Real Estate

Michelle Galler • March 23, 2015

The earliest Americans lived in simple, one- or two-room structures where space was meager and life was rough. By the 18th century, prosperity brought towns and great cities and more comfortable homes, rivaling those in Europe. Yet, for country-dwellers, who were decades behind the trends in the cities, farming provided the basic provisions and farmers made the furniture. Benches, tables, chairs, boxes and chests were fashioned from local woods into versions of city furniture.

Well into the 1800s, as houses grew to be a bit more ample, rooms were few, still relatively small and set up to multitask. Consequently, each piece of furniture was made to serve multiple functions as well. People got as much out of a room as possible, since heating smaller rooms was more efficient and furniture scarce. It was common for beds to be set up in the parlor and for dining tables to be placed in the center of a room on sawhorse-like trestles, then tucked into a corner when not in use.

Chairs were a luxury, since they were a bit more complicated to make; most people made do with benches. If the family owned any carpets, they used them on tables, as fine rugs were – too valuable to be thrown on the floors. Storage space was at a tremendous premium and a variety of specialized chests were made to store everything from food to textiles and documents.

One of the oldest forms of furniture, the chest was relatively straightforward to make and could serve many functions for early Americans, storing food, clothing and valuables. Plus, a well-made chest was a safe place to keep critters from munching, or nesting in, precious items.

There was a blanket chest for holding clothes or linens and a sugar chest for storing that very precious commodity. The pie chest, typically called a pie safe (though neither a padlocked safe nor a true chest), is another important piece of early storage furniture.

The blanket chest, in its simplest form, was a large wooden box with a hinged lid that was popular from the 17th to the 19th century, since neither attics nor closets were typical in homes of this period. It served as a receptacle for linens and sundry storage, and also provided extra seating (since chairs were a luxury). In colonial America, blanket chests were commonly constructed of pine, walnut, pecan or cherry. Some had short bracket or bun feet. Wealthy folk used imported mahogany for more elaborate chests.

Painting furniture was a way to retard rodent or insect damage, so many early pieces show remnants of old paint washes. The Pennsylvania Dutch painted their chests with traditional decorative motifs.

Over the years, drawers were added and the height was increased. Many period chests will have a “till,” or candle storage drawer. Often, these chests took on the names of the items they safeguarded. They were many times known as dowry chests, or hope chests – since brides often brought their worldly goods with them to their husbands. They were also called mule chests, since they were the repositories of slippers – “mules,” as the early settlers called them. Since few homes had a source of heat in the bedroom, it was the blanket chest, generally found at the foot of the bed, that held the extra bedcovers for frosty winter nights.

In the early days of the rural south, supply shipments were scarce. In some places, people waited up to a year between deliveries. Sugar was a prized and valuable commodity that had to be shipped up river from New Orleans, usually in a loaf or cone form, then carted over land. During a time when a pound of sugar could cost more than an acre of land, families had to have a way to store large quantities of sugar for long periods of time and to guard it against humidity, insects and rodents. Hence, the sugar chest – a southern form found mostly in Kentucky or Tennessee –was a locked chest, often plain in decor, yet a symbol of the family’s social and economic standing. In their heyday, sugar chests were not relegated to a hidden pantry, but proudly displayed, along with their costly contents, right out there in the parlor.

Four boards of virgin timber, glued together to make all four sides, ensured that there were few gaps for insects and humidity to penetrate. Only virgin timber produced boards wide enough for an entire side or top to be made from one log. The chests were usually built on legs to further insulate the sugar from the moist floor. Sometimes different grades of sugar were separated into compartments. There could also be one for the ledger used to record when small bits of sugar were added or removed. Often there was a small drawer at the bottom or an inside compartment where the knife (or nipper) for cutting the sugar would be kept.

Sugar chests are not found as often as blanket chests. As a predominately southern form and a unique one, they command higher prices. Since both sugar chests and blanket chests are long and narrow, it is relatively easy for blanket chests to be reworked to look like original sugar chests. Both chests open from the top, but blanket chests were often constructed from a series of connected boards, not four-board constructed. Would-be buyers should be aware of this distinction to be sure they are buying a legitimate sugar chest.

