Posts by Kent Delord House Museum

Hi everyone and welcome back to another artifact corner. Today we will be looking at an absolutely beautiful silver spoon from the early 1800’s. This spoon belonged to the Webb family, and came into our collections through the marriage of Henry Webb and Frances Henrietta Delord. Their daughter, Fannie Delord Webb Hall inherited the Webb family collections, and that’s why we have these pieces at our museum. We have an entire set of this beautiful silver, and the family definitely used them. Let’s learn a bit more about the history of forks, and the maker of this gorgeous piece.

The oldest records of people using forks is from the Bronze Age, sometime between 2,400 to 1,900 BCE. Archaeologists found two pronged forks, made from bone, during excavations at sites in Gansu, a north-central province of China. Now, it’s not clear whether these were used for dining, serving, or for food preparations. Forks have also been found in Ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece. But these earliest forks seem to have been used mostly for food prep rather than as a dining utensil. So, how did forks come to our table? The first mention of forks comes from a Byzantine manuscript from around the year 1,000 CE. The Emperors niece is described as eating her meals with a golden two pronged fork. The common practice at the time was to have a table set with a knife and a spoon. One would cut foods with the knife, and use their hands to pick up and eat it. A spoon was used for soups and porridges. The first appearance of forks in a cookbook comes from a 13th Century gift to the King of Naples. The cookbook states that diners should use forks to pick up slippery lasagna noodles. Forks continued to spread across Europe, becoming increasingly common for both the aristocracy and the average person. Forks could be made from a variety of materials, and the average person, wishing to emulate the upper classes could fashion their own forks from materials readily available to them. As Europeans immigrated to the United States, they brought their utensils with them, and the fork was introduced to North America.

Our fork is made by an American Silversmith named Thomas Chester Coit. Thomas was born in Norwich, CT On November 1, 1791. At the age of 14 he started his apprenticeship under an unknown jeweler in Canterbury, CT, and apprenticed there for seven years. From 1812 to 1816 he worked on his own as a silversmith and jeweler back in Norwich. In 1816 he formed a partnership with Elisha Hyde Mansfield and they created the firm Cost & Mansfield. An advertisement of theirs at the time says they offered, “ a good assortment of military goods, elegant gold and gilt hat loops; and sword knots.” This partnership with Mansfield lasted until 1819. In 1820 Thomas formed another partnership with a silversmith named Clark, no first name can be found for this craftsperson. They formed the firm of Clark & Coit. This partnership only lasted for two years, and this is the firm that made our silver set. So, we can safely date this set to between 1820 to 1822. Thomas continued in his trade, eventually moving to New York City in 1835, and working as a silversmith in the Big Apple. Thomas passed away on February 28, 1841, at the age of just 49.

Our fork, and the rest of this silver set are in beautiful condition. The Webb family name, hand engraved on the back is still very legible, as is the touchmark from the silversmiths. The forks tines are all straight, and the fork itself looks like it could have been made yesterday, rather than over 200 years ago. The whole set is just stunning, 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 a wooden gavel. We are not really sure why we have a gavel in our collections. Betsey Delord Swetland’s second husband was a prominent lawyer in Plattsburgh, and so could this somehow be related to William Swetland? That’s distinctly possible. Let’s learn a bit more about the history of gavels.

The origin of the word gavel come from the Medieval English word gafol, spelled GAFOL. The term referred to a tribute or rent payment made with something other than money. Gavel would be prefixed to any non-monetary payment given to a lord, such as gavel-wool, meaning the payment to the lord would be in wool. Another use of the word was gavelkind, which stood for inheritance in parts of the UK and Ireland, and could be used for inheritance of property or possessions.

