Object of the Day: Buy Peoria Stoves

She’s looking to her right with an expression that says, “Isn’t my costume a bit…well…Seventeenth Century.” 

She pauses and breaks her gaze.

"What?"  The artist asks.

"Well...it's just that this...collar.  It's rather...out-moded."

“No, no…” The artist must have said. “It’s fine.”

“What’s this drawing for?” She asked.

“I dunno, canned meat…or…I dunno. Kettles or something.”

“Should I smile?”

“Not a lot.” The artist replies.

“Are you sure I’m not over-dressed for kettles?”

“Maybe it’s stoves. I dunno.” The artist replied. “Now, stay still.”

“Oh, if it’s stoves. Then, this is perfect. The hat’s my own. Do you like it?”

“Stay still!”

"Georges?  Why is it you always get to sit in the shade while I have to stand in the sun?" 

"Don't move the mouth."  He replies.

Oh...hold on.  I slipped into Sondheim-mode.  Let's refocus.

Above this decidedly over-dressed woman, we see the words:

Buy PEORIA STOVES.

MANUFACTURED BY

CULTER & PROCTOR STOVE CO.

Peoria, Ills.

And, on the reverse, we see…

THE PEORIA OAK

FOR SOFT COAL AND WOOD,

IS THE

PEERLESS LEADER

OF ITS CLASS

     The fire pot for coal is double and heavy. Single Fire
Pot and separate Wood Grate for wood.
     Fire Pot is LOW DOWN, retaining and radiating the heat
near the floor, where it is needed.
     The base Section is ornamental and ventilated, distributing
heat from its entire surface.
     Large deep Ash Pan in base rendering stove cleanly and
convenient in service.
     Mounted with extra heavy, best quality Boiler Iron Drum.
     Every joint made gas and air tight—preventing leakage.
     Check Draft Registers in doors and collar, giving perfect
control over fire.
     Grate shakes from outside, with solid center pull dump.
     Spun nickel and Bronze Urn.
     Full Nickel Trimmed.      Polished Edges.



I do worry about having a solid center pull dump. 

Ah, the days when cooking was truly, truly dangerous.

To Serve and Project: An Oak Coffret, 1300-1400

Coffret
England, 1300-1400
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This coffret, or casket was made to hold valuables and jewels. As such, it was as elegantly appointed as the objects it was meant to protect. During the medieval period, when many traveled for pilgrimages of various types such a casket was quite important as a means of containing what amounted to the lion’s share of a person’s important possessions. While at home, a coffret such as this one would have been proudly displayed, not only as a symbol of the household’s wealth, but also because it was attractive in its own right.


Such caskets would have been considered a suitable gift for a future bride or a couple about to be wed, and also would have been given as a gift of courtship between future bride and from. Often, the coffret was inscribed with a message of love or adorned with a scene of courtship.

For example, this coffret must have been given as a token as affection. The leather veneer is worked with a courting scene and emblazoned with love inscriptions. A lady and gentleman are depicted amongst flowers and a border of ribbons and branches. On the lid, we see a scene of knights mounted on griffins with two nudes who are holding clubs and shields. Typically such a combination of images implied that the giver of the casket meant to fight his primal desires to pursue a chaste and honorable courtship. 

The leather over the rounded oak carcase has been colored and gilt. The legend reads, “du bon du,” “mo naves,” “du bon du Coeur,” and “mon couer vous avez.” In short, that the knight meant—“with good willing”--to deliver the lady from being captured by savages and that she had his heart.

At some point, likely the 1960s, the thing was coated with shellac, which did it no favors. Still, we can imagine how brilliant it must have been when made in the 1300s. 

Sculpture of the Day: The Dacre Ram, 1507-1525

Click Image to Enlarge

The Dacre Beasties
1507-1525
England
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The Dacre Beasts are a group of figures which were made as heraldic ornaments to represent one of the most powerful families of Sixteenth Century Northern England. The group consists of a griffin, a bull, a dolphin (which looks rather like an angry trout) and a ram.

The wealth and power of the Dacre family (of Naworth Castle, Brampton, Cumbria) was expanded in 1317 when a member of the influential and land-rich de Multon family married a Dacre family. The marriage resulted in a union of two enormous plots of land and strengthened the Dacre’s hold on Northern England. The figure of the ram, seen holding a banner, represents the de Multon family ( originally spelled 'Mouton,' the name is French for “sheep,” and, hence the ram). The banner is emblazoned with the family coat of arms.

The Dacre Beasts, commissioned by Lord Thomas Dacre (1467-1525) were crafted by unnamed local craftsmen from, as the story goes, a single, large oak grown on the family estate. The figures were painted and gilded and adorned with mounts of tinned copper. The group was restored in 1844 after being rescued from a major fire at Naworth Castle. Testing of the pigment shows that they’ve been repainted several times over the centuries. It’s likely that these are the only recorded surviving original heraldic beasts of an English Renaissance noble family. 

