had umbrellas. Ancient Egyptians made umbrellas out of palm fronds, feathers, and stretched papyrus. In Mesopotamia, a similar picture is painted by artifacts from around the same period. Hindu culture assigns great importance to the umbrella with the chatra, a symbol in Hinduism closely connected to divinity and fortune. China made use of umbrellas and parasols as protection from both the sun and rain, but this practice was also con ned to the upper classes. Women in both Ancient Greece and Rome had parasols to protect them from the sun, but they were also a sought after fashion accessory. Records of umbrellas in Europe’s Middle Ages are extremely rare. Cloaks were the oft-cited instrument that medieval European people used to cover themselves when caught out in the rain. Umbrellas came back into fashion in Europe around the 16th Century. They were mostly used by women, until the mid to late 18th Century, when men started to adopt the practice of carrying one.

So, who is Matthew Lane, and why do we have his umbrella? Well, property records indicate that a Matthew Lane was selling, leasing, and buying a lot of property in Rensselaer County and Clinton County NY in the 1830’s. So, he seems to be a mover and shaker in the Albany area as well as up in our neck of woods in the 1830’s. If our research is correct, Matthew Lane’s father was a Revolutionary War veteran, and a very prominent businessman in Troy from the late 1700’s. So, Matthew and his family would have been well known in the area from the 1790’s through the 1860’s and 70’s. In 1832 our Frances Henrietta Delord was being courted and then married prominent businessman and Albany resident Henry Webb. Did they connect at a party perhaps, and he gifted them this umbrella on a rainy night? Did they somehow all meet in Plattsburgh at a social gathering? We simply have no records of it, so the umbrella’s history is still shrouded in mystery.

This umbrella is in good condition given it’s age and likely use. The silk has torn in some spots, most typically the wear spots on the piece, but the mechanical aspects still work. The handle, ribs and shaft are all in good condition. This is a truly stunning piece and we are so lucky to have it in collections. Thanks so much for stopping by.

The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Sunny Morning by MusicLFiles
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7813-sunny-morning
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfiles