Mudd House Victorian Christmas

[L Verge]

(12-03-2015 08:10 AM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  

(11-30-2015 10:41 PM)LincolnMan Wrote:  

(11-29-2015 05:50 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  

(11-29-2015 05:11 PM)LincolnMan Wrote:  Would love to go there someday- having never been. I assume there are many relics there? Really the while whole is probably a relic!

Yes - you sure won't regret it. The original couch where Booth sat to get his leg dressed, and a lot of others (the rest being contemporarly furnished). Authentic, very atmospherical. Breathing views from the window of the room where Booth and Harold slept. And due to it being such a secluded, idyllic place you can feel the original time and can imagine the happenings. The idyllic atmosphere has something threatening to it (like in "High Noon") and you almost expect desperados to appear on horseback.

Eva:
I love how you paint the feel of being there with a High Noon quality. Being a big fan ofvthat movie I instantly get it!

I love the movie, too - IMO the modern ones despite all the technical tricks don't come up to the charming atmosphere of the old ones (same in music).

And IMO there are no actresses anymore with the aura of a Grace Kelly, MM, or Claudia Cardinale. (Did you know she is Tunisian btw?). The same goes for actors.

Bill, I posted one relict - a dresser made by Spangler (as I was told, or Mudd according to Laurie - and she has the greater knowledge) on the trivia thread here:
http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...l#pid54106
...and the sofa where Booth sat here:
http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...l#pid47237
This is if I remember not the original bed where JWB and Herold slept at the Mudds', but similar and in the same place:

...And this is what they could see from the bedroom window:

(and imagine it was deadly quiet outside).

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Forgot: The Mudds' bedroom, and the clothes were allegedly original theirs.

I suspect that the bedroom furniture belonged to the Mudds after the Civil War. That style is more reminiscent of the 1870s. For those of you who have not visited, their bedroom was supposedly a small room off of the downstairs dining room. I have questioned why, since their four children (in 1865) were housed in one room upstairs. I would think that Mrs. Mudd would want to be closer to her children if one got sick or fretful during the night.

Perhaps they had a live-in nanny? But where was the nanny's room? Did she get rousted out of the front bedroom (which is normally the master bedroom) when Booth and Herold arrived? Did she share the children's bedroom with them? The only other room upstairs was supposedly Dr. Mudd's medical office. Was there a connecting door through the children's room to a room that was over today's gift shop?

So many bodies and so few bedrooms! What on earth did they do after the war when Dr. and Mrs. Mudd produced five more children?

[RJNorton]

(12-03-2015 09:22 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Perhaps they had a live-in nanny? But where was the nanny's room? Did she get rousted out of the front bedroom (which is normally the master bedroom) when Booth and Herold arrived? Did she share the children's bedroom with them? The only other room upstairs was supposedly Dr. Mudd's medical office. Was there a connecting door through the children's room to a room that was over today's gift shop?

In Nettie Mudd's book there is a statement by her mother.

Sarah Frances Mudd wrote, "My husband did not find the boot, and I sent Martha, the housegirl, to get it for him."

Who was Martha?

[Eva Elisabeth]

Laurie, I cannot come up with any other source than my memory which may not be reliable, but I thought someone of the "tour experts" told that the room where the dresser stands was the kid's room (there were also a cradle and toys) and that a nanny, too, slept in that room/bed, and I was wondering exactly the same - how would they all have fit in? (At least they probably didn't freeze in winter.)

[Gene C]

(12-03-2015 09:22 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Perhaps they had a live-in nanny? But where was the nanny's room? Did she get rousted out of the front bedroom (which is normally the master bedroom) when Booth and Herold arrived? Did she share the children's bedroom with them? The only other room upstairs was supposedly Dr. Mudd's medical office. Was there a connecting door through the children's room to a room that was over today's gift shop?

So many bodies and so few bedrooms! What on earth did they do after the war when Dr. and Mrs. Mudd produced five more children?

I think Laurie may have uncovered the real reason Booth only stayed one night

[L Verge]

By jove, Gene, you have solved the mystery! Between kids and roosters in the morning, he would be ready to move on. I must say, however, that from all accounts, Mr. Booth loved children and was very good with them.

