Curious Curator: Oral History, The most exciting form of history?

I recently saw a statement that proclaims oral history as one of the most exciting forms of history and while I prepare for a workshop training youth on the process of oral history collection this weekend, I am reflecting on its importance in the field of heritage interpretation.  The significance of the documentary form, oral history, that the voice of all when interpreting the past is captured, not just the famous, the victors or the advocates who have their stories preserved, but all those involved, makes it a truly expressive and compelling resource.
Of course, acknowledging the skepticism and understanding the limits of oral history at the outset of a collection project, the human folly of memory, allows for the historian, professional or amateur, full appreciation of the myriad of possibilities the form holds.

 

The feeling behind memory is authentic. It is that authenticity, the human side of memory, even when influenced by outside factors, influences being just as historically informative as the memory itself, that one starts to develop the appreciation of this wonderful primary resource.

Contemplate your own life. Chances are if someone had to reconstruct your life history based on the written record alone, they would have very little to go on. If the information they were using was what they could locate in the newspaper, mortgage documents, your obituary, maybe a sporadically written diary from when you were twelve, the information gathered would reveal very little about the soul of your life, and the things that matter most to you.

Oral history provides for human interaction and the richness that is developed between two people chatting together. "Individuals coming together to chat about a common interest" and the depths that this conversation can reveal about the interviewer and interviewee. Oral history allows for questions to be asked and an answer provided. Imagine if one could travel back and ask questions of Abraham Lincoln or Henry VIII.  The ability to ask people about the most "recent" past allows for those burning questions to be answered, helping with the creation of source materials for the future.

I have a Parkwood version of this. Since we are a 20th century site, many of the random questions that I think of or have been asked of me by guests can often be answered by the resources at my finger tips, via the oral histories of the McLaughlin grandchildren and the former servants. For example, was Sam McLaughlin right or left handed? What soap brand was preferred in the house?  Not significantly life or history changing information, but the type of human (daily life) queries we receive or have about historic figures. I often comment on the fact that I have the marvellous good fortune to have the finite resource of tangible links with the past through contemporaries of Sam and Adelaide McLaughlin as opposed to many sites with mandates of earlier time periods. It is through our oral history collecting practises that I endeavour to create the resource material for future staff of Parkwood to access aiding with the illuminating of the McLaughlin Family for generations to come.

One of the unique benefits attributed to oral history that no other historical record can provide; census information, photographs, etc., is the one that attracts me as a social historian to the form, the perspective of the everyday person. We know that for centuries the historical record has been created by the key figures of the human experience, leaving out labourers, slaves, women, children, minorities. There are many reasons and scholastic discussions about the exclusion, but as the 20th century marched on this breach in the historic record began to be remedied and the preservation of oral history was one of those cures to the omissions. The process is endeavouring to ensure that the everyday person is no longer falling through the cracks of the historical record, having their contributions to our world experiences documented and preserved. It is through the existence of oral histories that the rest of us will have our legacy long after we are gone.

Finally, as we are experiencing the current technical age, the written word is beginning to be lost. For example, lets examine the loss of cursive writing skills and penmanship being removed from curriculum. The loss of cursive, and the ever growing reliance on telephones, computers, emails, technical devices, etc., should have us consider what will future historians have to study when they begin to reflect on the 21st century? The extensive correspondence and daily journal entries that enlighten researchers of the 18th and 19th centuries will not be available to provide commentary on our own time. The oral histories that have been and will be collected throughout the 20th and 21st centuries provide compensation for the lost written records of our own time, and in a self serving way makes me aware that the importance of this documentary practise evermore vital, as our generation will not be a blip in the historic record.


*curatorial note to reader- RS McLaughlin was right handed, noting that since he was born in 1871 he would not have likely had a choice in the matter, as right- handedness was often imposed.
Pears Soap was the soap of choice in the household. It was purchased in cases. We use Pears in the interpretation of the exhibit rooms today. This information was gathered in several oral histories of former household servants.

