|
|
|
|
Lecture
& Film Clip Presentation about the Civil War
This year marks the 150th anniversary
of the Civil War, a conflict that killed over 600,000 Americans. Over the years, cinematic portrayals of the
Civil War have been less than accurate. Jerry Millevoi cispelled some of the myths commonly perpetrated in
films. He also examined the theory of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy, white Southerners who sought consolation in
attributing their loss to factors beyond their control and to betrayals of their heroes and cause. Some of
the films he analyzed are Shenandoah, Gone with the Wind, Gettysburg, Glory, Gods and Generals and The Outlaw
Josie. The content of this
lecture was part of a curriculum Mr. Mallevoi developed for Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Pennsylvania.
Interpreting History through Cinema investigates motion pictures as historical texts and examines
how cinema creates a window for viewing American culture, politics and society. Cinema has become one of the most dominant
and effective modes of mass communication, dramatically influencing everything from political campaigns to popular
culture. The event began with
our Annual Meeting. All members were invited to attend the Annual Meeting portion of the event free of charge. Following
the Chapter Business, we continued with the lecture by Mr. Millevoi and following his presentation, we had a wine
and cheese reception. Attendees also visited the Civil Museum and Library during the reception.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011, 2:00 p.m. On Sunday, September 11, 2011 we took a tour of Eden Cemetery, one
of the oldest African-American cemeteries in the United States. Richard Allen, Octavius Catto, John Brown, Julian Abele, and
Marian Anderson are a few of the many notable citizens who are buried here. Recently the cemetery has been featured in the
news, as there has been a resurgence of interest in the many fascinating people who are buried there and in the history of
the cemetery itself. Our day began with an hour-long guided walking tour of the cemetery. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Discussion Featuring the Life of
Adah Isaacs Menken Sunday July 17,
2011 from 1:30 - 4:00 P.M
"Adah Isaacs Menken (1835 -1868) was the original global Superstar, the first media celebrity, a daredevil
American performer who risked her life on stage. Born into a Jewish, Creole (Colored) family in antebellum New Orleans,
Adah Menken was the first actress to apparently bare all- the mother of theatrical and film nudity. Off stage, she
originated the front-page scandal and became the most famous, highly paid actress in the world–the darling
of New York, San Francisco, London, and Paris. At thirty-three, the height of her fame, this femme fatale mysteriously
died. Longfellow, at her bedside, composed a farewell love song." On
Sunday, July 17, 2011, the Philadelphia Chapter learned about one of the most colorful, risqué interesting, and little-known
women of her time. Rochelle Christopher, owner of “Victorian Vanities,” and membership chairman
of the Philadelphia Chapter, presented a lecture and slide show on this fascinating lady at “Saracinesca,”
a grand 1892 Victorian Gothic home, located in Mt. Airy. The house features 8 bedrooms, 7 working fireplaces, original
hardwood flooring, and many other interesting features which the owner told us about as we toured the house.
After our tour, we enjoyed wine and cheese and were free to explore the house and lovely grounds on our own.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ice Cream Social Sunday May 8, 2011 from 1:30 - 3:30 P.M
On Sunday, May 8, 2011, the Philadelphia Chapter of the Victorian Society hosted “Ice
Cream Social” at the Thomas Mansion in West Mt. Airy in honor of Queen Victoria’s birthday.
This little-known 1869 Gothic mansion is a Victorian gem in the rough. Once the home of
Philadelphia investor and businessman George Clifford Thomas and his wife, the twenty-three acre estate, which is
now known as “Clifford Park” was donated to the city in 1907 upon George’s death. This past summer,
the Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust began resurrecting the shuttered, eccentric mansion for use as their headquarters.
The day began with a presentation by Mrs. Lucy Strackhouse, the trust’s executive director.
We then toured the seventeen-room house and heard about the unusual features such as the carved roping motif found
throughout the interior, the chapel-like library, and the Inglenook fireplace in one of the kitchens.