The pie safe, also called a pie chest, meat chest or kitchen safe, was the predecessor of the icebox and an important piece of furniture in American households starting in the early 1700s. It was used to protect pies, of course, but also meat, bread and other perishables, from vermin.

The Pennsylvania Dutch probably introduced the concept of the pie safe to the U.S. It was typically tall and narrow. The interior would have shelves to hold food items. Kept as far from the stove as practical, on the farm it might be kept on the back porch to catch as much cool air as possible. Southern pieces were often made of pine with poplar interiors. Many times the interior wooden shelves would be perforated to aid in ventilation.

A pie safe normally would have two hinged doors on the front. Screening or pierced-tin panels on the doors and the sides also provided ventilation. The holes in the tin sides were often punched to produce an image such as a church scene, eagles or stars or a simple shape. The image often determines the value of a particular piece.

Although some old country pie safes made do with plain, screened panels, some have elaborate hand-punched designs. An early piece with unusual or elaborately designed tins could fetch thousands. Pie safes made after 1900 most often have machine–punched tins, and are less valuable. Unusual height, finely turned legs and original paint and hardware also add value for collectors.

Last August, a 19th-century Shenandoah Valley pie safe that had been commissioned in 1824 – not only to keep pies safe, but also to promote Andrew Jackson’s presidential campaign – sold for $102,500 at auction. Its date of origin was early for a pie safe, it had old blue paint (a color favored by collectors) and it featured a punched-tin portrait of Jackson and a panel that declared him Hero of Orleans. Whether Jackson ever saw it is anybody’s guess, but since the equivalent in 1824 dollars would have been around $2.5 million, he no doubt would have been flummoxed by the price.

An antiques dealer for more than 25 years, Michelle Galler owns Antiques, Whimsies & Curiosities, based in Georgetown and in Washington, Virginia. Contact her at antiques.and.whimsies@gmail.com to suggest a topic for a future column.

Georgetowner • March 11, 2015

The Grace
3220 Grace St. NW

Sales begin March 28 for units in the Grace, seven luxurious high-end residences on a quiet street, one block south of M Street and one block north of the Georgetown waterfront. Featuring Capital City’s innovative Green Living concept, the Grace offers condominium units with one bedroom and one bath and two bedrooms and two baths. The exterior was designed to fit in with the area’s industrial feel. The interiors feature Italian marble countertops, white oak cabinets, premium fixtures, and Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances. Penthouse units offer two-story ceiling heights and incredible views. 

Pricing for the units has
not yet been set. 

202-449-9772

thegrace@stagespremier.com

Peter Murray •

Ambitious Georgetown resident Frances Holuba is one of the youngest staffers on the National Security Council at the White House. Holuba is a genuine Jill-of-all-trades as a policy expert, fashionista, athlete (she used to play lacrosse), philanthropist and more. Jack to this Jill is Giuseppe Lanzone, co-owner of the Peruvian Brothers food truck and a U.S. Olympic rower. Holuba resides on Q Street near 31st. When she’s not in Georgetown, she can be found bustling around downtown near the White House or dining at one of her favorite haunts, Estadio, near Logan Circle.

Power couple Michael and Susan Pillsbury live close by, near the corner of O and 30th Streets. A seasoned foreign-policy expert, Michael recently published “The Hundred-Year Marathon,” a book on China’s superpower ambitions, while Susan has become well known in the community for her philanthropy. The couple’s home has been a mainstay of the Georgetown Garden Tour and has been featured, along with the Asian art collection within, in Washington Life magazine.

According to the New Republic, Robert Allbritton “reshaped the way we follow politics” as a founder and publisher of Politico.
Chairman and CEO of Allbritton Communications, the media mogul sold a number of ABC stations in the D.C. area and elsewhere last year. Allbritton also served as CEO of Riggs National Corporation, the parent of D.C.-based Riggs Bank, which merged with PNC in 2005. Robert and his wife Elena, a dermatologist practicing with Braun Dermatology, live in the Bowie-

Servier House on Q Street near Tudor Place. The couple hosts a garden brunch at their home around the time of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner every year, drawing in some of the most powerful players in national politics.