 

 

Sharing the Dream

Sharing the Dream at Parkwood

Durham College President Don Lovisa, takes on the role of Honourary Chair for Parkwood’s benefit gala Garden of Dreams. The event will take place Friday, May 30, 2014.

An avid Parkwood supporter, Mr. Lovisa states: "I am pleased and proud to lend support to this benefit event. Through Durham College’s educational partnership with Parkwood I have gained a true appreciation for this national treasure, and particularly the historic gardens. The gala is a remarkable event, and I’m looking forward to sharing a special experience of Parkwood with community leaders, donors, sponsors and supporters, as we celebrate our partnership in its preservation."

The Parkwood gala is a biennial event to raise funds for the ongoing preservation and presentation of one of Canada’s finest grand estates and National Historic Sites. This year the event is presented by TD Bank Group, and will feature a gourmet dinner, silent & live auctions and dancing – all under a large marquee on the South Lawn.

"We’re so excited to have Don as Honourary Chair. He’s a fantastic champion for Parkwood’s gardens and their remarkable past, and he helps us to dream big when it comes to their future." notes Nancy Shaw, President of The Parkwood Foundation. The Garden of Dreams theme for 2014 shines a spotlight on conservation and education, and on the unique status Parkwood enjoys amongst the historic estates & homes of Canada, due to the caliber of design and the conserved state of the gardens.

An added touch for the Garden of Dreams silent auction will be 20 lush garden planters, created by the Durham College students of the Horticulture Technician Program at Parkwood.

Parkwood benefit events typically highlight key preservation projects in progress, giving supporters with an opportunity to see their contributions at work. A 2013/2014 project isexpected to be on view during Garden of Dreams, the newly-restored Vinery greenhouse. It marks the beginning of a full conservation program for the greenhouse complex.

The public is invited to attend, and may contact Parkwood for further information at 905.433.4311 or info@parkwoodestate.com. Tickets for the event are $ 250.00 per person.

Vinery Greenhouse Conservation Pilot Project III: Brick, Metal and Wood Components

One of the three brick types identified

One of the challenges of active conservation work is that lay persons often want to see the finished project pristine, shiny and like new. That is not the case with conservation. The object is to preserve and one of the things that we set out to do at the outset of the pilot project was to salvage as much reusable material from the original Vinery as plausible for reuse. As the contractors from Faber Solariums began taking the greenhouse apart, all salvaged material was returned to the shop for review and assessment.

Bricks
As the disassembly progressed approx. +/- 300 bricks from the Vinery were deemed salvageable. While cleaning and assessing the condition of the bricks, 3 different types, of similar colour and texture, were identified during the process.

ERA Architects, Parkwood, and contractors met to discuss the selection of the replacement bricks, along with the use of the reclaimed bricks in the Vinery for preservation, as well as interpretive purposes

Experimenting with lime wash removal

Some experimental cleaning of the painted masonry surfaces has been underway over the last little while. This is because we have identified what looks to be a lime wash on some of the surfaces. Experimentation is underway because we are wary of physically damaging masonry with aggressive chemical or heavy friction applications to remove. In the past, Parkwood NHS has experienced the negative attributes of abrasive paint removal processes on historic surfaces, and we are carefully watching our intervention with regards to the Vinery project.

Metals
For the most part, the metals were in stable condition, showing wear and tear in the expected areas. For example the sills, and gutter drains were weak or broken between the bolt holes and the ends. In the case of the sills, they will be used, with the ends that are damaged being repaired with a 4mm sill plate used to match the historic profile of the original. As a modern intervention, during the installation, a non visible application of blueskin™ (rubberised asphalt compound membrane) will be added between the sill and the wall.
Items like sill brackets, eaves plates, collar ties, rafter end ties were in decent condition, with some  broken or others missing completely, etc. Reclaimed items from other sites, all approved, some even being labelled, Lord& Burnham, will be used in the rebuild.

While cleaning the flashing lips, a combination of copper, aluminium and galvanised ones were salvaged. During the cleaning process, we were able to identify a few of the steel elements that had been "blued" historically, as a rust prevention measure. These identified "blued" pieces were not blasted to preserve the technique, and a section of the bluing will be visible for interpretive content of the finished Vinery.

