A M VICTORIAN DECORATIONS

Victorian Decor (Schiffer Book for Collectors)

The best craftsmanship in home furnishings of the late 19th century is documented in this beautiful study by a dedicated connoisseur. At a time when American and European economies were expanding quickly, consumers' tastes were increasingly elaborate and refined. Demand for exquisite design, fine materials, and masterful workmanship resulted in interiors of a calibre never equalled or surpassed since. This book presents an overview of those Victorian architectural antiques, stained glass windows, furniture, art glass, lighting devices, match holders, and poster art in chapters that explain the development of the forms and show examples in over 400 color photographs. Period room settings as well as single items are featured. Especially strong here are the pieces that demonstrate originality in Tiffany windows and art glass, Mitchell and Rammelsburg furniture, Globe-Wernicke bookcases, French Burgun Schverer and English cameo glass, and Duffner and Kimberly lamps. More and more people today recognize and seek out the superior quality of Victorian antiques. With this new book as a guide, they will learn important details to help identify originals and marvel at the beauty they can hope to find. Current price ranges are included with the captions.

New Brighton, Staten Island

Constructed in 1860 by architect Charles Duggin for William S. Pendleton, this exceptional house is a rare surviving example in New York City of a High Victorian picturesque villa incorporating elements of the English Rustic and Swiss Styles. Designed to complement its hillside site, which commanded views of New York and New Jersey, the house features a dominant tower and multiple porches. It is richly embellished with decorative details and is surmounted by a complexly-massed gabled roof, which is set off by overhanging eaves, exposed rafters, open work brackets, decorative trusses, and several prominent chimneys. Born and trained as an architect in England, Duggin immigrated to New York City in 1853, where he became a prominent designer and developer of residential architecture. This house was published twice, in 1862 and 1869, in the Horticulturalist magazine, the journal which helped popularize picturesque designs in the United States.

This house and Duggin’s earlier house at 22 Pendleton Place (c. 1855, a designated New York City Landmark), are considered to be his best-known works Both were part of a complex of seven houses designed by Duggin. William S. Pendleton, a prominent businessman who together with his brother John had established the first commercially successful lithographic firm in the United States, moved to Staten Island around 1845 where he served as president of the North Shore Ferry Company and invested in real estate. The 1 Pendleton Place House was initially leased to stockbroker Thomas M. Rianhard and in later years was occupied by members of the Pendleton family. From the mid-1920s to the mid-1940s the house was owned by William Wirt Mills, a prominent journalist and political leader, who served as Tax Commissioner for the Borough of Staten Island and later as Tax Commissioner for the City of New York under Mayor LaGuardia.

The present owners have undertaken a careful restoration of the house and received an award from the Preservation League of Staten Island in 2005.

Description

Grounds: The 1 Pendleton Place House is located on a quarter-circle-shaped lot at the intersection of Franklin Avenue and Pendleton Place. The lot has a frontage of 209 feet along Franklin Avenue, extends 210 feet through the block to Pendleton Avenue, and has a curving frontage of about 327 feet along Pendleton Place. The house is set back from the streets on the high ground near the middle of the southern property line. The land has been terraced around the house, especially at the front where there is an oval driveway and in rear yard where there is a raised garden. There is a non-historic concrete retaining wall along the northern edge of the property at the intersection of Pendleton Place and Franklin Avenue. On the east side of the property mid-way along the Franklin Avenue frontage there is a historic bluestone paver leading from the sidewalk to a non-historic concrete stair with a non-historic iron pipe rail. Near the southwest corner of the property there is a driveway opening on to Pendleton Place. The location of the driveway is historic but the current asphalt surface is not. Leading off from the entry to driveway is a non-historic flagstone and concrete path that leads to a non-historic concrete patio at the rear of the house. A non-historic concrete path also wraps around the west wing of the house leading to front driveway and the front entrance on the north side of the house. The low concrete and brick curbs that flank sections of the paths and driveway probably date from the first half of the twentieth century. Two concrete urns (planters) on bases, located near the driveway, also probably date from the first half of the twentieth century. The brick ground cover in front of the east porch on the north facade appears to be composed of historic brick. The asphalt path adjacent to the east side of the house is non-historic. A non-historic concrete retaining wall with a built in bench and brick and stone staircase are located at the southeast corner of the rear patio. The staircase provides access to the upper garden.

House: The picturesquely designed frame house is irregular in plan and massing. It is comprised of a cross-gabled three-story main block, with a four story conical-roofed entry tower set in the angle between the north and west wings and a one-story shed-roofed pantry wing on the rear elevation filling the space between the south and east wings. The angle-ended west wing is surrounded by a one-story veranda. There is also a one story porch in the angle between the north and east wings. The house rests on a sandstone foundation, which has traces of old light-colored cement mortar patching at some of its joints. The upper walls are sheathed with non-historic lapped cedar clapboard siding. The baseboards and corner posts are also non-historic. The windows retain their original molded wood surrounds. An engraving of the hou

Just as a small addendum to my photos of The Singer at the Tate Britain gallery, I'm including two images from antique art books. Bear in mind that for many years these photos, and maybe one or two others that I haven't found yet, were the only images of this amazing statue available *anywhere*. To the best of my knowledge these black and white images are in the public domain due to their age.

I have painstakingly whited out the original light grey background and adjusted the contrast for clarity.

If you look carefully, you'll see that the old photos show a couple of small features that have since been lost or broken. The more obvious one is the spiralling spike on top of the ibis's crown at the base of the harp. More subtly, the uppermost tip of the harp itself is no longer there today. I don't think those are huge problems in terms of the statue's aesthetic value, though it would be nice if they could be replaced.

You can also see that in this photo some of the harpstrings are bent. In the other black and white photo most of them have been straightened, and of course they were all fixed by the time I took the colour images.

It's also worth noting that at the time this photo was taken the statue's polychrome decoration was concealed by a protective layer of brown wax. It was not until the 1990s that the Tate's restoration team were able to restore it to the state in which it appears in the colour photos.

Replete with jam-packed rooms and luscious details, Formal Victorian melds architectural profiles, sumptuous interior decor, and stylish displays of collectibles into a handsome package. Apart from a one-page introduction to each of the five sections (exterior decoration; interior details; dressing walls, windows, and floors; elegant furnishings; and traditional touches), the text consists of extensive captions outlining points of Victorian style and offering hints for transposing these looks into your own home. Though the Victorians often tended toward darker colors, some of the photos are a bit too dark, but the intriguing details still manage to shine through.