Georgetowner • February 25, 2015

3120 N Street NW

Located in the heart of Georgetown’s prestigious East Village, this grand, sun-filled Victorian is a Georgetown classic. With four bedrooms and four full baths, it features well-proportioned rooms, 10-foot ceilings on all floors, exquisite moldings, three wood-burning fireplaces, intimate balconies with garden views and garage parking. The home’s sophisticated and urbane setting – offering breathtaking views of the Kennedy Center, the monuments and the Rosslyn skyline – is just a short stroll from shopping, dining and cultural attractions, as well as from varied transportation options and the new vibrancy of downtown D.C.

Offered at $4,150,000
TTR Sotheby’s International Realty
Gary Wicks
202-486-8393
202-333-1212

Sallie Lewis • February 12, 2015

Good lighting is universally appealing and vital for warding off winter’s gloom. We’ve rounded up a mix of stylish contenders, from classic to whimsical, playful and sophisticated, that will warm up your home in all seasons.

1. This vintage birdcage chandelier, complete with hand-wrought iron and faceted crystal glass, exudes whimsy and fantasy. Starting at $1,850. Restoration Hardware.

2. This sculptural Moravian star has gilded iron details and frosted glass, delivering a playful yet stylish sentiment. $1,495. Serena and Lily.

3. This atrium glass lamp is crafted of mouth-blown glass and can be filled with all your favorite objects, from corks to flowers or sea glass. $159-$179. Pottery Barn.

4. The original George Nelson bubble lamps have been a mark of contemporary cool and simplicity since 1947. Starting at $269. Modernica.

5. Evoking fields of golden grain blowing in the breeze, these bundled wheat sconces bring a touch of refined, natural glamor into the home. $395 for the set. Neiman Marcus.

6. Sleek, sophisticated and masculine, this “grasshopper” lamp is equipped with a powder-coated steel shade, a solid brass frame and a fabric-covered cord. $495. Design Within Reach.

7. A handmade Wyoming antler chandelier by Russell Johnson Imports is a vintage objet that will hang beautifully above large dining tables, kitchen islands or in libraries adorned with treasures from around the world. $2,879. One Kings Lane. [gallery ids="118266,118240,118247,118231,118253,118272,118260" nav="thumbs"]

Michelle Galler •

Governor Gooch had a secret.

Virginia Governor William Gooch had good reason to hide the truth in his 1732 annual report to the British Board of Trade. The colonies were forbidden to engage in manufacturing any products in direct competition with those imported from England, except for those that would benefit the mother country.

Yet, he and his government had long encouraged local entrepreneurs, including a Yorktown merchant known as William Rogers.

An enterprising brewer and businessman, Rogers’s pottery was one of Virginia’s most prosperous businesses, producing 23 types of redware and stoneware, which were shipped up and down the East Coast. Since the quality of Rogers’s vessels was comparable to anything imported from England, and clearly posed a conflict, Gooch maintained his deception until the end of the decade.

The most utilitarian pottery available, redware was one of the first necessities that the colonists made themselves. It’s no wonder Governor Gooch was covert about this flourishing industry. Redware pots were used like plastic is used today. They were comparably cheap, plentiful and locally crafted, using clay with high iron content (this is what gives redware its characteristic red or orange hue).

Redware jugs, jars, plates, bowls and tavern ware of various kinds were used throughout 17th- and 18th-century America. If the housewife needed it, the potter made it. Unfortunately, the potter, or anyone who regularly used redware vessels, commonly developed nervous disorders, like palsy and tremors, associated with lead poisoning.

There are multitudes of contemporary pieces on the market that are being advertised as antiques. Hence, collectors should educate themselves to be able to discern fakes.