So, how did the gavel go from being a term indicating payment or inheritance, to a small ceremonial mallet commonly made of hardwood, and typically fashioned with a handle? That’s a little less clear. We know that in the Masonic organization, a setting maul (which is a wooden hammer used to set stones into walls), was used to bring meetings to order. This might be the origins of the use of gavels in legal proceedings, but the history is quite a bit murky. The first use of a gavel recorded in the United States is when Vice President John Adams used a gavel as a call to order in the first U.S. Senate in New York in 1789. Gavels are used by judges in the United States, as well as in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The House gavel is similar to the one we have, a simple wooden mallet. The Senate’s gavel is unique. It has an hourglass shape and no handle. In 1954, the gavel that had been in use since at least 1834 (and possibly since 1789) broke when Vice President Richard Nixon used it during a heated debate on nuclear energy, despite silver plates that were added to strengthen it in 1952. Currently, the senate uses a white marble gavel.

Our gavel is made from a hardwood, and definitely has signs of wear, so it was likely used for some period of time. It’s very hard to date this gavel. It’s likely Victorian, but it could be earlier than that. This design and style has been in use for hundreds of years now. It’s an interesting piece of history, and we are so lucky to have it in our collections. Thanks so much for all of your support in 2022, and we look forward to new and interesting videos in 2023! Happy New Year everyone, and 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 brochure from 1857. This brochure lists the departures and costs for traveling from the port of La Havre France to New York City. So, why is this in our collections? Well, our Fannie Delord Webb Hall and her husband Frank Hall were married in 1856, and went on a year long honeymoon in Europe. This must have been the schedule they got in La Havre, when they were booking their return voyage home. This brochure was found in a purse belonging to Fannie, just another souvenir from their time in Europe. The brochure is mostly in French, but there is some English sprinkled in the text to make it mostly legible for the British and American tourists. Let’s learn a bit more about Transatlantic travel in the 19th Century.

At the dawning of the 19th Century, crossing the Atlantic Ocean was quite an ordeal. Steam ships had not yet been invented, so your only option was sailing, which meant you were at the mercy of the winds. If you were lucky, you could make it across in 21 days, which was a screamingly fast journey. If you were unlucky the trip could take over a month, this would mainly be due to lack of sufficient wind. All of this changed in 1819, when the steamboat Savannah crossed the Atlantic. Originally fit out in New York as a sailing vessel, the engineer onboard also included a steam engine and a side paddle wheel. On May 24, she left the US bound for Liverpool. Her owners had so little faith that the vessel would arrive in tact that they had no passengers onboard, and zero cargo. It took her 29 and a half days to reach her destination, and the crew only used the engine for about 80 hours of the trip, due to how little coal they could carry on the Savannah. Still, this was a big deal in the history of crossing the Atlantic!

Almost 20 years would pass before another steam vessel crossed the Atlantic. In 1838 rival British and American companies deployed their top of the line steam vessels. The American ship Sirius, and the British vessel Great Western cruised across the Atlantic. The Sirius made it in 18 days, and the Great Western made it in just 15, a huge leap forward for people who were traveling across the ocean. As steam engines were improving, so were the times at which people could safely travel across the Atlantic. By 1855, it would take around 10 days, by 1880 you could make it in 7 to 8 days, and by 1920’s you could make it across the ocean in just four days. So in a hundred years time a journey that would have taken you over a month, was now down to 4 days. An incredible feat of ingenuity. Fannie and Frank’s journey likely took them around 8 to 10 days to cross. Fannie’s Mother and Father went to Europe in 1832 for their honeymoon. Thanks to a journal Fannie’s mother kept of their travels, we know that their journey across the ocean took 3 weeks! The cost listed on the brochure for a first class ticket was 730 Francs, which was the equivalent of $142 in 1857. In today’s money that ticket would cost you $4,860. A hefty price tag.

This brochure is in fair condition. The paper is quite flimsy, but given that this was meant to be something disposable, or what we would call today a throw away item, it’s actually shocking how well it’s held up. It is a glimpse into world travel in the mid 1800’s, 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 a collection of beautiful women’s caps. These lovely pieces are just a couple of caps we have in our collections. We have quite a few of them, with varying styles and decorations. These caps are made from either cotton of linen, and some have hand embroidery, lace trim, and needlework. All of them are hand sewn, as they all date before the invention of the sewing machine. Let’s learn a bit more about the history of these caps, and women’s hair covering in general.

