May/June 2006

THE 2006 VSA PRESERVATION AWARDS
Presented at the Annual Meeting in St. Louis, MO, May 20th, 2006.
Awards presented by Charles J. Robertson, Preservation Chair.

Donald Bergmann, President Emeritus VSA St. Louis Chapter; Charles Robertson, VSA Vice President and Chair, Preservation Committee; Janice Broderick, President of the Board, Campbell House Foundation; Bruce Davies, VSA President; John Dalzell and Andrew Hahn, Executive Director and Assistant Director, Campbell House Museum

Campbell House Museum
St. Louis, Missouri
AWARD

For the meticulous restoration of this important 1851 house to its 1880s period of significance, now reopened to the public with original furnishings, hand-painted decorations and recreated wallpapers and carpets.

Built in St. Louis’ first private neighborhood, the house was purchased in 1854 by Robert Campbell. Campbell and his wife then went east on a $40,000 buying trip to furnish the house appropriately and doubled the size of the house over the next twenty years with the help of local architect George Barnett. When he died in 1879, Campbell left a $2 million estate from business ventures in gold mines, railroads and cattle. The family occupied the house until 1938, when a group of local preservationists purchased it and most of its contents. It was opened as a house museum in 1943.

By 1999 it was apparent that a major restoration of the exterior and interior of the house was mandatory. Using paint analysis and extensive archival photographs of the house taken by a son in 1885, the interior carpets, wallpapers and elaborate painted ceiling decorations were replicated as exactly as possible. Necessary structural repairs were undertaken, and modern climate control, fire suppression and security systems were installed. The house and its collection are once again open to the public and have become teaching resources for scholars and students of history and material culture.

Web site: www.stlouis.missouri.org/chm

Bruce Davies, VSA President; Jane Pettis, Innkeeper of the Ramsdell Inn; Charles Robertson, VSA Vice President and Chair, Preservation Committee.

T. J. Ramsdell Building
Manistee, Michigan
COMMENDATION

For the sympathetic renovation of this l891 Romanesque revival bank and office building, the city’s most prominent downtown structure, now adapted as a bed and breakfast inn.

Constructed when Manistee was a prosperous lumbering town, this commercial building was then and remains the most prominent downtown structure in the city. Thomas Jefferson Ramsdell, a local lawyer and philanthropist, commissioned architect Fred Hollister of Saginaw to design the building in 1891. After the demise of the timber industry, Manistee became a sleepy backwater, but its historic core remained in tact and is now an historic district.

The Ramsdell Building was purchased and sympathetically renovated in 2004 as a bed and breakfast inn. The original floor plan was retained, with guest rooms on the upper stories that were once offices. Interior woodwork was refinished, and appropriate paint colors and furnishings were selected. All systems were upgraded. Of particular interest is the original bank vault that has now been converted into a gift shop.

Web site: www.ramsdellinn.net

next month | VSA book awards

Member renewals by email, please!

To reduce administration time and costs members are encouraged to receive renewal reminders by email.

Would members who are willing to be reminded this way please indicate by email to the business manager.

Thank you.

Email newsletter archive

If you have missed an issue of the VSA email newsletter, or which to revisit an article, you can now browse our back issue archive of email newsletters from the earliest text-based issues in 2003 up to January/February 2006.

VSA Events

THE OFFICIAL VSA
ST. LOUIS PHOTO CD-ROM

280 superb digital images on one disk professionally prepared by Bob Chapman.

Obtain your copy for a $40 donation to the VSA Summer Schools.

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

Rhinebeck: Tour of the Mid-Hudson Valley 2006
A reprise of the 2005 tour
SOLD-OUT..again. Confirmations will be issued shortly to those successfully signed up.

Missed the tour?
Why not join the Philadelphia Chapter in June on their visit to the Mid Hudson Valley

...........................................

New Bedford, Massachusetts/ Providence, Rhode Island: Study Tour Weekend
October 27, 28 & 29, 2006
You are cordially invited to a fall weekend of touring two historic coastal New England cities.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE

RITUAL SPACES & PLACES:
Memory and Commemoration in the 19th Century
Co-sponsored by the Victorian Society in America

The 10th Annual Conference on Cultural and Historic Preservation

SEPTEMBER 14-16, 2006

SPECIAL DISCOUNT
FOR VSA MEMBERS
Click here to request a discount application form

Members

PRESIDENT'S AWARD

John J. Simonelli

The President's Award is made periodically at the discretion of the President to honor outstanding service or contribution to the mission of VSA.