Examine the back of the piece to see if it is blackened, which would indicate that it was used on the hearth and is likely an old piece. Since tallow or fat leaches into clay, smelling the piece for faint remnant odors of either can help determine whether it’s an older item. A glaze with a glassy quality is a sign of a modern piece.

Stoneware was developed due to the fear of poisoning from lead-glazed earthenware. Made of dense, blended clays, salt-glazed and then fired to vitrification, stoneware was imported to the colonies from England and Germany.

Early American redware potters rarely inscribed their names in the soft clay, but stoneware quite often bears the maker’s mark. Crocks, jugs, butter churns – chiefly utility items – were typically decorated with freehand cobalt decoration of flora, fauna and, occasionally, military motifs. An urn featuring Civil War soldiers recently sold at auction for $350,000.

The mellow, golden-colored ware is a type of stoneware made of fine yellow clay that was found along riverbanks in New Jersey and other Mid-Atlantic states. Since the yellow clay contains a lower level of iron, causing it to vitrify at higher temperatures than red clay, yellow ware items were much harder and more durable for kitchen use.

The collector can determine whether an older piece is American yellow ware by tapping it: American pieces will thud; English yellow ware will ring. It was a popular choice for kitchen use up until the 1940s, when homemakers began to be seduced by pieces made of modern materials.

The south has a wide and diverse 200-year history of pottery, covering multiple states. Southern redware and stoneware research has made significant strides in the last 25 years. Entire new schools of pottery have been discovered, uncovering new forms and traditions.

The pottery of the “Great Road” represents some newer discoveries of the southern pottery tradition. The Great Road, considered part of the “Great Wagon Road” initiating in Philadelphia, was the primary route from Roanoke, Va., to eastern Tennessee.

A wonderful piece of antique American folk pottery, whether it is redware, stoneware or yellow ware, has its own distinct past. A potter – who probably dug his own clay, mixed his own glaze recipe and fired his pieces in old wood-fired kilns – made each piece, and every piece tells its own unique story.

An antiques dealer for more than 25 years, Michelle Galler owns Antiques, Whimsies & Curiosities, based in Georgetown and in Washington, Va. Contact her at antiques.and.whimsies@gmail.com to suggest a topic for a future column. [gallery ids="101984,135444,135446" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetowner • February 11, 2015

Final selling prices for last month’s featured Auction Block items.

Bonhams

Shamrock V, 1995, oil on canvas
John Mecray (b. 1939)
Auction Date: Jan. 30
Estimate: $60,000 – $80,000
Final Selling Price: $62,500

Sotheby’s

Bacchante with Grapes Carried by Two Bacchantes and a Bacchant, dated 1800
Claude Michel, called Clodion (1738-1814)?
Auction Date: Jan. 29
Estimate: $600,000 – $1,000,000
Final Selling Price: $2,853,000

Christie’s

Tete de Chevre de Profil, 1950
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Auction Date: Feb. 6
Estimate: $3,000 – $4,600
Final Selling Price: $15,310

Freeman’s

Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum and 14ct Rose Gold Spray Brooch
Torre Vincent?
Auction Date: Feb. 9
Estimate: $1,400 – $1,800??
Final Selling Price: $1,875 (buyer’s premium included)

Doyle New York

St. Sebastian, oil on canvas?
Follower of Jacopo Tintoretto?
Auction Date: Jan. 28
Estimate: $3,000 – $5,000??
Final Selling Price: $16,250 (buyer’s premium included)

Georgetowner •

Doyle New York

Pair of Chinese Cloisonné Elephants, early 20th century
Estimate: $70,000 – $90,000
Auction Date: March 16

Part of Doyle’s Asian Works of Art Auction, each elephant stands four-square on a rectangular base, the head held low with the trunk curled under between long, gently curved tusks. They are both set with a saddle and elaborate trappings, supporting a vase with a pearl and flame finial. This beautiful décor looms large: height 72 inches, length 47 ½ inches, width 24 inches.