The Home Beautiful: The Thomas Johnson Candlestand, 1756-60

Candlestand
Thomas Johnson, c. 1760
The Victoria & Albert Museum

From the V&A, we see one of a set of four stands, most decidedly in the fanciful, organic, Rococo style, which were made to hold candelabra. They are perfect examples of Britain’s brand of the Rococo which flourished in the late 1750s and early 1760s.

An exact attribution is impossible, however, this stand is obviously similar to a published design by the carver Thomas Johnson. Nevertheless, the work features popular themes of the time, especially a motif of dolphins.

If this is the work of Thomas Johnson, he might have based his design on an engraving of a candlestand by François Cuvilliés (1695-1768), a Flanders-born designer who famously worked for the Bavarian Court in Munich. The celebrated Thomas Chippendale later used a similar design in the third edition of his book The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director of 1762.

George, 1st Baron Lyttelton (1709-1793) bought these candlestands for Hagley Hall, Worcestershire, his country house which was built between 1754 and 1760. The set of four stood on flanking pier tables in the gallery of the monumental home, along a dramatic passage with windows overlooking the park. The stands were crafted of carved pine and painted to match the frames in the room—in a rich mahogany brown with a contrasting grey-white. The branches are cast of iron, with candlestick fittings of gilt brass.

The Home Beautiful: An Oak Coffret, 1300-1400

Coffret
England, 1300-1400
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This coffret, or casket was made to hold valuables and jewels. As such, it was as elegantly appointed as the objects it was meant to protect. During the medieval period, when many traveled for pilgrimages of various types such a casket was quite important as a means of containing what amounted to the lion’s share of a person’s important possessions. While at home, a coffret such as this one would have been proudly displayed, not only as a symbol of the household’s wealth, but also because it was attractive in its own right.


Such caskets would have been considered a suitable gift for a future bride or a couple about to be wed, and also would have been given as a gift of courtship between future bride and from. Often, the coffret was inscribed with a message of love or adorned with a scene of courtship.

For example, this coffret must have been given as a token as affection. The leather veneer is worked with a courting scene and emblazoned with love inscriptions. A lady and gentleman are depicted amongst flowers and a border of ribbons and branches. On the lid, we see a scene of knights mounted on griffins with two nudes who are holding clubs and shields. Typically such a combination of images implied that the giver of the casket meant to fight his primal desires to pursue a chaste and honorable courtship. 

The leather over the rounded oak carcase has been colored and gilt. The legend reads, “du bon du,” “mo naves,” “du bon du Coeur,” and “mon couer vous avez.” In short, that the knight meant—“with good willing”--to deliver the lady from being captured by savages and that she had his heart.

At some point, likely the 1960s, the thing was coated with shellac, which did it no favors. Still, we can imagine how brilliant it must have been when made in the 1300s. 

Object of the Day: Buy Peoria Stoves

She’s looking to her right with an expression that says, “Isn’t my costume a bit…well…Seventeenth Century.” 

She pauses and breaks her gaze.

"What?"  The artist asks.

"Well...it's just that this...collar.  It's rather...out-moded."

“No, no…” The artist must have said. “It’s fine.”

“What’s this drawing for?” She asked.

“I dunno, canned meat…or…I dunno. Kettles or something.”

“Should I smile?”

“Not a lot.” The artist replies.

“Are you sure I’m not over-dressed for kettles?”

“Maybe it’s stoves. I dunno.” The artist replied. “Now, stay still.”

“Oh, if it’s stoves. Then, this is perfect. The hat’s my own. Do you like it?”

“Stay still!”



Above this decidedly over-dressed woman, we see the words:

Buy PEORIA STOVES.

MANUFACTURED BY

CULTER & PROCTOR STOVE CO.

Peoria, Ills.

And, on the reverse, we see…

THE PEORIA OAK

FOR SOFT COAL AND WOOD,

IS THE

PEERLESS LEADER

OF ITS CLASS

     The fire pot for coal is double and heavy. Single Fire
Pot and separate Wood Grate for wood.
     Fire Pot is LOW DOWN, retaining and radiating the heat
near the floor, where it is needed.
     The base Section is ornamental and ventilated, distributing
heat from its entire surface.
     Large deep Ash Pan in base rendering stove cleanly and
convenient in service.
     Mounted with extra heavy, best quality Boiler Iron Drum.
     Every joint made gas and air tight—preventing leakage.
     Check Draft Registers in doors and collar, giving perfect
control over fire.
     Grate shakes from outside, with solid center pull dump.
     Spun nickel and Bronze Urn.
     Full Nickel Trimmed.      Polished Edges.



I do worry about having a solid center pull dump. Ah, the days when cooking was truly, truly dangerous.

