Milford chronicle., 1948-04-16
WilIExhibit
Treasures lin
Dover Nav /
Annual Dover Day Cele-
bratiOn Will Be The
First One Held Since
Pearl HarbOr.

A Day with the Stored Houses
and Gardens of Old Dover. Della
ware, is being revived again for
the first time since Pearl HarbOr.
date of double significance to
Delawareans as it occurred on MAY
first, the anniversary of the
day Delaware ratified the Federal
Constitution and thus became the
very First State of the United
States Of America. The citizens of
Dover during the war years we're
too busy with more pressing tasks
to open their homes and many
had to neglect their gardens or
plant vegetables where bulbs were
wont to bloom. Because the COM
munity gave temporary shelter to
many soldiers families from dis
tant places, several times a few
houses and gardens were opened
without charge for their enjoy
ment, but no loan collections were
available. Now the loan cOllec-
tiOns of silver, china, glass, mini
atures and other works of art or
handicraft are being assembled for
the enjoyment of the visitors.
These collections are especially
interesting because, by bringing
together more of these objects
than any one house could possess,
the visitors may judge better the
numerous patterns, differences in
design or degree of workmanship.
After much painstaking research
Miss Jessie Harrington, the au-
thor of Delaware Silversmiths, :"
has identified some thirty-eight
early Delaware silversmits who
worked between 100 and 1850. On
exhibition will be a special dis
play of the work of twenty-fOur of
them, including the work of Han
nah Robinson, Delaware's only
woman silversmith. Also included
in the display will be an old brass
mold into which liquid pewter was
poured to fashion a Fat-tail spoon.
The collection of glass features
outstanding examples ranging
from a Steigel pitcher made at
Mannheim in 1742, through cobalt
blue glass and early Sandwich, to
the pressed glass of our grandma
Tiers time. An unusual associa-
tiOn item is an old iron-bOund
chest containing hand-blOwn liquor
bottles once etched in gold and a
cOndiment tray for mixing drinks
which was brought to this country
by a companion of General Lafa-
yette.
Quaint old jewelry of malachite,
coral, seed pearls, turquoise and
lava are shown with a more SOM
bre collection of memorial Jewell
ry. A number of watches will be
displayed; the oldest among them.
called a Chronological Turnip, I"
was made by Wilson of London in
1880 for Judge William Moore of
Valley Forge. With this display
will be shown the very shawl Dolly
Madison wore when she fed the
burning White House during the
War of 1912.
AS jewel-like as the jewelry is
the display of early multi-colOred
/ paperWelghtS. There are fine eX-
amples of early French, Bacar-
ratt, Clichy, st. Louis, old Sand
wich and Gillerland. The same
loan collection will exhibit grace
full figurines and an interesting
collection of early Delaware maps.
The collection of miniatures will
contain examples of the work of
such masters as Peale, Sully and
several examples of the work of
] st. Memin. There is also a fas-
cinating miniature which was
painted in China.
Admirers of early china and
porcelain will be delighted with
the examples of colonial Love-
stoft, Staffordshire, early nine-
teenth Century Queensware and
Lusters, sprigged Chelsea and old
blue Canton. Some of the dinner
sets were made to order in Eng
Continued on page q