Norwalk, Conn., Nov. 10, 2011 – The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum will celebrate the Holiday Season with an array of educational programs and events to be enjoyed by the entire community. The “Grand Victorian Holiday at the Mansion” will start on Friday, November 25, 2011, the day after Thanksgiving, with the unveiling of three exhibits: Toys and Trees of Christmas Past: 1850s to 1900s will explore the development of the Christmas holiday during the Victorian era in America; Bountiful Poinsettias: Florence Mathews’ Holiday Tradition, will feature a display of holiday blossoms in reverence to one of the original owners of the Mansion; and Dining Customs of the 1850s & 1860s: à la Française will introduce visitors to the dining customs that were popular in the mid-19th century.
Calendar of Events
A Grand Victorian Holiday at the Mansion
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Curated by Stacey Danielson, LMMM Curatorial Consultant
Friday, November 25, 2011 through Sunday, January 8, 2012
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Wed.-Sun. ~ 12-4 p.m.
Toys and Trees of Christmas Past: 1850s to 1900s
This exhibit will explore the development of the Christmas holiday during the Victorian era in America. It will tell the evolving story of the Christmas tree and its decorations from a small tabletop tree with edibles and handmade ornaments, to lavishly embellished trees that stood on the floor and almost reached the ceiling. Toy vignettes will be curated by Mary Lou Logan, antique toy and doll expert, featuring selections from LMMM’s toy and doll collections along with toys loaned from local historical societies.
Bountiful Poinsettias: Florence Mathews’ Holiday Tradition
Florence Mathews, the last resident of the Mansion, halted all work by her domestic staff to prepare the house for the holiday. A living history interview in 1995 with James Goggins, son of the Mathews’ head gardener, whose family lived in the Gate Lodge during the 1930s, revealed that the estate’s greenhouse and forcing house produced abundant flowers and poinsettias that Miss Mathews instructed to be arranged throughout the main floor, specifically around the Entrance Hall, the Grand Staircase, fireplace mantels, and Conservatory. During this holiday season, the Mansion will once again be resplendent with poinsettias in reverence to Miss Mathews. Poinsettias exhibit, courtesy of Tuliptree Site Design, Inc. and Stew Leonard’s.
Dining Customs of the 1850s & 1860s: à la Française
An introduction to dining customs popular in the mid-19th century, this exhibit will illustrate service à la Française, which laid out all courses on the table. Elegant table settings of antique china and silver will adorn the Mansion’s Dining Room. Another style of service, à la Russe, which passed courses sequentially, will be exhibited in the future. Paris porcelain dinner service courtesy of Erzsebet Black, Carnegie Hill Antiques, 1309 Madison Ave, New York and Six Station Place, Norfolk CT. www.carnegiehillantiques@verizon.net
Contemporary Holiday Decorations at the Mansion
Friday, November 25, 2011 through Sunday, January 8, 2012
Wed.-Sun. ~ 12-4 p.m.
The magnificent Entrance Hall with its four columns of Florentine marble
