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 Culture - An Honest Appraisal
An Honest Appraisal
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Okay ladies, in this age of statements like “real men wear pink” or “real men eat quiche,” will your real man sleep in floral sheets? Mine will cook, change diapers, wear pink AND eat quiche all in the same day as long as I don’t ask him to sleep in floral bedding or put anything “girlie” in his den. I did manage to sneak one floral print over our bed but I think he just hasn’t really looked at it yet.
There are several pieces of Victorian furniture and decorative items that came from her family home. Among these pieces are a desk in the Eastlake style with figured walnut veneer. The top rolls up to expose a writing surface and a series of drawers and slots. You can just imagine all the writers who sat at the desk to compose letters to friends and family. They also showed me an Edwardian writing slope. This piece was made toward the end of the popularity of this form. There is an embossed leather writing surface and wells for crystal ink wells and pens. The closed desk has painted and inlaid decoration on a bird’s eye maple field. Michael described an oil lamp that had been converted to use electricity. Unfortunately, the milk glass shade had been broken and the lamp is currently stored in the garage until a new shade can be found. These three pieces are lovely in their own right, but the real story involves the interaction of all three.
Michael remembers traveling by train to visit her great aunt Nellie Pearl Huntley in her “spooky, old Victorian house with lots of gingerbread.” As an imaginative child, Michael was really effected by the atmosphere in her Aunt’s house. Aunt Nell visited the family in their home a few more times before her death. Michael’s father, as the favorite nephew, inherited many things from her house. A vignette was created from some of Nell’s favorite items in the entry hall of the family house. The desk was placed near the stairs with the writing desk and lamp resting on the top. The lamp became the night light for the entry way as little Michael became a teen.
seemed to like the placement of her possessions until Michael's father decided to make some “improvements” to the desk. He thought pieces should be used and felt he would enjoy combining his stereo with the desk. He removed the center board of the pull out writing surface and dropped his turntable into the drawer below. By hinging the front of the drawer he could access the dials. Aunt Nell either didn’t approve of the use of her desk or of the music played because she would drag the needle across the album or completely turn off the power. The stereo didn’t just have a brief lapse, such as a power surge, but the dial would have been turned to the off position. After months of interrupted musical evenings her father gave up and removed the stereo.
well. She was drawn to small, old items and has several collections that are contained in display cases. She began with a collection of small boxes, her first being a wooden tool box purchased because the wood had been worn to a satiny smoothness. “One little thing would lead to another collection,” she says. One of these other collections consists of butter pats or butter chips, miniature plates used to hold an individual serving of butter. The height of their popularity was 1880-1910, though later examples can be found. They are decorated in the same patterns as popular dinnerware sets of the time. 
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