This year new President, Bruce Davies, gave long overdue recognition to John Simonelli, past President and current Executive Vice President of the Society:

"For his extraordinary generosity of spirit, time and expertise during many years of distinguished service to the Society and for his continuous commitment to preserving and sharing the 19^th Century heritage of America."

Presidents' Awards past

ST. LOUIS GALLERY

Here are some member photo archives of the VSA tour of St. Louis

St. Louis, MO 2006 [Hy Myers]

St. Louis, MO 2006 [Norman Smith]

St. Louis, MO 2006 [Linda Bussey]

The Official St. Louis Annual Meeting CD-ROM

Other gallery archives

DID YOU KNOW?

Tower Grove Park

The new glass fiber optics lighting for the Fountain and Pavilion at Tower Grove Park, St. Louis, recently visited by the VSA, was provided by VSA member Gersil N. Kay of Philadelphia. Gersil is on the board of IESNA (Illuminating Engineering Society of North America) and lectures on lighting historic buildings.

Members

DAHESH MUSEUM OF ART

Napoleon on the Nile: Soldiers, Artists, and the Rediscovery of Egypt

June 8 through September 3, 2006
580 Madison Avenue @ 56th St., New York, NY
www.daheshmuseum.org

The exhibition will focus on the Déscription de L'Égypte (1809-29), the seminal multi-volume work that remains the single most important European scholarly study of ancient and modern Egypt. Begun during Napoleon's unsuccessful attempt to conquer Egypt and completed under King Charles X, this work remains the single most important European study of Egypt. In addition to color plates from the book, there will be paintings, medals, original documents, and other artifacts of the campaign, but of course the attached 1-page release will tell you more.

Director of the Dahesh is VSA member Peter Trippi.

Institutional Members

The Victorian Society in America is proud to list among its members many historic homes, museums, libraries, historical societies and universities.

We thank them for their generous support as partners in our mission to keep the spirit of the nineteenth century alive.

A special page is devoted to them where you will find a link to their web sites.

Institutional Members

Contributing Members

The Victorian Society in America wishes to thank its Contributing level members for their generous support as partners in our mission to keep the spirit of the nineteenth century alive.

A special page is devoted to them where you will find them listed.

Contributing Members

Old House Interiors

We are pleased to announce a new benefit for members.

Annual Subscription to Old-House Interiors Magazine at a Special Member Rate: just $12 for six issues, one year – a savings of 50% off the regular subscription rate of $24.

Now in its eleventh year, Old-House Interiors is intelligently written and beautifully photographed. It offers homeowners, interior designers and restorers expert advice on finishing, decorating and furnishing period homes of every era, from the modest to the extravagant.

Use the box opposite to request a form.

CHAPTER NEWS

A sampling of Chapter notices and newsletters
PDFs open in a new window

Falls Church Chapter Apr/May Newsletter
Greater Chicago Chapter Lecture
Michigan Chapter Spring Meeting
Michigan Chapter Newsletter
Washington DC Chapter Events
Northern NJ Chapter Newsletter
North Star Newsletter NEW

To be featured in this section, please send your Notices or Newsletters in document form to the VSA webmaster. This may either be the original draft format, e.g. MS Word, or a finished PDF.

19th Century Magazine

The latest issue of 19th Century, Volume 26 Number 1 has just been published and should be in your hands soon.

Please let us know if you do not receive your copy.

Located near the historic village of East Aurora, New York, is one of the area’s most beautiful bed and breakfast inns, a grand old Victorian with Italianate influences.

Like the surrounding western New York area, it contains much history - dating back to the early settlement of the area. Now owned by VSA member Peter Dunlop, The Lilacs sits majestically atop serene landscaped surroundings, and is the essence of a country estate.

For more information visit them on the web at: THE LILACS

Paned Expressions

Paned Expressions are glass artists specializing in the design, and fabrication of stained, etched & carved glass for home and office applications. All pieces are unique creations signed by the artists.

The richness and beauty of ever changing light streaming through the texture and color of stained glass is a wonderfully satisfying medium in which to work and create. Every window captures the essence of subject without compromising to technical difficulties of line and cut.