Gable rafter curve (Upper)

Woods
The wooden components have been deemed quite stable. In some areas, the historic pieces will have a consolidant applied, to fill holes, etc., but the anticipated rot, and areas of loss etc. associated with the age and condition of the Vinery has not been a concern.
Stay tuned as the process of rebuilding the Vinery is  documented and although not shiny and new, the initial work and foundation wall construction is looking  stunning.

Thank you to Sydney Martin E.R.A. Architects Inc. for the use of her photography.

Curious Curator: The Ontario Reader

Among the books within our book collection is the Ontario Reader, Third Reader, from 1885. Like many of the books within Parkwood it sits on the shelf, dark yellow fabric binding, pages showing signs of foxing (age related spots on vintage paper) and just being. As I peruse the shelves and check condition stability, its existence and purpose at Parkwood, in my mind, is likely due to Adelaide McLaughlin having been a teacher when she met Sam. Last week I decided to look a little bit further into the book. Well, to be honest, I was intrigued by what was curriculum of a Third Reader, (Grade 3) in 1885 and chuckled at some of the language and statements in the preface.


ALM third from left back row Teacher Sinclair PS,
 Whitby
Compliments Whitby Archives

This little book among the thousands in the Estate has an interesting history of its own, one of political arguing, national newspaper editorials, and its existence led to the advent of the Ontario Booksellers' Association.

The idea behind the creation of the Ontario Reader, was the Ministry of Education had desired the Ontario Reader series "become the sole authorised readers for use in the public schools." Furthermore, the Ministry assigned their publication to three publishers, granting exclusive rights, and a fixed price point, for purchase, of 30 cents per book. The Ministry was keen on this agreement, "because the contract gave them the right to inspect finished samples and to reject faulty work, the printing plates were kept the property of the Ministry and the Minister of Education, George Ross, reserved for himself strict control of the content and composition of the readers."

This new Ontario Reader program moved away from the public tenders and open competition for publication which had been the previous norm.
As one can imagine the independent book sellers were annoyed by this change in 1885, seeing that the process "could place them in a situation of perpetual disadvantage in dealings with the publishers." In January 1885, over 700 booksellers arrived in Toronto to "protest the government handling of the textbook issue, and to voice an united objection to the creation of a publishing combine with essentially monopolistic interests in the Ontario Readers, forming the Ontario Booksellers' Association."

Who knew when I picked up this book that it had such an intriguing history in terms of Ontario curriculum development, but also Ontario business history?

Want to learn more? My sources on the matter are Balancing the Books: Brokerage Politics and The Ontario Reader Question by Oisin Patrick Rafferty

and

Liberty of Trade from the Thraldom of the Autocrats: Provision of School Textbooks in Ontario, 1850-1909 by Penney Clark

 

 

 

 

Curious Curator: Weather Forecasting Instruments

vintage desk/mantle piece c.1960

Behind the heavy velvet draperies or hidden in the nooks and crannies throughout the Estate is a collection of artefact instruments to forecast and calculate the weather.

Temperature and humidity are important to me, today, from a curatorial perspective in terms of a preservation measure, and I have added to the collection of recording tools, including modern hygrothermagraphs, humidity test strips, etc., but within our artefact collection, the Estate boasts a dozen devices for recording environmental information.

Humidity indicator strips

I have no idea if weather knowledge was a fascination of the family; if the items were just practical in nature; if the purpose for thermometers and barometers were a era specific preservation technique for house health or if the items were novel gifts and therefore put to use recording the daily life and routines of weather at Parkwood. Regardless of their purpose beyond recording devices, they are an interesting item, that are rarely observed by the visiting public.

The Aneroid Barometer was made for the B & H.B. Kent Company, Toronto between 1895-1900 by Short and Mason, London U.K. I have always wondered if the McLaughlin's brought this piece with them to Parkwood in 1917 from their first Oshawa home, or if this was acquired as an "antique" later on. The barometer is composed of enamel and red brass and is in the captain style design. Note the moon and arrow indicator hands, perfect for a family with the sea and nautical traditions in their blood.



