For one of the few times on this quirky trek, we spent all of our time in one spot. That spot was the Winterthur Museum and Gardens. Guided there as part of Susan's quilt quest, this astounding historic "house" was impressive in quality and quantity.
Rodney's take: This place is beyond reason in every way. Hard to fathom that this place was ever a private home. There's a tour of what was once a home and then a museum, a research library and endless gardens. It would have been even more impressive had we been visiting during April; the flowers must be astonishing. The house is filled with treasures. Our guide told us that one particular small table is likely worth 6-8 million bucks and there are two of them. It was impossible to not keep a running appraisal of value - yeah like I have any realistic idea what the monetary value of such treasures might be. Let's just say the collection is absurdly valuable. One strange thing was the utter lack of any thing but white people and I swear they all had names like Jacqueline, Constance, Hunter or Thad the III. The lack of diverse demographics felt odd given what we have experienced in the last month. Let's just say, there's a major gap between this place and Gee's Bend. I found many photo ops outside but was especially amused by the soup tureens that had been donated by Campbell's Soup.
Now for a much more historic assessment, here's Susan's take:
I get so interested in the historical details of how some old piece was made or obtained (92 pieces of George Washington's china), or how a special thing was saved from destruction (like the oval spiral staircase), or how it is a completely unique piece (re-creation of a colonial embroidered long-sleeved top that took 300 people 3,700 hours to reproduce), or something that has come down through someone's family (three silk gowns from 1780, 1810 and 18800, I forget how each of these items truly does represent the immense economic disparity in our country both when the piece was first produced and when it was purchased for the museum by this particular DuPont. Still, I remain overwhelmed by the beauty of the entire experience -- the house, the grounds, and the fact that someone with the vision and wherewithal preserved it. Two of my favorites were the only remaining clockworks shop and only remaining woodworking shop (Dohimeny family) and the embroidered jacket re-created down to the gold thread hand-made bobbin lace borders. Thank you, Rodney, for being so patient -- including my wandering around the gift shop!
Love with ferns, silk and marble,
Rodney and Susan
ps. You'll notice that there are almost no photos of the gardens. They are vast and more of the natural garden variety than the traditional yard gardens. The main season for blossoms has passed and as beautiful as they were, we did not have the equipment to take proper photographs - aerial photos would be appropriate. Special note to Maude: Sorry there aren't more pics; you need to go see for yourself.
ps. You'll notice that there are almost no photos of the gardens. They are vast and more of the natural garden variety than the traditional yard gardens. The main season for blossoms has passed and as beautiful as they were, we did not have the equipment to take proper photographs - aerial photos would be appropriate. Special note to Maude: Sorry there aren't more pics; you need to go see for yourself.
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