^TM
205 S. Camac St, Philadelphia, PA  19107 ~ Phone: 215-545-8340 ~ Fax: 215-545-8379
 

Winter is the Time to Think About Summer School

Now in their fourth decade, the Victorian Society in America's Summer Schools, in Newport RI, and London, UK, provide in-depth study of the multi-faceted architecture and culture of the nineteenth century.

The courses include lectures by leading experts, site visits and guided tours.  The programs are designed to allow students to see and do as much as possible. There is little free time during the programs, the pace is physically demanding, and there are many walking tours.
 

NEWPORT SCHOOL, RI Dates: June 1-10, 2007 Cost: $2,000

LONDON, UK SCHOOL Dates: July 7-22, 2007 Cost: $3,500

Click on the links above for more information.

A limited number of partial and full scholarships is available to qualified candidates.  To apply refer to the Application information.  For more information on the Summer Schools, please contact:

Susan E. McCallum, Administrator
Victorian Society in America Summer Schools
100 Prospect Street
Summit, New Jersey 07901
Phone: 908 522-0656
Email: vsasummerschools@att.net

Dr. Richard H. Howland Memorial Summer School Scholarship

 

Dr. Richard H. Howland, who served as the Society’s President from 1980 to 1984, and who has recently died at age 97, is being honored with a Summer School Scholarship in his name.

 

For details on how to support the scholarship, read the President's letter.
 

New Contributing member

The Victorian Society in America is extremely grateful to its contributing members for their generous support as partners in our mission to keep the spirit of the nineteenth century alive.

We welcome Geraldine Kunstadter, of New York, as our latest contributing member.

Contributing members' page

 

Thé Francais

by Andrianna Campbell, Curatorial Assistant, The Forbes Collection

 

The Victorian Society Scholarship Fund hosted its annual tea at the Forbes Building. This year’s tea thematically whisked its attendees off to France to experience a French Tea and a wonderful exhibition of the finest French jewels this side of the Atlantic. The exhibition, entitled Masterpieces of French Jewelry, has been acclaimed, “…a glorious array of French period jewelry…” by The New York Times.

 

On November 13, the evening began a little earlier than 6:00 p.m. as nearly 100 eager guests waited to see the exhibition and sip a cup of Twinings Lady Grey. Everyone at some point was gathered around the tea table discussing their summer in Newport or London and/or the years in which their generous support has enabled the Fund to provide scholarship monies for graduate students and professionals in the arts since its inception in 1974. To date, it has provided 650 scholarships.

 

At 7:00 p.m., Christopher Forbes, President of the Fund, took his position at the top of the stairs. He welcomed everyone gathered in the marble foyer, so characteristic of the Carrčre and Hastings design. Mr. Forbes introduced John Simonelli, representing the Victorian Society, who in turn introduced Tranda Fischelis. Mrs. Fischelis, the widow of William E. Fischelis, presented the award named in honor of her late husband to Ralph Sessions for his book The Shipcarvers’ Art: Figureheads and Cigar-Store Indians in Nineteenth-Century America.  It was noted that Bill Fischelis loved beautiful women, ships, and nineteenth-century art and artifacts, so this book was especially appropriate, as it encompasses many of his interests.

 

Mr. Sessions, currently Director of Works on Paper at the Spanierman Gallery, accepted the award with aplomb; his acceptance speech was greeted with much-deserved applause. As 8:00 p.m. approached, silver trays bearing boxes of Twinings tea were placed on the reception table and, as has become custom, departing Victorians tucked box upon box of tea under their arms as they disappeared through the revolving door.

 

Thanks to all who attended, as their generosity will be reflected in the joy and enthusiasm of the scholarship recipients of the class of 2007.

Tranda Fischelis, Kenneth Olin (Business Manager), John Simonelli (Exec. VP), and Tom McGehee.

CALL FOR PAPERS

The 11^th Annual Salve Regina University Conference on Cultural and Historic Preservation: Leisure, Tourism, and the Nineteenth-Century Resort

October 18-20, 2007
 

During the nineteenth century, a new type of community, known variously as watering hole, resort or vacation spot, appeared in the United States.  Stretching from the mountains of Virginia to Newport and Bar Harbor in the East, Tampa and Ocean Springs in the South, the “Lakes” and Mackinac in the Mid-West, and Yosemite and Carmel in the west, these resorts introduced new cultural patterns to existing cities.  Often using innovative commercial strategies, they transformed undeveloped or underdeveloped areas into "natural" paradises aimed primarily at the elite.  Counter to this, amusements incorporated into urban localities reshaped the lifestyles of lower, working and middle class families.  Salve Regina’s 11^th Annual Conference on Cultural and Historic Preservation will examine all aspects of nineteenth-century leisure, resort life and amusement.  

