I am pleased, and yes, more than a little relieved, to report that the visit was great fun. So, for the past few weeks, I relentlessly quizzed my friends with children of any age for insight on how best to proceed. Mindful of the discussion that moderated with and at Antiques Forum this year about encouraging a love of history and objects in young people, I accepted invitation to speak to her fourth-grade class at I did this with a significant amount of trepidation since I know absolutely nothing about talking to fourth graders. Due to the extremely fragile nature of the dress, it will not be on display again soon, so do not miss this opportunity to see it in person! #theaccidentalpreservationist
In addition to the dress, there is a pair of cuff links made for Eliza’s son Thomas after her death with locks of her hair (slide 4), a pin cushion that Eliza made while attending school in London (slide 5) and other objects that are rarely on exhibit.
The dress is a quite a survivor – see slide three for an undated image of the dress being worn by one of Eliza’s descendants. Family history indicates that the dress in the Museum’s collection was worn by Eliza when she met Augusta in the fall of 1753. While similar dresses from this time period exist in collections, it is an exceptionally rare Southern example and very unique in that so much is known about its history. There is documentation of Eliza gifting a dress from her own silk to Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales as well as fabric to fellow botany enthusiast the Earl of Stanhope. A dress from her own silk exists in the collection of the Smithsonian and a scrap of that South Carolina produced silk is in the collection of the Museum and on display here. Silk production was never a great success in colonial America, although Eliza was able to produce enough silk to have some fabric produced. Eliza (1722-93) worked to introduce sericulture to South Carolina, but this dress was not likely made from silk that she produced.
#Peppermint peach tree full#
This “dress in the French style” was popular among upper class Western European women in the 1720s through the 1780s and features a narrow bodice with a full skirt. Thanks to the and for the sneak preview of Eliza Lucas Pinckney’s c.1753 robe à la française gown that will be on display May 13 through July 9.
I was able to harvest a few that first season and the ones that reached some point of ripeness, although small, were sweet and juicy. I was quite excited about this development since peaches are my favorite fruit. Soon enough, about a dozen fruit peaches were growing on the small tree. But as the fruit grew larger, I started to question its ornamental nature. I asked the landscapers if this was unusual and they assured me that this tree would produce ornamental fruit. The following spring, it started to produce flowers, all pale pink. But I watered it faithfully through its first steamy Charleston summer and it grew significantly. It was a bare root tree, only about five feet tall and I must admit that I did not have high hopes for its survival. Several weeks later, my landscapers brought a tree in a cardboard box. The tree has striking white, light pink and dark pink flowers when in bloom, so I decided to replant it. Shortly after moving in, a previous owner came to see the garden and told me about some of the plants that had been lost over the years, one of which was a peppermint peach tree. The tree produces clingstone peaches which are an early variety that is typically smaller than later freestone peaches.
0 kommentar(er)