Our group was one of the first to see this house since the trust took over in August. Following
the tour we will enjoyed an ice cream social.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Philadelphia
Railroads
Sunday March 13, 2011 On Sunday
March 13, 2011 Joel Spivak, noted Philadelphia train and trolley car enthusiast presented a lecture and slide show
on Philadelphia Railroads. The lecture took
place at the historic Upsal train station, which is served by the Chestnut Hill West Regional Rail. (Connecting SEPTA
Bus Service to the station is Bus Route H). The Upsal Station, located at 6531 Upsal Street (at Greene Street) in the Germantown
section of Philadelphia has been restored and is now the home of the popular Points of Destination Cafe. After Mr. Spivak’s
talk, we enjoyed some light refreshment along with Mr. Spivak signing copies of his latest book, Philadelphia
Railroads, which he co-authored along with Allen Meyers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Annual 12th Night Celebration Not all Victorian structures were
designed and built on new sties from the ground up. Frequently, older buildings were updated by subsequent homeowners who,
quite naturally, desired the latest of housing styles. The Grange is a wonderful example of a 1682 and succeeding 1782 colonial
home updated and vastly enlarged to 1850 style. Fortunately for us, it was left that way.
This
property, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and decorated with period furniture, gives us a look at
a true Victorian Gentleman Farmer's estate, complete with several outbuildings. Our day began with a program, a tour of the mansion decked out in its
holiday finery, and a look at the Carriage House (oooh! mahogany horse stalls! and a toy train set!). A festive 12th Night
party followed with catered hors d'oeuvres and wine. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Willet Stained Glass Studios Tuesday,
September 14, 2010 Techniques used
to produce stained glass have remained virtually unchanged since the 12th century, a tradition which continues
today. We toured the stained glass studios of the Willet Stained Glass Company to view the actual production of stained
glass, from the inception of an idea to the completion of the final product.
The Willet Studio was incorporated in 1898 by William Willet and wife Anne Lee in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
William began his career as a painter and may have seen stained glass in the studio of John LaFarge. He moved to Pittsburgh
and in 1898 purchased the studio of Ludwig Grosse. The Studio relocated to Philadelphia in 1913 to work in facilities provided
by George Woodward, a Philadelphia area real estate developer and advocate of the Arts and Crafts movement. When William died in 1921 the Studio moved to another Philadelphia site and his widow assumed management of the firm,
followed by their son in 1934. In 1977, Hauser Art Glass Company, Inc. of Winona, Minnesota, joined forces with the Willet
Studios. The companies complemented each other in area of specialization (Willet’s expertise was
in new windows, Hauser’s in restoration) and sales territories (Willet serviced the East and South, Hauser the Mid-West).
The companies combined names in 2005. Many distinguished stained glass artists have influenced the Studio’s
design tradition, and examples of the Studio’s work are abundant in the Philadelphia area. Sites familiar to members
include: Adath Jeshurun, Beth Sholom and Kenneseth Israel Synagogues in Elkins Park, Chestnut Hill Academy, Drexel University,
Holy Trinity Church on Rittenhouse Square, The Widener Mausoleum at Laurel Hill Cemetery, the Masonic Temple, Old Original
Bookbinder’s, and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, just to mention a few. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2010 Queen's Party July 11, 2010 The Philadelphia Chapter celebrated the Queen Victoria’s 191st Birthday with
a July 11th event entitled “The Grand Old Lady of Broad Street meets the Grand Old Lady of England.”
Philadelphia’s renown Academy of Music has been affectionately referred to as the “Grand Old Lady of Broad Street”
for many years. The Chapter’s July event, which included a private guided tour of the Academy, a sumptuous buffet brunch
at the Union League and a private guided tour of the League, was attended by 48 guests, including two visitors from the New
York chapter! The tour of the Academy included the main auditorium where guests saw the recently cleaned, restored, and re-installed
chandelier, and the ballroom and basement level of the building, which are normally off-limits to concert-goers. After
the tour the group enjoyed a sumptuous buffet brunch in the Lincoln Room of the Union League, a Philadelphia
landmark. Upon completion of brunch, the group had an extensive tour of the building, led by building historian Jim Mundy.