 

Proposals for papers or panels may examine such subjects as:  resort architecture, including the construction and use of recreational buildings; etiquette, manners, and visiting; yachting culture; leisure space within the home; tennis, polo, and golf; hotel life; amusement parks and diversions; and the social dynamics of the Grand Tour.

 

We welcome submissions from scholars of all academic disciplines, as well as from younger scholars and graduate students.  Proposals should include 250-word abstracts and CVs.  Please send proposals by February 15, 2007, to:

 

Catherine Zipf

Salve Regina University

100 Ochre Point Ave.

Newport, RI  02840

Catherine.Zipf@salve.edu

ANNUAL APPEAL 2007

The VSA makes its annual appeal to members, associates, affiliates and like-minded people to help support its commitment to historic preservation, protection, understanding, education, and enjoyment of our nineteenth century heritage.

Read the President's appeal letter

Please give as generously as possible or at our recommended levels:

□  $35  □  $50  □  $100   □  $250  □  $500  □  $1,000

The full amount of any donation is tax-deductible.

Send checks payable to
'The Victorian Society in America' to:

MOBILE, AL 2007
Annual Meeting

Pre-tour:  Wed, April 25th
Annual Meeting:  Thurs--Sat, April 26th to 28th
 Post-tour:  Sun, April 29th

CLICK HERE FOR ITINERARY DETAILS
 

The Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts, 2007
Fall Meeting

Columbus Day Weekend
Friday evening, October 5th through all day Monday, October 8th

An Introduction to the Summer School Programs in Chicago

St. Ignatius College Preparatory School

1076 Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL
 

Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Reception:  6:30-7:00 PM
Program:  7:00-8:00 PM

Join Chicago area Alumni of the Victorian Society in America’s Summer Schools for an introduction to the VSA’s Summer School Programs.

The evening will include:

 

• A tour of the restored Grand Gallery and Brunswick Library at historic St. Ignatius led by leading historic paint analyst Robert Furhoff;
• A presentation highlighting sites featured on past Summer School itineraries;
• Information on admission and scholarships to the Summer School Programs;
• Refreshments prior to the presentations.

All welcome. RSVP and queries to mary.miller@comcast.net

Click here for flyer.

Co-sponsored by:
Alumni Association of Victorian Society in America Summer Schools 
And The Greater Chicago Chapter of the Victorian Society in America

BLOGS, VS-related

Despite there being nearly 60 million of them on the Internet, it's not guaranteed that we Victorians have ever heard of them.  But clearly some have.

I refer to Blogs (a diminutive of web-logs), which are essentially online journals: i.e., logs kept on the world wide web. And the VSA has not escaped their purview; here are a few mentions:

VSA member Adriana O'Toole's: Montclair Community View

Posting at: Live Journal

UK News at: History News Network

New York Preservation at: The Real Estate

More UK News at: The Elegant Variation (scroll down to Conan-Doyle story)

OFFERED BY THE NORTHSTAR CHAPTER

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

Victorian Architecture
An occasional series of educational articles about Victorian architecture.

THE ITALIANATE

In the course of the history of Classical architecture, an Italianate style of architecture was a distinct nineteenth-century phase, in which Italian sixteenth-century models and architectural vocabulary, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and Neoclassicism, were now synthesized with picturesque aesthetics, to create an architecture that, though it was also characterized as "Neo-Renaissance", was essentially of its own time.

The Italianate style was first developed in Britain about 1802 by John Nash, with the construction of Cronkhill in Shoeshine. This small country house is generally accepted to be the first Italianate villa in England, from which is derived the Italianate architecture of the late Regency and early Victorian eras.

The Italianate style was further developed and popularized by the architect Sir Charles Barry in the 1830s. Barry's Italianate style drew heavily for its motifs on the buildings of the Italian Renaissance, this concept, sometimes at odds with Nash's semi-rustic Italianate villas, produced what came to be accepted as the Italianate style.

The Italianate style was introduced in the United States by Alexander Jackson Davis in the 1840s as an alternative to Gothic or Greek Revival styles. Blandwood, the Governor's mansion in North Carolina, completed in 1846, claims to be the oldest example of Italianate architecture in the United States. An early example of Italianate architecture, it is closer in ethos to the Italianate works of Nash than the more Renaissance inspired designs of Barry.

Italianate was reinterpreted again and became an indigenous style. It is distinctive by its pronounced exaggeration of many Italian Renaissance characteristics: emphatic eaves supported by corbels, low-pitched roofs barely discernable from the ground, or even flat roofs with a wide projection. A tower is often incorporated hinting at the Italian belvedere or even campanile tower.

