White Christmas Wishes from the Historic Elgin/Cottrell House

  What a perfect begining for the Christmas Season, a fresh fallen, white snow. I just love a White Christmas. I have been having, a little trouble getting in that Holiday  mood, but this snow is starting to bring me around.
  My  Old Historic House, was built in two stages. 1845 with an 1860 addition.It was built by Hazakieah Elgin, who came to Missouri with a Land Grant from President James Manroe.The old house stayed in the Elgin Family for over one hundred years, I am the fourth owner of the house. Because it has had such few owners, it has stayed very much intact and is one of the best examples of Ante Bellum homes in Missouri.
   I purchased the old house in 2007 and have been busy ever since, working to bring it back to its original glory.
  When I found this house the front porch was missing and the side porches were all but  falling off. These pictures are how it looks today.

My Old Historic 1845/1860  House.

This Arbor was a Fourth Birthday Gift to the House.

My Beagle Girl Prissy is at Rest  Here.The Little Plaque on the left marks her Grave.

These Storks were a First Birthday Gift to the House.

These Southern  Magnolia Trees were a Second Birthday Gift to the house.

This Gagebo was a Third Birthday Gift.

This Fountain was a House Warming Gift to the House.

Come Visit us  Anytime.

   I hope you enjoy the house in the snow. And most off all ,I   hope every one has a wonderful,White Christmas and the best and Happy Year  ever!

The Kitchen Had To Be Country

My Country kitchen

Sissy in my chair covered in the old blue and white coverlet.

  I love a country kitchen. In every house that I have ever lived , my kitchen was country. There is something about the elements that make it so warm and homey. Baskets, crocks,chickens,and gigham ,all say country ,in my dictionary of life.
   When I purcased  my old historic house,  there was no doubt in my mind how I wanted to do the kitchen. The only built ins, I have, is the sink. I found this wonderful six foot long double sink at a house sale in St.Louis. It was to the inch ,the perfect size. I had a bead board   frame made for it, the carpenter asked me what kind of doors I wanted. I said none.  It had to have a gigham skirt, and that was my final answer.
    I have had a love affair with English Staffordshire figures most of my life. I just can't stand not having them around me. A great deal of the space in my kitchen is ladden with them. Staffordshie figures have been made in England for 200 years. The figures most people collect today were manufactured in factories during the Victorian period of the middle to late 18 hundreds.They were painted by unskilled women and children. They were painted quick and freely-which gives them a folk art feel, that adds to there charm. The Staffordshire potters made figures depicting animals,politicians,Royals  and buildings. They were mosty  bought to decorate mantles and parlors of modest English homes. The Spaniel dogs were one of the most sought after, then and now. I have had Staffordshire dogs in and about my house, for longer than I can remember.
   Another one of my loves is the German porcelain ,Meissen. The Blue Onion pattern. To me it has to be in a Country Kitchen. Meissen was the first hard paste  porcelain that was developed, Made in a town of Meissen ,near Dresden ,in Germany. They are still in business today. It's signature, the blue crossed swords mark, that appears, under the glaze ,on the back side of each piece, was first used in the 1700's. The Blue Onion pattern,  that I collect , has been in production for 3 centuries. It has been widely copied- but, one can always tell the real thing by that mark.
    What can I say,   A Country kitchen ,
 is not complete with out cow creamers. I first started collecting these for a little cottage, I had in Clarksville,before I bought, My Old Historic House. The first cow creamers were made of silver or pewter and they were imported from Holland in the early 18th century. Staffordshire factories in England began making cow creamers around 1750.They have been made ever since,by other ceramic companys from around the world. The German cows have more details, but the English are more whimzy, and are my favorite. Often  I find them with a big smile on there face.
  Another of my many loves for a country kitchen is American Pottery or Crockery.I love the blue sponge and splatterware and most favorite is the blue and gray from the middle to late 1800's. American stoneware refers predominantly to housewares of the 19th century.Made mostly for use in the kitchen for cooking, storage and caring for food.
  And no country kitchen can be complete with out baskets. Baskets,baskets ,everywhere. American  baskets begin with Native Americans. They used the material of the land to produce baskets for hauling,food preperation,and storage. Other basket making skills were introduced when people came to America from other countries. My favorite baskets were made by the American frontier people. They were forced to use what they could find. They soon discovered that the hickory tree could be split easy and used to weave into baskets.  A draw knife was used on green limbs and the reed like splints would be very easy to cut. They were cut and worked green and when they dried ,they were very strong. I especially love the old painted split hickory baskets.
   Last in my kitchen is , my dog Sissysand my chair. I found an old wing chair and had it covered with a hand woven home spun coverlet that was made in the 1800's. It is one of my pride and joys.
   I hope you enjoy your tour of my Country Kitchen in MY OLD HISTORIC HOUSE.