In the Library, resides this interesting Art Deco piece from the Luxor Company of New York for recording outdoor temperatures. Attached to the wall, the instrument came with 15 feet of tubing which runs parallel to the side of one of the French Doors and out to the exterior of the house. The workings within the piece are designed and built by Boyce MotoMeter, and is called a "distance type movement".                                                                   

 The "Cyclo-Stormograph" c.1920 was used to predict storms including potential tornadoes in the area. This piece comes with its own mahogany carrying case, from the Short and Mason Company. The display case is made from mahogany and bevelled glass.
The intricate simplicity of this piece is what makes it so interesting. The barometer plate itself changes shape with the rising pressure. As it changes the thin bar moves and makes the arm go up and down accordingly. The cylinder spins and the changes are recorded. The "pen" on this is more of a trough that comes to a point marking the 7 day clock drum.There is a small ink well on the back right corner which holds the ink for marking.  Below is the card which is located within the carrying case, indicating how to read the recordings. Better yet, from the curatorial perspective, is the next photograph with the handwritten notation  found on the reverse side of the card on where the family could purchase supplies, including more ink, for the stormograph in the future, reading Taylor Instruments Co., 180 Church St, Toronto.

Curious Curator: Art Deco Dance Purse

Unlike the rage of today where purses are huge, well at least mine are, and I seem to carry everything I need for a weeks survival, I stumbled or re-stumbled upon this little gem this morning as I was hiding artefacts away in Adelaide's closet, preparing for filming this week. This lovely Art Deco dance purse. The idea for the dance purse is that it hangs from a chain attached to your wrist avoiding cumbersome purses that would detract from your dress (as dresses became tiny in the 1920s) and would be easy to locate when needed. This hammered sterling piece, with gold and rose gold linear decoration is 2 3/4" in height and 3" in width at the bottom. The mesh silver wrist chain, also sterling, measures 5" in length.                  

The interior of the purse shows the compact mirror, the coin dispensers for nickels and dimes for tipping, and the small clip for holding your mad money in place, or if preferred, your prepared powder puff, for the evening.  In an era where makeup application and powdered noses were en-vogue, this was a must have piece among any woman's accessories.

Our compact dance purse comes from Ryrie Birks. A jewellery company located throughout Canada, but with main offices/stores in Toronto.  This tiny artefact resides in Adelaide McLaughlin's walk-in closet and is rarely displayed.  

 

 

 

 



Curious Curator: Book Accessories ( Book Ends & Book Marks)

When you have been through Parkwood, I am sure you have noted the amount of books within the house. Not just within my favourite room, the Library, but the entire home. We boast approx. 4000 volumes of books in the Estate, and those who remember their tour will note the built- in reading lights in the headboards of the Master Bedroom. This household loved to read. As we were accessioning the books in 2000, and subsequently vacuum them annually, thanks to our integrated pest management program ( another subject entirely), we are reminded of the hidden gems tucked away between the pages of a few volumes. Like any household, we find small notecards or random pieces of paper used to mark the pages, but in other volumes we find actual book marks that are holding a favourite passage, or perhaps the last page read, before the book was re-shelved.

Adelaide McLaughlin was a serious reader. She read all sorts of different works, making notes in the margins, underlining her favourite phrases or ideas, and this habit of making notes continued in all of her books, including her Bible. Within a household Bible which has her handwriting on the fly leafs, referencing sermons she had attended, is this woven silk bookmark, embroidered with its own biblical passage. Better yet, from the curatorial perspective, is the threaded company name of Marshall, Morgan and Scott, a publishing firm of religious texts, and providing a date of 1931.

These bookmarks and their location, when discovered, helps provide a glimpse into the private lives of the family, highlighting how evenings may have been spent, perhaps dealing with a worry or concern, or perhaps the seeking and locating of the perfect passage to write to a dear friend, as is sometimes noted in the margin.

