The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-10-13
Talks on The Public L1uQ1V

The design of the committee in
charge of the festiyaI exhibit was to
illustrate as we'll as possible from ar
ticles, gathered in the Immediate
neighborhood, early American indus
trial art.
The Areside was the neucleus
around which the home was built. The
mantel shelf was found in the old
brick back of the Phillips House, re-
moved there when the building was re-
modelled. 1t is undoubtedly a relic OF
stage-coach days, when the Gilbert
Tavern was in its prime.
The articles placed around the fire
place were gathered from many
sources. The old f1intlock gun, over
a hundred years in Wayne county,
belonged to Sylvester Cook; the pow
der horn that accompanied it had been
the property of T. J. Addleman; the
crane hung in the fireplace of the
Seaney home south of Richmond: the
gameet, the reflector for baking bread,
and the lid of Dutch oven came from
the collection of Mrs. T. J. Addleman
in Franklin township; the ancient
wrought iron andirons, the Dutch
ovens and the iron shovel and tongs
were from the Earlham museum. Mrs.
Mark Thompson added pothooks,
steelyards and a quaint little fat iron.
Mrs. Will Morgan put on the finishing
touch with q griddle, coffee mill and
bootjack of the same period.
All these utensils showed the handi-
craft of the artisans of the time, as
well as giving an exposition of the
domestic science of the period.
The pioneer days pewter formed a
very useful substitute for silver. It's
intrinsic value was not great and it.
was easily recast. Pottery at that
time was very expensive and being
easily broken metal dishes were much
more practical.
The effective showing OF pewter
ware was made up from the collec-
tons of Mrs. Addleman, Miss Com
stock and the Wayne County Histori-
cal society
The refined simplicity of farm and
proportion and the soft, mellow color
of the metal have 4 strong artistic APP
peal. No effort was made to study
the marks and ascertain the age of
the articles. Collectors and those in
terested, however, will find adequate
material for such research at the Ii
brary.
The art of illumination of period
was illustrated by a collection of can
die molds, pewter candlesticks Miss
Waltz, sneffers and pewter grease
| lamps Miss Comstock), quaint
brass one (Mrs. Belford), resembled
! in lines a Roman lamp and an iron
one (Earlham) had long thin handle
which was used to stick between the
| chinks in the logs. With these was
placed a flask of the first American
! glass from the collection of Miss E. G.
| White
The bed and hangings were the
property of Miss Gano. Their age,
| Judging from dates marked upon the
hangings was at least one hundred
and fifty years. The cotton was very
soft and heavy and stamped with a
beautiful blue pattern of decidedly
eastern design. Since one of Miss
| Gano's ancestors had been an East
Indian trader the supposition is that
the hangings were India cotton The
bed itself is fine specimen of a
colonial four poster. 1t was COM
| pleted by an old embroidered counter
pane, made by grandmother of Mrs
| B. B. Myrick, and a warming pan be-
| longing to Mrs. Addleman On either
| side the bed were little hooded era
dies, made early in the nineteenth
century by Nathan Morgan, grand
father of Mrs. L. Morgan
, Perhaps the loom and spinning
wheels, operated by Mrs Martha
Butts, were of greatest interest to
the visitors. The loom was very old,
the property of Mrs. John Phillips
AS an example of textiles woven at
that time was an old comfort made
from pieces of home spun cloth and a
large number of coverlids The COW
| NV Mrc
Seaney, Mrs. John Ends1ey. the
Misses Sharkey Mrs. w. d. Foulke,
Mrs. Weiss, of the Antique Furniture
Store, Mrs. Harsh, Mrs. LaFuse, Mrs.
Alice NJ. Walker and Mrs Martin
were worthy an illustrated article
There is in the library a very attrac-
tive book devoted entirely to the sub
| ject of woven coverlids which gives
the names of many of the patterns.
We only remember one pattern, 1.-The
hickory leaf, which is the name
given a conventional design shown in
a very old coverlid belonging to Mrs.
Joseph Seaney.
Additional bed covers were tufted
white one and a "stenciled' one dat
| ing back in the family over a hundred
years, both belonging to Mrs. John
Seaney. The design of the stenciled
and the soft green and pink cOlOring
could not have been eXcelled by that
artist.
Along with the textiles must be
mentioned a vest of beautiful mole
skin velvet from the Richmond silk
factory, sent by Charles Starr to a
Philadelphia friend and returned in
1876 to his son, Benjamin Starr and
by him placed in the Wayne County
Historical society.
A collection of tools and imple-
ments, contributed largely by Mr. Ad-
dleman. Mrs. Rhodes and the Wayne
County Historical society, was inter
esting to men.
The Earlham exhibit of pioneer
farm buildings and every conceivable
thing used on farm of the period all
made a miniature, was complete and
accurate in every detail and whole
show of itself