The day was a wonderful combination of Victorian history and good food! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Philadelphia Chapter of the Victorian Society invites you to… Sunday, April 25, 2010 @ 1:30-4:30 pm The
Philadelphia Chapter enjoyed a tour and lecture of the first modern building in the United States: Eastern State Penitentiary.
Most eighteenth century prisons were simply large holding pens where physical punishment and mutilation were common,
as was the abuse of prisoners by guards and overseers. In 1787, a group of powerful
Philadelphians convened in the home of Benjamin Franklin. The Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public
Prisons expressed growing concern over the conditions in both American and European prisons. Pennsylvania
was the first to set the international standard in prison design.
It
took the Society more than thirty years to convince Pennsylvania to build the kind of prison it suggested, a revolutionary
new building on farmland outside Philadelphia. The result, Eastern State Penitentiary, opened in 1829. It broke sharply with
the prisons of its day, abandoning corporal punishment and ill treatment. It became the most expensive
American building of its time and also the most famous prison in the world. The role of the Penitentiary
would not be to punish, but to move the criminal toward spiritual reflection and change. This method was
a Quaker-inspired system accompanied by the use of physical labor. Proponents of the system believed strongly that the criminals,
with only thoughts of their behavior and the ugliness of their crimes, would become genuinely penitent. Thus
the origin of the word “penitentiary.” Norman
Johnston, Professor Emeritus of Arcadia University, accompanied us on our tour. Dr. Johnston is co-editor of eight
textbooks on criminology, as well as author of The Human Cage: A Brief History of Prison Architecture;
Eastern State Penitentiary: Crucible of Good Intentions, Forms of Constraint:
A History of Prison Architecture, and Inside: Prison and Prison Life, Eastern State Penitentiary Historic
Site (2010). Dr. Johnston is currently Director Emeritus on the Board of the Pennsylvania Prison
Society and on the editorial board of their publication, The Prison Journal. He is also a member of the Board of Directors
of the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site. He has visited prisons in twenty foreign countries as
well as numerous state and federal institutions in the United States. Included
in our tour was the newly renovated synagogue that was used by prisoners. Following the tour, Dr.
Johnston accompanied us across the street to the London Grill, where he discussed prisons during the Victorian era. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday, March 20, 2010 @ 1:30 pm Victorian
Period: Dignity and Decadence;
1837-1901
Did politeness and courtesy disappear with lorgnettes,
daguerreotypes, and antimacassars?Did throwaway plastic utensils from fast food restaurants
replace the strange and wonderful silver flatware serving
pieces found in every Victorian set?
Shirley
Sue Swaab recreated the niceties of a time that may never be recaptured. A collection of antique objects
were used throughout to illustrate this unique lecture. Our event was held at
The Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion. As the only authentically restored Victorian house museum and garden in Philadelphia, it was the perfect setting
for our lecture.
Shirley Sue Swaab, ASA an Accredited Senior Appraiser of the Philadelphia
Chapter of the American Society of Appraisers had appeared at museums and historical societies from New Jersey to Florida,
from Washington, DC to California. Shirley’s discipline was with personal property and her specialties
included Antiques and Decorative Arts. Her hallmark was the use of items from her own collections to create
hands-on presentations. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday,
January 10, 2010 ~ 2 PM Twelfth Night at
the
Henry Lister Townsend Castle Our Annual Twelfth Night Celebration was held at the Henry Lister Townsend Castle on Wayne Avenue.
The owners and gracious hosts, Sandy and Timothy Weckesser, decorated their magnificent Victorian mansion home
for the Christmas season. The “CASTLE”, as it is locally identified, is a two-thirds scaled down version of the
famous Druim Moir Castle built from 1885 to 1886 and designed by W. D. Hewitt and G. W. Hewitt, renowned
architects of the period, for Henry H. Houston. Henry Lister Townsend was the financier who admired Druim
Moir and contracted W.D. Hewitt to build the Wayne Avenue “Castle” as his personal home.
Our annual
Twelfth Night included a discussion of the history of the “Castle “by the owners. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