The silk thread book mark is an interesting one, as it is the only one of its kind within the collection we have come across. The others within the household tend to be heavier, and made of brass or silver.

The sterling silver book mark to the left with a pair of love birds, is typical of the book marks that start to emerge in the 1900s. Sturdier, and often with a point, the idea behind the knife or sword like bottom was to help the reader separate the pages that did not get "cut through" in the manufacturing process, of mass publication.
The Drake book mark, featuring the Golden Hind is an interesting piece, almost reminiscent of a tourist item or like many of the book accessories in the collection, I am wondering if they were a gift item to family members over the years.


Certainly presented as gifts to the family, would be some of book ends that we have within the collection, found throughout the Estate.
Everything from the "always be prepared" Boy Scouts book ends, to the whimsical art deco pieces in the Library.






In the more formal living spaces, like the Drawing Room, one finds the alabaster woman style book ends on the writing desk. While the Sunroom, has a more contemporary book end of the green globular style. (pictured above)

Among the children's books in the Library, a small gnome reads on his wooden book end, while tucked among the more "serious" literature are book ends depicting the death of Lord Darnley.

In the private spaces of the home, one will find the book ends that have a definite connection to the McLaughlin family and their leisurely pursuits. Horses, fishing and duck shooting definitely make up many of the book end styles that can be found.


An eclectic array of all subject matters, but all provide a fascinating glimpse into the world of Parkwood, as a family home.

If each piece could tell its story, I wonder what we would hear?!




Curator favourite- the Death of Darnley bookend
Etched brass and wood

 

Curious Curator: Small Burr Amboyna Cigarette Box

I love this image. I selected it to start my write up this week because I think it evokes the early 20th century love affair with tobacco and the new emerging market for smoking accessories designed just for women and the female purchaser.

Parkwood has many smoking accessories in our collection. Everything from humidors to a myriad of varied ashtrays. Some of the items are evidently more masculine, while others have an overt feminine quality. Adelaide McLaughlin, from all accounts of our knowledge did not smoke, but all five of the McLaughlin girls did. Smoking was a social past time and women were marketed too, especially the "new" woman who emerged in the 1920s, as confident and carefree, and smoking defined this image. Marketing firms also took to employ female celebrities, like Amelia Earhart, who helped market to female vanity, and expose the slimming attributes of smoking to the new 20th century gal who had thrown away her corset, but needed to maintain her slim figure to fit into the new styles that we equate with the flapper.

 

As this part of the blog is to look at items within the collection that the casual visitor may not see/notice, today I have chosen this gem. A small wooden box that sits on the writing desk in the Sunroom.
 

The box, a small burr amboyna veneer boasting boxwood and ebony stringing, opens with a domed lid on a brass hinge to reveal a brass ringed, mahogany cigarette holder. When opened the cigarette box plays a short,
music box version of Mozart's Piano Sonata No.3.


On the bottom of the box stamped into the mahogany base is the word Austria.There is adhesive residue in a perfect rectangle indicating that the sticker that may have been applied at some time indicating the manufacturer, or perhaps the store where the box was purchased from, has fallen off long ago, leaving that information a mystery.

One can imagine, sitting at the desk in the Sunroom, composing a letter or working on a small project, reaching for a cigarette and working away while Mozart, although a tinny sounding version rings out, in the background.

Amboyna Wood

Did you know that amboyna wood was a popular furniture veneer used through the Regency period, or for our American friends, the Empire period, growing less and less in popularity as time went on, having a bit of a resurgence in the early 20th century for small decorative arts, like smoking accessories, since amboyna wood, is rare, adding to its expense due to its scarcity and difficulty to obtain and use as a veneer.