It's like painting in stained glass.

Visit them at: www.panedexpressions.com

Cherry Creek Inn, NY

VSA members Sharon and Lester Sweeting run this delightful bed & breakfast inn in Cherry Creek, NY. George N. Frost, a well-known race horse breeder and one of Cherry Creek’s founding Fathers built this splendid Italian Villa in the 1860s., now lovingly restored. Great for Winter being only two miles from Cockaigne Ski Area.

Cherry Creek Inn
1022 West Road (Cr-68)
Cherry Creek , NY 14723
innkeeper@cherrycreekinn.net
716-296-5105

Miscellany

NEW VSA TOTE BAG
The perfect gift!

Roomy and fashionable, the VSA tote bag features pictures of Her Majesty on one side, and information about the VSA on the other, both rendered in burgundy on natural cotton canvas. The spacious tote is 18" wide and 15" high with 12" handles. Guaranteed to go with any outfit, and a bargain at just $14 plus $2 shipping and handling.

Contact head office at 215-545-8340 to order.

THE VICTORIAN ONLINE

The printed newsletter, the sister publication to the email newsletter, is also available to members online.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST ISSUE

WEBSITE OF THE MONTH

May/June 2006

Welcome to Collect Britain!
www.collectbritain.co.uk

This website showcases thousands of items from the British Library. You can browse our collections, tours and exhibitions, or search the site in many different ways. Views of Victorian England, captured in hundreds of original photographic prints.

PREVIOUS WEB SITES OF THE MONTH

The VSA

The only national non profit organization committed to historic preservation, protection, understanding, education, and enjoyment of our nineteenth century heritage.

Help to support us by visiting Amazon. Click the logo.

Letters to the Editor

A SAMPLING OF QUERIES WE RECEIVE AT THE VSA - CAN YOU HELP?

Dear VSA,

I am a student at The University of Southern California, and I am currently in a class studying gender dynamics, namely in the Victorian era. For an assignment, I am trying assess the actual prevalence of Victorian philosophies. In other words, was Victorianism really practiced whole-heartedly, or were its ideals only expressed in the public sphere?

I would be more than pleased if I could somehow get in touch with a knowledgeable member of the organization or ask them some some questions concerning my research.

You can email me at hauenste@usc.edu or give me a call at 559-349-1636.

Thank you very much,
Clifford Hauenstein

Dear VSA,

We are looking for are people who have restored a Victorian-style kitchen with the idea that we might profile them and their kitchens for the Kitchenwise feature of our magazine (this column can be seen in most recent issues of Saveur).

Ideally we'd like to find people who are passionate about cooking as well as restoring their house and have created a functional kitchen based on Victorian style either by using updated/restored vintage or antique pieces or by combining contemporary appliances with Victorian pieces in an interesting way.

Thank you so much for your help.

Georgia Freedman
Saveur Editorial

Dear VSA,

I am currently writing a book centering on a young woman in Upstate NY from about 1890-1900. She attends a private school for wealthy girls, and I would like to cite, as accurately as possible, some of the courses that a young lady of that era and of that social standing might take. I know the courses in a general sense - i.e. painting, French, music, etc., but would like to be more specific about the course titles. Could you help me with this, or direct me to someone else who can? I'd really appreciate it!

Regards

Michelle Zink
845-744-4806

And finally, for those not present at the St. Louis annual meeting, your staff of one at the email newsletter can relate the rare sighting of a baby (spotted) Clydesdale in the stables at the Budweiser brewery. Skeptics will be reassured that the sighting was well before the group's visit to the product sampling room.

Members may notice the remarkable similarity between this creature and an ordinary Dalmatian dog. But noted VSA vice-president, Hy Myers, was quick to identify the rare breed and point out how quickly it loses its spots before growing into the traditional Budweiser shire horse.

Indeed, at the VSA closing ceremony Mr. Myers auctioned a picture of a more mature spotted Clydesdale for $10 towards the silent auction. Any suggestion that this valuable auctioned image was nothing more than a regular Clydesdale with its white feet colored in with black dots by the business manager is strongly denied. Cheers!

Let us know what you think of the e-newsletter and what you like to see in it.

UNTIL NEXT TIME
visit us on the web at www.victoriansociety.org

The Victorian Society in America
205 S. Camac Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
info@victoriansociety.org