For more please visit the source file at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italianate_architecture

FROM THE UK VICTORIAN SOCIETY

 

 

Making a Splash
Saving Public Swimming Baths

from the UK Victorian Society

Historic swimming pools under threat Many UK local councils built swimming baths in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They were often impressive buildings, visible manifestations of civic pride. Their fate in the twentieth century has been variable, but many have been neglected by their council and then closed. Yet these buildings can and should have a future as public swimming pools. Already anchored in their community, they are an important part of our history and contribute much to local character. They're tremendously popular with local residents. Unfortunately new pool building projects have been dogged with problems and cost overruns. Hackney's Clissold Leisure Centre cost three times as much as planned, and is still not open. We wonder if it ever will be. Camden's new Swiss Cottage baths should have opened in 2004. The pool at Peckham Pulse is still closed for repairs. We should instead look after our historic pools. They're both heritage assets and sporting assets. Yet councils seem incapable of realizing this, and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport doesn't seem to be able to do anything about the closure of our historic sporting facilities.   Making a splash: conference report now out Meeting at the University of London Union on Saturday 24 June 2006, 76 delegates explored the challenges facing historic pools. They publicized their own campaigns for historic pools, and drew up action points for government, pool providers, and campaigners around the country. Speakers including Ralph Riley, Chief Executive of the Institute of Sport & Recreation Management, Dr Ian Gordon, author of the forthcoming book Great Lengths, and Gill Wright, Director of the Victoria Baths Trust, provided delegates with the historical and practical context for their discussion. The conference report is now available to download.

FROM THE NATIONAL TRUST
Scholars Sought for National Trust Historic Sites

• Decatur House (Washington, DC)

• Drayton Hall (Charleston, SC)

• Lyndhurst (Tarrytown, NY)

• Shadows-on-the-Teche (New Iberia, LA)

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is seeking more than a dozen scholars to assess and enhance the interpretation at four of its Historic Sites to ensure its tours, exhibits, publications, school programs, and other educational activities incorporate diverse perspectives and current scholarship.  Supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, scholars will be paid $3,000 and travel expenses to attend a one-day on-site workshop in mid-2007 to examine the collections, buildings, and landscape; assess the Site’s current interpretation; identify needs and opportunities for research; and prepare an article interpreting the Site from his or her perspective.  To apply or for more information, contact Max A. van Balgooy, Director of Interpretation and Education at (202) 588-6242 or max_vanbalgooy@nthp.org

 

Each Site will bring together several scholars specializing in different disciplines, such as African American history, labor history, diplomatic history, leisure history, social history, architectural history, cultural geography, or military history.  Participating scholars must have a master’s degree in history or another academic discipline, appropriate for the project (doctoral degree preferred); two to three years experience in academic research, teaching, historic site interpretation, public history, or equivalent; written 2-3 professional articles, book reviews, reports, or monographs; actively participated in a regional or national professional conference in the last five years; ability to speak, read, and write English fluently; and ability to climb and descend ladders and stairs to a height of fifteen feet.  Selections will be made by March 2007.

 

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a private, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to saving historic places and revitalizing America's communities. Recipient of the National Humanities Medal, the Trust was founded in 1949 and provides leadership, education, advocacy, and resources to protect the irreplaceable places that tell America’s story. Staff at the Washington, D.C., headquarters, six regional offices and 28 historic sites work with the Trust’s 270,000 members and thousands of preservation groups in all 50 states. For more information, visit the Trust’s web site at www.nationaltrust.org

  WEBSITE OF THE MONTH

The Internet Public Library

The Library is hosted by the School of Information & Library Studies of the University of Michigan, and exists to provide services and information which enhance the value of the Internet to its ever-expanding and varied community of users - work to broaden, diversify, and educate that community - communicate its creators' vision of the unique roles of library culture and traditions on the Internet.

Selected subject:
American Literary Criticism
1865-1900

PREVIOUS WEB SITES OF THE MONTH
 

THE NEWSPAPER ARCHIVES

  AND FINALLY..

Plough Monday

Your staff of one at the email newsletter recalls that now is the time of Plough Monday: the first Monday after Twelfth Night, and the traditional (i.e. ye olde) start of the English agricultural season.

On this day it was customary for farm laborers, sometimes dressed in white and adorned with flowers and ribbons, to raise money for drinking revelries. In Rustic Speech and Folklore (1914), E.M. Wright remarked, "Among them were usually two special characters, the Fool, and a man dressed up in showy female costume called the Bessy; but in some places there were two, and even four female characters with such names as Sweet Sis, Old Joan, Maid Marian, or collectively named Bessybabs, Ladymadams, [and] Queens. This troupe performed some kind of morris-dance or sword-dance, and collected money from onlookers".

Given the cast of characters and activities involved surely this is a practice the VSA could effortlessly adopt. Happy new year! Ed.

Are you campaigning to save a threatened building? 
Seek a VSA Letter of Support.

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

visit us on the web at www.victoriansociety.org

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