Sculpture of the Day: The Dacre Ram, 1507-1525

Click Image to Enlarge

The Dacre Beasties
1507-1525
England
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The Dacre Beasts are a group of figures which were made as heraldic ornaments to represent one of the most powerful families of Sixteenth Century Northern England. The group consists of a griffin, a bull, a dolphin (which looks rather like an angry trout) and a ram.

The wealth and power of the Dacre family (of Naworth Castle, Brampton, Cumbria) was expanded in 1317 when a member of the influential and land-rich de Multon family married a Dacre family. The marriage resulted in a union of two enormous plots of land and strengthened the Dacre’s hold on Northern England. The figure of the ram, seen holding a banner, represents the de Multon family ( originally spelled 'Mouton,' the name is French for “sheep,” and, hence the ram). The banner is emblazoned with the family coat of arms.

The Dacre Beasts, commissioned by Lord Thomas Dacre (1467-1525) were crafted by unnamed local craftsmen from, as the story goes, a single, large oak grown on the family estate. The figures were painted and gilded and adorned with mounts of tinned copper. The group was restored in 1844 after being rescued from a major fire at Naworth Castle. Testing of the pigment shows that they’ve been repainted several times over the centuries. It’s likely that these are the only recorded surviving original heraldic beasts of an English Renaissance noble family. 

The Home Beautiful: The Richard Norman Shaw Cradle, 1861

Click images to enlarge.
Cradle
Richard Norman Shaw
England, 1861
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

There’s a lot of architecture to this handsome cradle which dates to 1861. First of all, it was designed by British architect Richard Norman Shaw as a gift upon the occasion of the first son, Paul, of his friend, fellow architect Alfred Waterhouse. Shaw and Waterhouse were both prominent proponents of the Gothic Revival. Their shared stylistic sensibilities are quite apparent in this cradle which couldn’t be any more Gothic if it tried.

Shaw insisted that the cradle be constructed of oak which he considered “an honest, British wood” instead of a showier imported wood like the mahogany or satinwood which were fashionable in the 1860s. Shaw preferred for the beauty of the wood stand on its own, using only paint and gilding—both known and acceptable means of adornment during the domination of the original Gothic style—to create drama.

The sides of the cradle are painted and gilded with the signs of the zodiac and with panels representing the four seasons on the front and back. Paintings of blackbirds, flowers and leaves adorn the hood, the inside of which is painted blue with gold stars. The hood cover has been mounted with three bronze farthings, one bearing the date 1861, the year that Paul was born. The giving of coins to a newborn baby was considered a token of good luck. While the finished cradle is quite beautiful, it differs drastically from Shaw’s original design for the piece. The drawings of that original design are also in the V&A. 

The Home Beautiful: The Thomas Johnson Candlestand, 1756-60

Candlestand
Thomas Johnson, c. 1760
The Victoria & Albert Museum

From the V&A, we see one of a set of four stands, most decidedly in the fanciful, organic, Rococo style, which were made to hold candelabra.  They are perfect examples of Britain’s brand of the Rococo which flourished in the late 1750s and early 1760s.

An exact attribution is impossible, however, this stand  is obviously similar to a published design by the carver Thomas Johnson. Nevertheless, the work features popular themes of the time, especially a motif of dolphins. 

If this is the work of Thomas Johnson, he might have based his design on an engraving of a candlestand by François Cuvilliés (1695-1768), a Flanders-born designer who famously worked for the Bavarian Court in Munich. The celebrated Thomas Chippendale later used a similar design in the third edition of his book The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director of 1762.

George, 1st Baron Lyttelton (1709-1793) bought these candlestands for Hagley Hall, Worcestershire, his country house which was built between 1754 and 1760. The set of four stood on flanking pier tables in the gallery of the monumental home, along a dramatic passage with windows overlooking the park. The stands were crafted of carved pine and painted to match the frames in the room—in a rich mahogany brown with a contrasting grey-white. The branches are cast of iron, with candlestick fittings of gilt brass.

Her Majesty’s Furniture: Prince Albert’s Neo-Gothic Oak Bookcase

Carl Leistler & Son, the makers of this masterpiece of Austrian Gothic furniture, were given the chance to include this bookcase in their display at the Great Exhibition of 1851. There, the bookcase caught the eye of Prince Albert who had been largely responsible for the Great Exhibition.

Bookcase of Oak
Austria, 1851
The Victoria & Albert Museum

As a token of his esteem and gratitude for Austria’s presence at the Great Exhibition, the Austrian Emperor Franz Josef gave the bookcase, still containing books and albums of watercolors, to Queen Victoria. Victoria knew that her husband had long admired the bookcase and presented it to Prince Albert who initially used it at Buckingham Palace. Later, it was moved to Holyroodhouse when it was refurbished for the royal family during their holidays in Edinburgh.

In 1923, King George V wishing to make an important gift to the University of Edinburgh, presented his grandfather’s favorite bookcase to the institution.