The first writing we have on women covering their hair is from an Ancient Assyrian text dating to around the 13th Century BCE. It was a law stating that women must cover their hair when they are out in public as a sign of piety. This law only required women to wear a hair covering when the were in public though, women at home with their families did not need to wear a hair covering. This practice was popular within many countries and religions. Nations throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe required that women going out into public cover their heads with either a scarf, hat, or veil. It was considered immodest or even scandalous to go out of doors if you were an adult women without your head covered in some way. In many communities, head covering were not required for children and young adults. In Europe, throughout the Middle Ages, women’s head covering became a part of their fashions, and changed as frequently as their clothing. Again, in this period, it would have been socially and religiously unacceptable for a women of any social standing to appear in public without her head covered for modesty…… I’m looking at you THE LAST DUEL: whoever did your costuming, did you a disservice.

In the 16th and 17th Centuries in Europe and America, hats and caps were still very much in fashion, but due to elaborate hair styles, crowns and hair jewelry was also very popular. In the 18th Century we see our caps, often referred to as mob caps see their hay-day. These mostly linen caps were worn indoors, and also worn under hats and bonnets. The caps were almost always constructed of linen because the cotton gin was not invented until 1794, meaning that cotton was incredibly cost prohibitive. The mob cap is a round, gathered or pleated cloth bonnet consisting of a caul to cover the hair, a frilled or ruffled brim, and (often) a ribbon band, worn by married women in the Georgian period, when they it called a “bonnet”. Originally an informal style, the bonnet became a high-fashion item as part of the adoption of simple “country” clothing in the later 18th century. During the French Revolution, the name “Mob Cap” caught on because the poorer women who were involved in the riots wore them, but they had been in style for middle class and even aristocracy since the century began. The caps went out of style in the Victorian Period, although they were still used by certain people in the Service industry, such as house maids.

Our beautiful collection of caps or bonnets are from the late 18th to the early 19th centuries. They all have some form of wear on them, some are stained, others have fraying lace, but given that they are all over 200 years old, this is unsurprising. These pieces would have been heavily worn, so they are actually in good condition. They are a lovely glimpse into women’s fashions from well over 200 years ago, and we are so lucky to have them 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 pair of epaulettes from the American Civil War. These are a combination of materials, brass, leather, and fabric. There is also a button on the epaulettes with and eagle and crest. Inside the crest there is a capitol letter I. The I signifies that the epaulettes were worn by an officer in the infantry. So, we have a really interesting question, why are they in our collections?! We only had one family member who served in the Civil War, Frank Hall. But, Frank was a chaplain in the war, and he was never issued a military uniform. He wore civilian clothing throughout his time in the NY 16th Volunteers. So, either Frank was gifted or somehow ended up with these epaulettes, or they were donated to the museum at a later time. Let’s learn a bit more about the history of epaulettes.

An epaulette (which in French means little shoulder) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as an insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations. The origin of our modern epaulettes start in the 17th Century. Military coats were decorated with bunches of ribbons, worn on the shoulders. These ribbons were partially decorative but also helped to prevent should straps from slipping. These ribbons were tied into a knot that left the fringed end free. This established the basic design of the epaulette as it evolved through the 18th and 19th centuries. Throughout the 18th Century and into the 19th Century, flexible metal epaulettes (which were often referred to as shoulder scales) were worn to designate the rank of the officer wearing them.