Christie’s London

18ct Gold Sapphire and Coloured Diamond ‘Chiocciola’ Ring
De Grisogono
Estimate: $4,000 – $4,600
Auction Date: March 4

This opulent ring is of stylized crossover design, the single terminal set ‘en tremblant’ with briolette-cut yellow and orange sapphires, to a brilliant-cut yellow diamond looped surround and single shoulder. It will be part of Christie’s London’s popular Jewelery Auction.

Bonhams

Japanesque Tea Caddy, c. 1880
Hammered Sterling Silver and Mixed-Metal
Tiffany & Co.
Estimate: $12,000 – $18,000
Auction Date: March 4

This wonderful hammered tea caddy, with gilded interior, has a body and cover decorated with applied vines, dragonflies and gourds in copper and gold, along with ‘mokume’ butterflies. It will be part of Bonham’s Auction of Fine Furniture, Silver, Decorative Arts and Clocks.

Sotheby’s

Theatre Des Errements III, 1963, gouache on paper
Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985)
Estimate: $300,000 – $400,000
Auction Date: March 5

Sotheby’s March 5 Contemporary Curated auction will highlight a diverse range of works from the brightest stars of the post-war and contemporary periods. Examples from the Ab-Ex and Color Field artists will be offered side-by-side with important works from the Pop and Pictures Generation, as well as cutting-edge visionaries of today. This Dubuffet piece is sure to attract a great deal of attention.

Michelle Galler • January 29, 2015

Early American hooked rugs were a craft of poverty. Prior to 1780, most floors in American homes were bare, especially among the poor. Painted floors or stenciled floor cloths were found in the homes of those who were slightly better off. Only the very wealthy had the means to import carpeting, since the American textile industry was in its infancy.

After 1830, as factories in America began making wool carpets for the rich, having a floor covering became a symbol of domestic and socioeconomic well-being. This was a period when Americans were looking beyond the bare necessities, trying to make their homes more livable.

As the fashion for floor coverings took hold, poorer women began ransacking their scrap bags for materials to employ in creating their own floor coverings. Their work was laborious and slow, hooking rag strips through tightly woven linen or hemp backings using a special tool adapted from the sailor’s marlinspike.

Then, after 1850, trade tariffs relaxed and coffee, grain and feed started to arrive wrapped in jute burlap sacks made in India. This free fabric was strong, but loosely woven enough to allow the rag scraps to be easily hooked through it into the characteristic loops.

The women who made the early rugs also designed them, borrowing many of the motifs from the Oriental rugs imported by the wealthy. A New England peddler noticed the rug-hooking trend and saw an opportunity. In 1876, he began stamping the best of the traditional designs onto burlap. His designs also included lions, tigers, leopards, dogs, cats, birds, deer and floral patterns.

From this point on, every woman could make her own colorful rugs from scraps of clothing. For the next 50 years, this essentially rural craft spread to the humblest households along the northeastern seaboard.

In the waning years of the 19th century, with the industrial revolution well underway, machine-made goods were seen as superior to homemade goods. Hooked rugs were viewed as “quaint” and lost their popularity.

By the 1920s, however, American cities were filling up with multitudes of immigrants. Many Americans reacted to these social changes by idealizing the colonial period as a time of noble virtues and high moral standards. There was a flurry of interest in hooked rugs and homemade quilts as “virtuous” colonial artifacts (though most had been produced long after the end of the colonial period).

In the 1930s and ’40s, antique dealers and interior designers recognized the beauty and historical value of this form of needlework, leading to a resurgence of rug hooking. In fact, the great majority of the rugs we find today sold as “antiques” were made between 1900 and 1960. Since they are less than 100 years old, they are more properly called “vintage.”

American country antique collecting was at its height in the mid-1960s. Armistead Peter 3rd (1896-1983) and his wife Caroline Ogden-Jones Peter (1896-1965), the last private owners of the venerable Georgetown estate Tudor Place, began to redecorate their stately home after Peter’s father passed away. They elected to purchase three hooked rugs for their bedrooms, and those boldly pattern rugs are still part of the collection.