The Vinery Greenhouse Conservation Pilot Project Part II

It's curious how things happen or are discovered during projects. While chagrined that we have selected one of the coldest winters in recent years to dismantle and work on a greenhouse, which is housing a living historic grapevine, fingers crossed it survives in its little mini microclimate habitat, I discussed in the last pilot project blog, that I do not know the provenance of the vine. I still do not. I continue to research it, however, I have also referenced how little documentation we have at the museum of the "working" areas of the estate, like the kitchen and for the purposes of this write up, the Vinery. It's a standard practice, the McLaughlin Family did not take photos of the working areas, or the household staff, of the home. People seem to be shocked by that, but lets put this into a modern day perspective, when was the last time you took a photograph of your washing machine?
The recent discoveries of the Vinery information have proven incredibly useful and rather exciting on various levels. The first happened prior to Christmas. Nancy, our greenhouse grower was referencing one of her college text books, from the 1970s, for something that she wanted to verify and as she flipped through its pages she stumbled upon the attached photo. While in school, it never occurred to Nancy, that photograph marked "greenhouse, Oshawa, Canada" would prove to be a valuable photo all these years later. It's of the Vinery. A Vinery that none of the current curatorial and grounds staff, although our combined time is approaching 80+ years at Parkwood have seen. A Vinery whose single grapevine, although sporting a massive trunk, has never looked like it does in this photo, since the vine, probably cut back in the 1980s as staffing levels were cut, and economies put into place at the Estate, could no longer be maintained at this level.  The photo shows what is likely table grapes being cultivated, just look at the bunches as they hang from the vine, along with the boxes for cultivating seedlings and baskets for collecting.
From the curatorial perspective, this photo find is delightful. The oral history project has documented the use of the wooden boxes for cultivating, which are sitting on the benches, over the heating pipes running below, and the baskets used during the harvesting of the kitchen gardens, etc. have been referenced by former McLaughlin staff, both of these, the boxes and baskets, captured in photograph form, that I no longer must use my imagination to determine what they looked like. For interpretive and research programs/means this photograph was like striking gold. It also leads me to think about the planning and programming for the Vinery as we move forward after the pilot project is complete. Does the cultivation of the grapevine lead to opportunities for the Durham College horticultural students that are working at Parkwood as part of their living lab? Does the Museum Morsels Heritage Culinary Group have a grapevine component?

Last Friday, this photo emerged, from a great grandchild of Sam and Adelaide McLaughlin. The south side of the Vinery, a different year, during a different season.
Again like striking gold. This image allows the architects, contractors and Parkwood staff to view the flooring pattern and materials and add to the rich, diverse discussions we have been having and continue to have during the process of understanding the Vinery structure and its uses.

The adventure continues.......

Curious Curator: Secretaire-a-Abbattant

Selecting the first artefact to chat about in this blog entry was a difficult one. I have my favourites of course, but the Parkwood Collection boasts a sumptuous array of so many different items, of different styles and of course made from different materials, it was a challenge.  I have chosen the secretaire-a-abbattant after having a chat with a few of the former Parkwood interns. For educational fun in 2012, we created the Samantha University, which was comprised of a weekly text of terms that as a Curator, I come across with frequency, but often words or phraseology these museum studies grads had never encountered, for example, the term, eustracheon. I would text them a list of words and they would be challenged to define, and locate within the Parkwood Collection these items and then explain them to me, and their significance with regards to the piece in discussion.

The secretaire-a-abbattant is a piece that is often ignored while guests are touring the estate. Located in the Blue Room ( one of the guest rooms), it sits in its location and is rarely referenced. It looks like a cabinet of drawers, of course a lovely cabinet of drawers, in the Louis XV style, comprised of kingwood and rosewood with crossbanding decoration, sitting on shaped pilasters decorated with the ormolu mounts, but alas a cabinet of drawers.