By 1851, in the United States the epaulettes became universally gold. Both majors and second lieutenants had no specific insignia. A major would have been recognizable as he would have worn a more elaborate epaulette, with the fuller fringes of a senior field officer. Epaulettes are fastened to the shoulder by a shoulder strap or passenten, a small strap parallel to the shoulder seam, and the button near the collar, or by laces on the underside of the epaulette passing through holes in the shoulder of the coat. The placement of the epaulette, its color and the length and diameter of its bullion fringe are used to signify the wearer’s rank. Although originally worn in the field, epaulettes are now normally limited to dress or ceremonial military uniforms. Today large metal epaulettes are not often used by the military. They have been replaced by cloth pieces that can be easily sewn in place and quickly replaced. Epaulettes have also become super popular in fashions today for both men and women. They can be a fantastic shoulder accent that can truly make any garment more chic.

Our epaulettes are in pretty amazing condition. The brass is in near mint condition, and the red leather covering the back of them is in quite good condition. The red silk and red velvet that form the shoulder piece is a bit more worn, which is to be expected as that is the part of the epaulette that would have had the most friction against the wearers uniform. These are in beautiful condition, and we are so lucky to have them in our collections, however they got here. 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 letter that Betsey Delord Swetland wrote to her Granddaughter Fannie Delord Webb Hall. The letter was dated December 8, 1857, and reads as follows:

“My Beloved Child,
We have an open winter. So far the weather has been like September, only an occasional cold day. Our little bay was only frozen over Thanksgiving day. It was black with boys and girls skating, a fine sport. Next day all open and still continues open and raining today. I had rather have cold weather and snow. With the poor help I had, and not being well enough, I gave up asking Rev. Coit’s family for dinner Thanksgiving, as we always had them. I told Mr. Coit so, but as the time approached, I felt so bad about it and finally concluded to have them and do the best I could. We had a room full and made out a very nice dinner and all seemed to enjoy it. Since you left many friends calling and enquiring after you.”

Thanks to this letter, we know that the winter of 1857 seems to have been a rather mild one. Cumberland Bay was without ice and it was raining on December 8th. Betsey was 73 at the time of writing this letter, and putting on a big Thanksgiving spread would be awfully challenging, but she couldn’t let the day pass without making a big meal and inviting friends and family over to share it. I think we can all relate to that. Betsey does not state what exactly she served, but she has a couple of well preserved cook books from this time period.

In one of Betsey’s cookbooks from the 1850’s she has a really good recipe that we here at the museum have recreated. We think this could be a fantastic addition to any Thanksgiving dinner. Here it is, exactly as written:

“Stew five good sized apples, mash them fine and stir to cream two spoonfuls of butter, four of sugar, mix these with the apples, then stir in one pint of cream, half a nutmeg, grate in five crackers, and lastly beat six eggs to a froth, mix all together, beating it well, bake as a custard, and you will say it is splendid.”

The instructions are vague, which is unsurprising for recipes from the 1800’s. What do they mean by spoonful? What does, “bake as a custard mean?” If you plan to give this recipe a shot, I would use tablespoons, and bake this in a 350 degree oven for around 45 minutes, or until you can stick a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean. If you are feeling a bit lazy and don’t want to stew 5 apples, you could substitute in unsweetened apple sauce, which would work just fine.

Both the letter and cookbook give us a glimpse into life in Plattsburgh in the 1850’s, and we are so lucky to have them in our collections. From all of us at KDHM, we wish you and yours a happy Thanksgiving, and we hope you are able to spend it with loved ones. 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. You might notice a different voice today, and that’s because our Director who normally voices these videos is sick, and sounds like a frog. Today we will be looking at a Victorian pitcher, made sometime between 1850-1900. On the bottom of the pitcher, it has a makers mark that says “Blue Meissen,” and has L S & S and the number 27 on the bottom of it. Now if the name Meissen sounds familiar, that’s because they are one of the most famous porcelain manufacturers in the world. But our little pitcher is deceiving. This is not actually made by the Meissen company based in Germany. This was made by a British manufacturer based in England. Even by the 1850’s Meissen was a huge name in porcelain, and attaching that name to a product would absolutely add to the salability of the piece. Let’s learn a bit more about Meissen, and how they became the gold standard for European porcelain.

