Maine Antique Digest, December 2016

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Maine Antique Digest, December 2016 7-A
is emblematic of the breadth of
the magazine’s reach and ranged
from the Dead Sea, Prague, and
South Korea to the Mississippi
Delta region, northern Vermont,
and New York’s Finger Lakes.
Benn photographed on Boston’s
North Shore for six months, from
June through October 1978. He
shot a total of 286 rolls of film,
relying on Kodak’s long-lived
and much-loved Kodachrome 35
mm color film.
This program is free for CAM
members or with museum admis-
sion paid upon arrival. Space
is limited, and reservations are
required. To make reservations,
call (978) 283-0455 ext. 10 or
THREE CENTURIES
OF CHRISTMAS
“Three Centuries of Christ-
mas” at the Webb-Deane-
Stevens Museum (WDSM) in
Wethersfield, Connecticut, will
show in fascinating detail how
the American holiday season
evolved over the past 300 years.
The season kicks off with the
WDSM holiday preview party
on Friday, December 9, from
5 to 8 p.m. Guests will delight
in a candlelight preview of the
dazzling holiday decorations
throughout the museum, and
they will be able to stroll from
house to house, enjoying deli-
cious food, wine, ale, and live
holiday music and chatting with
Mr. and Mrs. Silas Deane, Mrs.
Claus, and guides in period dress.
Admission is $30 for members,
$35 for nonmembers. Advance
tickets are available online
(http://webb-deane-stevens.
org/celebrate-three-centuries-
of-christmas/).
Candlelight tours, with guides
in period dress, will be on Friday
and Saturday, December 16 and
17, 5 to 8 p.m. Daylight holiday
tours will be December 10 to 30,
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. except
Sundays (from 1 to 4 p.m.),
closed Tuesdays. Admission for
tours is $12.
The “Three Centuries of
Christmas” will begin in the
Silas Deane House, circa 1770,
where New Year’s Day was the
main holiday, rather than Christ-
mas, because of the Puritanical
customs that lingered in New
England. The house reflects the
preparations for the Deanes’
“New Year’s Day Calling,”
when prominent gentlemen in
the community would call on
the lady of the household. It was
also the day when individuals
who owed money to the family
would meet privately with the
master of the house to settle their
debts or make a New Year’s res-
olution to provide goods or ser-
vices to settle their accounts in
the coming year.
The Isaac Stevens House
will be decorated to depict the
holiday celebrations of a mid-
dle-class household during the
early to mid-1800s. The “best”
parlor will feature a charming
tabletop tree decorated with can-
dles, gilded eggshells, and edible
treats. The Stevens House will
also include a special exhibit
with enlarged color illustrations
by Thomas Nast from the muse-
um’s rare 1888 copy of Clement
Moore’s An Account of a Visit of
St Nicholas. The colorful images
tell the tale of how the secular
Christmas known today was cre-
ated in the early 19th century,
which coincides with the muse-
um’s interpretation of Christmas
at the Stevens House.
At the Joseph Webb House
visitors will see decorations typ-
ical of the early 20th century.
The home will be prepared for a
Christmas open house that was
typical of the times, including a
sumptuous dessert buffet set up
in the dining parlor. The culmi-
nation of several weeks’ work,
the lavishness of the dessert
and decorations could make or
break the hostess’s reputation.
Decorations will include three
Christmas trees, evergreen rop-
ing, fresh greens, fruit, and a
collection of period ornaments.
A fine collection of antique iron
toys from the late 19th and early
20th century and a charming
Victorian dollhouse will also be
featured.
For more information, visit
529-0612.
ANTIQUE CHRISTMAS
ORNAMENTS
New Hampshire Antique
Co-op in Milford, New Hamp-
shire, will host a lecture, “The
Antique Christmas Ornament:
FolkArt in Miniature,” presented
by antique ornament expert Bev-
erly Weir-Longacre on Saturday,
December 3, at 1 p.m. The lec-
ture is a highlight of New Hamp-
shire Antique Co-op’s annual
holiday open house held on the
weekend of December 3 and 4
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
In addition to the lecture,
Weir-Longacre will once again
share pieces from her extensive
holiday ornament collection in a
whimsical and detailed exhibit
created especially for the co-op.