Secretaires do have a practical purpose, and this one, is no different. The piece actual houses a desk, the furniture item being a fall front desk, which opens to contain a series of small drawers for writing implements, stationary and a leather topped writing surface. It's location within the Blue Room is ideal, because etiquette re: making guests comfortable dictates that in a well appointed home, guest rooms be outfitted with a writing surface, so guests may work on correspondence or journals, at their leisure. In 1922, Emily Post comments on the writing desk within the guest room,

"She <the hostess>must also examine the writing desk to be sure that the ink is not a cracked patch of black dust at the bottom of the well, and the pens solid rust and the writing paper textures and sizes at odds with the envelopes. There should be a fresh blotter and a few stamps. Also thoughtful hostesses put a card in some convenient place, giving the post office schedule and saying where the mail bag can be found." Etiquette in Society, Politics and in the Home, 1922

 

Secretaires grew in popularity and in abundance with the emergence of the growing middle classes in Georgian times, and became a must have in households that were showcasing their means, or trying to establish their status among the upper classes. It is often considered a feminine furniture piece, as they would have been purchased for the female(s) in a family, as their writing desk, as opposed to the more masculine desks that come to mind.
In terms of furniture pieces, they are often considered to hold romantic secrets as they were frequently crafted with hidden or secret compartments for the principal user of the desk to hide love letters or mementos of the heart. Knowing this, believe me and my Nancy Drew alter- personality, the one in the Blue Room has been scoured for hidden compartments, etc. and is, disappointedly, absent of hidden secrets!

Over the last several months, I have left the Secretaire-a-Abbattant open for our guests to see the interior of the piece. In order to preserve the piece and it's hinges, the item will be closing again until the next time.

Conservation Case Study: The Vinery Greenhouse Pilot Project Part I

Conservation work has begun on the Vinery greenhouse. This work, our pilot project, will help the Parkwood staff and E.R.A Architects (photo credits to E.R.A) watch the dismantling process, understand the intricate construction workings of the Vinery, the glass, Cyprus wood, metals, mechanical workings and foundation bricks, readying for the conservation plan on the other greenhouses within the greenhouse complex.
During the architectural condition report, completed in 2012, the Vinery c.1917, was selected as the best greenhouse to be used for the pilot project, since it has essentially been ignored throughout the years. Ironically, in heritage circles, it is often the case, when things are ignored, and no human intervention is applied, that items, buildings, artefacts are in their best historic condition. Think of an episode of your favourite appraisal type show, and how often the coin collector is crushed because he/she has polished a coin to a lovely lustre, destroying the historic patina (one of my favourite words, and one that many of my non purest heritage friends loathe....patina). Hence, we can say that the Vinery was very well patina'ed.

Dismantled shafts & arm rods
Metal in good condition, no fatiguing

The intervention story is true with the Parkwood Greenhouses. Through the 1970s/80s the greenhouses were "restored" or made more attractive and easier to maintain. This meant that the glass, which ideally should have been whitewashed each year, was removed, and the lovely <cynical use> Lexan, the now yellowed plastic was applied. In some cases the Cyprus wood that held the glass in place was altered or changed out completely, and stone foundations and brick work were painted over as erosion and spalling became more and more evident. These band-aids, to make things look attractive, continued. The Vinery sat, was used for storage and plant holding areas, but it was ignored, minus a mini repair to the foundational wall in 2001. Due to the fact it was forgotten about, the interventions applied to all the others; the Palm House, the Japanese Garden, the Orchid House, never happened within the Vinery, thus it has remained in perfect historical condition, an ideal specimen for study.
The work on the study has been prescribed by the architects as follows;
Original glass, metal and wood elements will be carefully removed or dismantled, to be cleaned, repaired and/or repainted.  After the brick foundation walls have been restored, the glass, metal and wood elements all get put back together.  As well, original venting systems will be made operable again.
The plan is to have the Vinery back in operation for the spring of 2014, ready for the clippings and spring propagation use for the Parkwood grounds.
The prescription above came after months and months of study. We studied photographs, some drawings and blueprints, we watched the home movies, freezing on frames, we chatted with the former ground staff/servants of the McLaughlin Family about their recollections, site visit after site visit, to make sure we were confident with our plan of next steps. We were ready for the "brick and mortar" work, when another consideration presented itself.

The other area of further concern through the construction process is the grapevine that inhabits the Vinery, and if Parkwood legend is true, it has lived there since 1917.