Eva - It has been over five years since I have been in the Mudd House (even longer on the second floor since going upstairs hurts like crazy). Was/is the children's bedroom still at the rear of the house, close to the stairs and Dr. Mudd's office? Seeing a sewing machine in that room seems somewhat out of place - I had a childhood friend who did sew her fingers together by playing with one when she was only about five.

Martha must have been the recently freed house servant. Bob Summers should be able to help here because he has done extensive research on slave history as related to the Mudds.

[Eva Elisabeth]

(12-04-2015 11:18 AM)L Verge Wrote:  Eva - It has been over five years since I have been in the Mudd House (even longer on the second floor since going upstairs hurts like crazy). Was/is the children's bedroom still at the rear of the house, close to the stairs and Dr. Mudd's office? Seeing a sewing machine in that room seems somewhat out of place - I had a childhood friend who did sew her fingers together by playing with one when she was only about five.

Yes, that is where the room was, and here is the sewing machine:
   
...and Dr. Mudd's adjoining office:
   
I didn't find the sewing machine out of place because I thought the nurse was probably also responsible for sewing the clothes, so she could watch the kids and sew.
My grandma had the same type of sewing machine (for sewing, not for decoration).

[L Verge]

(12-04-2015 12:51 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  

(12-04-2015 11:18 AM)L Verge Wrote:  Eva - It has been over five years since I have been in the Mudd House (even longer on the second floor since going upstairs hurts like crazy). Was/is the children's bedroom still at the rear of the house, close to the stairs and Dr. Mudd's office? Seeing a sewing machine in that room seems somewhat out of place - I had a childhood friend who did sew her fingers together by playing with one when she was only about five.

Yes, that is where the room was, and here is the sewing machine:

Almost identical to my grandmother's sewing machine from the 1890s. We kept that one in use through the 1990s. Three of my four period outfits for use here at Surratt House were done by my mother on that old machine. Surratt House has an old Singer with the last patent date of 1852.

God bless Elias Howe, whom is credited (I believe) with producing the first sewing machine in the U.S. -- but not applying fast enough for a patent. He saved housewives numerous hours of hand labor, even though the first machines only sewed straight seams. Do you have any idea the length of a straight seam in an 1863 dress designed to be worn over a hoop?

...and Dr. Mudd's adjoining office:

I didn't find the sewing machine out of place because I thought the nurse was probably also responsible for sewing the clothes, so she could watch the kids and sew.
My grandma had the same type of sewing machine (for sewing, not for decoration).

[Eva Elisabeth]

"Do you have any idea the length of a straight seam in an 1863 dress designed to be worn over a hoop?"

Is this a serious or rhetorical question? If serious I guess a hoop ca. 1,20m in diameter x π = 1,2m x3,41= 3,77m = 12.37 feet for the lenght of the seam?

[L Verge]

I taught history, not math, so I have no idea whether you are right are wrong. My guess for one seam would be closer to 5 1/2 feet from waist to tip of finished hem. I think I'm right that most hoop dresses were two-piece, so that would be my estimate for just one seam in the skirt (which would have at least two seams and likely even more). The underarm to waist measurement would be another 10-to-12 inches???

Any reproduction clothing seamstresses on this forum?

[Gene C]

It seems to me....it would depend on the size of the hoop. Don't some of those "hoop" out more than others.

[RJNorton]

Would Charley Bauer know?

[L Verge]

(12-05-2015 09:25 AM)Gene C Wrote:  It seems to me....it would depend on the size of the hoop. Don't some of those "hoop" out more than others.

You are quite right on there being varying sizes of hoops, Gene. Good point.

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(12-05-2015 09:27 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  Would Charley Bauer know?

My personal opinion on Mr. Bauer (if it is the man I think you mean) is that he would just make up an answer if he didn't know the facts. God rest his soul.

[Thomas Kearney]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/86528312@N...1480839310

Here is a link to some pictures I took today!

[RJNorton]

Thank you for sharing your wonderful photos, Thomas! I wonder what that sofa would look like if Richard Mudd had not had it reupholstered back in the 1950's.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Thanks, Thomas - love the photo of the living room. The Xmas tree looks great, and also all the poinsettias! I wonder when the first poinsettias came up for Xmas. (They need less than 12 hours of daylight for several weeks to produce these red leaves btw!)