Pictures of My Country Kitchen.

My kitchen fire place with Staffordshire.

Staffordshire dogs on the jelly cupboard.

The little Princess on a Staffordshire dog.

Bessie the Cow.

Cow Creamers.

A wall in my Country Kitchen.

German Meissen.

Some of my Childrens Chairs.

Italian Life Sized Chikens on the Island.

English Spode.

Some of my Brass Scales.

Gigham Curtains with French Brass Valances and Tie backs.

I love Baskets.

American Blue and Gray crockery.




Mine and Sissy;s  Chair..

 

Quest for a Lambrequin

Lambrequin at Elgin / Cottrell House

 Antique piece I found as a pattern

Parlor at the Confederate White House




 


Mrs.Jefferson Davis, First Lady of Conderates



Sissy Dog on a chair she should not be on.

Gentlemans or Upriver parlor at Elgin/ Cottrell House with my lambrequin.

Curtains made to match Lambrequin

In late spring of 1861-Richmond Virginia, became the capital of the Confederate States of America, and with that title came responsiblities to have a new congress,goverment offices and a President-Jefferson Davis. Davis,his wife,their children and various staff memebers were housed in the newly purchased Confederate White House at the corner of 5th and K street. The previous owner had just added a third floor and redecorated the interior of his home. He sold the house and furniture for $43,000.00, to the Richmond City authorties- which then rented it to the Confederate Governorment as an Executive Mansion. Davis and his 35 year old wife,Varina and there children made this there new home for the next four years. The house was made into a museum in 1890-only a few years after the war. Mrs. Davis was of much help with this project. And today it is one of the most intact Historic homes in America. I used this house as my Bible, when restoring my own historic house, the Elgin / Cottrell House.
   When I visited the Conferdate White House many years ago,I was taken by the wonderful needlepoint Lambrequins that were on the fireplaces. They were all hand stitched by Varina Davis, and they were still hanging in place after all these years.
  Well to make a long story shot, I wanted a Lambrequin for my  historic home,so I went on a quest to find one. I looked in antique shops, on line,called pickers in Europe,but, none was to be found. Luck was with me when I found  a small needlepoint clock shelf, Lambrequin ,at an antique show in Chicago. Being affordable, I bought it and decided to use it as a pattern and make my own Lambrequin.
   For those of you ,who do not know, what a lambrequin is: This is the Websters Dictionarys defination: A kind of pendent,scarf,or covering attached to the  fireplace mantle to protect it from heat. An ornament or drapery or short decorative hanging from a shelf or fireplace mantle. Some times known as a cornice, pelment or valance.
    Opulent Victorian Homes of the Antebellum period had such decorations on there mantles-these  kept smoke from the fireplace ,off the marble or wood mantle.Most often made by the owners of the home. They would purchase charts  for the designs, by mail order. Most came from Europe,and needlepoint was the method. Some Lambrequins were just cloth to match the drapery. 
    For my Lambrequin, I drew the pattern on graph paper,using the piece that I found in the antique shop. I made a chart for the colors  and worked one at a time ,untill the design was done. The black background was done last. After weeks and weeks of work and counting stitches, the Lambrequin was still not big enough for my mantle. I could not stand to do one more block, so I decided to make the middle one different, and it made it much more interesting to do. The edges were finished off with black bias tape, sewn to the back, turned under and stitched down. It was trimed out with black silk cords and tassels. I used a basket weave needlepoint stitch, it does not distort the canvas, so there was no need to block the piece. Someday, 100 or so years from now, some one else might  be inspired by my Lambrequin, like I was, by Mrs. Davis work. At least I know as long as I own my historic house it will be on display and shared by everyone who comes to take a tour.I  designed the curtains for this room to match the Lambrequin. They were made by my dear sister. Same pattern was used for the outline design. The Lambrequin hangs on the mantle of the fireplace in the Down River or Gentlemans Parlor. My dog Sissy had to get in on the action.