Exterior view of the grapevine housing application
 



Warm & cosy. Interior view of the micro-climate

While the work is being done on the greenhouse, curatorial staff, are working on verifying the facts about the grapevine. As is common with many aspects of Parkwood, over the years, facts sometimes grow their own tales, and this is true of the grapevine. With concern about the accuracy and perhaps the advent of the vine at Parkwood, we are protecting it, having created a microclimate for it, while spending extra time and consideration on the root ball protection. With the winter we have been experiencing, fingers crossed our microclimate does the trick, as we work away on sourcing and perhaps verifying the provenance of the grapevine.

Stay tuned as we continue to work and report on the pilot project.


Conservation Case Study: The Dining Room "Meshed" Rug

Quite a few years ago, Parkwood was used as the location for a carpet cleaning commercial. The commercial, for a spray and rub product, featured the library of Parkwood, as a museum, where a famous document was signed, but not before the quill and ink hit the carpet c. pretend 1775, leaving a historically significant stain. Forward to faux museum film set 2004 where the commercial continues, having the famous stain be removed by a new over zealous faux museum employee using the featured product.
While the commercial was humorous, leaving the featured product looking marvellously effective, it was just a commercial.

This past summer Parkwood was the location for another production shoot. Due to a mishap the artefact dining room carpet ended up with a very dark brown oil based (Min Wax Liquid) stain that saturated the fibres of the 300 year old Meshed Persian rug. A vibrant blue with red undertones, typical of meshed rugs, the intricate patterns were all but a brown blob in the 2ft x 2ft area of the stain. Contrary to the commercial shot on location in 2004, we did not turn to the spray and rub product nor the steam cleaning approach. In preservation our methods are strictly the safest and non damaging, non structural altering approach and this often means that we only use the most inert and non chemically developed methods.

The first concern with our freshly stained Persian rug was the physical strength of the carpet fibres. As mentioned, the carpet is 300 years old and while in amazing condition for its age, has seen many feet walk across it. The strength of the warp and the weft and its endurance under mechanical forces of cleaning were a concern. Our meshed rug is composed of cotton warp threads and wool weft fibres, each organic product, having its own personality and attraction/retention elements with regards to the stain.

The first step in the treatment program was to try and remove as much of the dark brown Min Wax oil-based stain, as we could see. This process was an application of a very gentle soap ( horse soap) called Orvus Paste. The best friend to many museum functions, Orvus is one of the most gentle products on the market, several times more gentle then Ivory Soap for the lay person.  Hours after the initial spill were spent just mopping up the surface stains, while ensuring that Parkwood staff were not manipulating the original blue and red vegetable dye hues that were used to colour the carpet in Iran 300 years prior.

The next step was the professional conservator visit. Fine Art Object Conservator, Miriam, was on site the following day and began her evaluation of the stain and the condition of the rug. Miriam further analysed the warp and the weft structure and its physical integrity for enduring the next steps. The stain removal process meant that the rug would be saturated for many hours with blotting techniques applied, and could the fibres, seen to the right, withstand the pressures of the cumulative blotting.

The curatorial decision was to proceed with the initial treatment, with the understanding that should an area of loss occur (aka a hole) the conservator would be dying threads and reweaving into the historic warp and weft pattern.

The treatment process continued with an eyedropper application of the conservation solution applied to the stain with precision grid like accuracy and then blot. Imagine the hours of tedium application that this involved. An eye drop of solution to a 5cm area, blot, continue.



Application of the poultice

After about 80 hours of solution application and blotting, we moved onto the next stage of our treatment. The poultice stage. The idea of the poultice was that as the clay dries, it helps draw any remaining brown colour from the rug fibres.

We have completed about 30 hours of poultice application, drying and removal, followed by reapplication. This week has seen us reweave some of the rug fibres that have loosened over the weeks of treatment, and after drawing the residue brown Min Wax stain through the poultice, we are back to the eye dropper solution treatment and blotting procedures.  The end of this week will see 120 hours of work applied over the last weeks and months to the carpet. During the hours spent kneeling over the stain, from the curatorial perspective, I almost wish that the 2004 commercial for the spray and rub product was indeed true.