The vignette, on view through
January 6, 2017, will feature a
patriotic-themed holiday display
filled with vintage red, white,
and blue ornaments, toys, gifts,
and more.
The open house weekend
will also include refreshments
and sweet treats for visitors to
enjoy while children write let-
ters to Santa and post them in an
old-fashioned North Pole mail-
box, plus a drawing for a $100
New Hampshire Antique Co-op
gift card.
For more information, please
call (603) 673-8499 or visit
online
com) or
CERAMIC SCULPTURE IN
POSTWAR AMERICAN ART
On Monday, December 12,
the Connecticut Ceramics Study
Circle (CCSC) will present
“Ceramic Sculpture in Postwar
American Art,” a lecture by
Sequoia Miller, Ph.D. candidate,
history of art, Yale University,
New Haven, Connecticut. The
lecture will begin at 1 p.m. at the
Bruce Museum in Greenwich,
Connecticut, with refreshments
immediately following the
lecture.
The 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s saw
explosive growth in approaches
to clay as an artistic medium in
the United States. Miller, cura-
tor of The Ceramic Presence in
Modern Art, the recent exhibi-
tion at the Yale University Art
Gallery, will consider interac-
tions between artists using clay,
including Peter Voulkos, Ken
Price, and Robert Arneson, and
artists working with other media
to explore the role of ceramics in
post-World War II American art.
Miller was a full-time studio
potter before coming to Yale.
Admission for nonmembers
of CCSC is $25. For additional
information, visit the website
).
WANTED
UNUSUAL, AMERICAN SHOOTING
GALLERY TARGETS
TS HITCHCOCK MDS
CARVED HORNS
CALL (214) 448-0371
Randi Ona
Early American Antiques
973-495-3707
19th century courting mirror, sycamore.
Nicely carved crest, interesting paint history.
Fine surveying
and astronomical
instruments
marked
“Wm. Wurdemann,
Washington D.C.”
Also papers, ephemera, parts, etc.
Emails to
WANTED
2016 EAST HAMPTON
HOUSE & GARDEN TOUR
The East Hampton (NewYork)
Historical Society’s 2016 House
& Garden Tour will showcase
some of the finest examples of
historical and modern archi-
tecture in the Hamptons. This
year’s tour, consisting of five
unique houses, is scheduled for
Saturday, November 26, from 1
to 4:30 p.m.
A kickoff cocktail party will
be held on the evening of Friday,
November 25, at the Maidstone
Club in East Hampton.
“The East Hampton Historical
Society’s annual house tour offers
a one-time-only glimpse inside
some of our town’s most storied
residences,” said Richard Barons,
the executive director of the East
Hampton Historical Society.
Tickets to the opening night
cocktail party are $200 each,
which includes entry to the house
tour the following day. Tickets to
the self-guided 2016 East Hamp-
ton House & Garden Tour are
$65 in advance and $75 on the
day of the tour. Tickets can be
purchased through the website
),
by phone (631) 324-6850, and in
person at Clinton Academy, 151
Main Street, East Hampton, on
Friday, November 25, and Satur-
day, November 26, between 10
a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
DOUBLEDAY HOUSE
ANTIQUES GALLERY
ANNUAL HOLIDAY
OPEN HOUSE
Doubleday House Antiques
Gallery in Ballston Spa, New
York, will be hosting its sec-
ond annual holiday open house
on November 26 and 27, from
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be
sales throughout the shop, and
refreshments will be served. The
dealers will be present and avail-
able to talk about their offerings.
“We are excited to celebrate
the holiday season and to thank
our loyal customers for their
continued support,” said owner
Mary Jane Breedlove.
Doubleday House Antiques
Gallery is a group of seven deal-
ers offering a selection of prim-
itive and formal furniture, glass,
pottery, silver, art, and other
antiques from the 18th to early
20th century. The shop is located
at 28 Washington Street in the
historic 1804 Abner Doubleday
house.
For more information, call
(518) 309-3745 or visit the web-
site ).