Today, older hooked rugs have again regained popularity, due in part to their wonderfully colorful graphics. Also, like American primitive antiques in general, they show “the hand of man” and mix well with other styles, including transitional and the now-popular mid-century modern look.

Condition is very important when collecting older hooked rugs. Collectors should be sure to check the backing for signs of rot or for missing fabric. A restorer can patch the backing and restore missing rag, but a buyer should be ready to do some heavy negotiating for a damaged hooked rug.

These once purely utilitarian objects are now recognized as an art form that, in addition, traces the nation’s history from pre-industrial times. The good news is that wonderful examples can still be readily found and are reasonably affordable. They add a dash of color, whimsy and history to any well-decorated home.

An antiques dealer for more than 25 years, Michelle Galler owns Antiques, Whimsies & Curiosities, based in Georgetown and in Washington, Va. Contact her at antiques.and.whimsies@gmail.com to suggest a topic for a future column. [gallery ids="101977,135524" nav="thumbs"]

Donna Evers •

Abraham Lincoln is such an iconic figure that the present-day public does not see him as his contemporaries did. We see him as a grave, contemplative figure, like Daniel Chester French’s elegant statue, just out of sight past the columns of the Lincoln Memorial.

But the Abraham Lincoln who ran for president in 1860 was around 6-foot-4 at a time when the average American adult male was around 5-foot-8, and his badly tailored suits and tall hats made him look like a scarecrow. On top of that, he had a high raspy voice.

He added the stovetop hat in his debates with the 5-foot-4 Stephen A. Douglas (so he could really tower over him), but the effect was not always in his favor. Although the Lincoln-Douglas debates made Lincoln a prominent figure in Illinois politics, he lost the 1858 U.S. Senate race in Illinois to Douglas. The big argument of the day was if the territories should decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery.

In the fall of 1859, the whole country was up in arms about the question of slavery – specifically, slavery in the territories. In October, John Brown had stormed the armory in Harpers Ferry, Va. (now W. Va.), and the national debate about states’ rights and slavery just got hotter. Invited to speak at Henry Ward Beecher’s Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, Lincoln got the opening he needed to plead his case against the spread of slavery in a national forum when he was invited to speak at Henry Ward Beecher’s Plymouth Church in Brooklyn. Then, even better, the venue was changed to the Cooper Union in Manhattan.

Lincoln overcame his ungainly appearance with a brilliant and carefully researched speech, in which he showed how the majority of the founding fathers had voted to prohibit the spread of slavery in the territories. So, he argued, the country, and especially the South, should accept this position.

He became the Republican candidate for president and won the election with only 40 percent of the votes, the three other candidates splitting the rest of the votes among them. He didn’t even have a clear popular majority. But it is hard to imagine what would have happened if one of the other candidates –Breckinridge, Bell or Douglas – had won.

Many in the South believed that England and France could not get by without their cotton, and that one or both of those countries would support the Southern cause. It was a bad bet, because neither country wanted to wage war against the stronger Northern coalition. On the other hand, many in the North thought a war would end quickly, due to the region’s economic superiority. That didn’t happen either; Southerners were fighting to keep a system that they felt they couldn’t survive without.

Lincoln was so sure his Cooper Union speech would get a lot of press that he visited Matthew Brady’s photographic studio beforehand. Brady, a master, was able to retouch (what we would call “Photoshop out”) some of Lincoln’s more unflattering facial features. Lincoln knew that this would make or break his chances for the Republican presidential nomination, especially since he clearly stated his belief that slavery was immoral. He ended the speech on Feb. 27, 1860, his longest ever, with: “Let us have faith that right makes might.”

The speech by the previously little-known politician from Illinois was a daring gamble. He won – and by April the United States was embroiled in a war that would claim more American lives than any other in our history.

Donna Evers is the owner and broker of Evers & Co. Real Estate, the largest woman-owned and -run real estate company in the metro area; the proprietor of Twin Oaks Tavern Winery in Bluemont, Va.; and a devoted student of Washington-area history. Reach her at devers@eversco.com.