In the 17th Century, Europeans were all enamored with Chinese porcelain, and magical properties they believed the porcelain held. It was even said that if someone tried to poison food held in a Chinese porcelain dish, the dish would break into pieces. The first European porcelain was manufactured in Meissen in 1710, when by decree of King Augustus II the Strong. Meissen porcelain or Meissen china was the first European hard-paste porcelain. From the 1720’s onward, Meissen’s work was clearly infused by Chinese and East Asian porcelain pieces. In 1720 Johann Gregor Herold became the director and in 1723 introduced brilliant overglaze colors that made Meissen porcelain famous, with an increasingly broad palette of colors that marked the beginning of the classic phase of Meissen porcelain. Throughout the 18th Century, Meissen created some of the most iconic and exquisite Rococo designs in Europe.

In the nineteenth century Ernst August Leuteritz modernized many of the rococo figurines, and reissued them, creating a “Second Rococo” characterized by lacework details (made from actual lace dipped in slip and fired) and applied flowers. In 1903, old styles were revived and reinterpreted, and eighteenth century models restored. Some appealing work in the Art Nouveau style was produced, but Meissen’s mainstay continued to be the constant production of revived eighteenth-century models. After World War II and under Communist rule, the manufacture that had always catered to the rich and wealthy had some difficulty finding its way. The danger was that Meissen would become a factory merely producing for the masses. It was not until 1969, when Karl Petermann became the director, that Meissen went back to focus on its old traditions and was also allowed a freer artistic expression. The Meissen company still produces some of the most beautiful porcelain in the world today.

Our pitcher is in quite good shape. There is crazing in the glaze, but given that the piece is well over 100 years old, this is not that surprising. The blue paint is quite vivid still, and the pattern is really lovely. It is a lovely example of Victorian European porcelain, and we are 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

Hi Everyone, and welcome back to another artifact corner. Today we will be looking at this beautiful Victorian photo album, probably dating around the late 1860’s. This is a leather bound photo album with brass fasteners to keep the book closed, and keep the pictures from falling out. This book has a beautifully marbled paper lining, along with heavy cardstock sleeves for the photographs. This particular album has slots for 48 photographs, and an index in the front of the album, so you can label the pictures. Let’s learn a bit more about photo albums, and the people the Delord family chose to keep pictures of.

The oldest photo album in the Library of Congress in Washington DC is from the early 1850’s. Photography was becoming more commonplace and affordable in the late 1850’s and early 1860’s. With the easier availability of having pictures taken, people needed ways to collect and keep those pictures safe. Pictures were often quite small. The photos in our album are 2 inches wide and 3 ¼ inches tall, slightly smaller than a modern business card, which was a very standard size in the 1860’s. It would be hard to frame such a small picture for hanging, so an album to keep them all safe was a good storage solution.

The album mostly contains pictures of Union Civil War Generals and commanders, local government officials, and prominent New York citizens. One very interesting exception is a photograph of “Albert, Prince of Wales,” the future King Edward VII of England. There are no other foreign dignitaries in the album. So clearly, American’s fascination with the British Royal family has a long history. Prince Albert was the second child, but oldest son, of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Upon his mother’s passing, he became King Edward VII in January of 1901. This photograph was taken on February 11, 1862 when Prince Albert was 21 years old. This picture was taken in Germany while he was visiting his future brother in law, Prince Louis of Hesse. The Prince wrote about the occasion in his journal: ‘before luncheon we went through the ordeal of being photographed by Mr. Albert and the result was very successful’. We are not sure why Prince Albert’s picture is included in the album, but it’s an interesting addition.

Our Album is in quite good condition. The photographs and the card stock holders are in great condition, as it the leather binding. One of the brass clips is missing, but the other one is present and still in good working order. This is a beautiful early photo album, and a glimpse into the Delord families interests, 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