Winter/Spring 2004

A Vehicle for Fun

This sleigh, with its sleek lines and expensive paint job, was the equivalent of a sporty red convertible in Richard Tucker's carriage house at Castle Tucker in Wiscasset, Maine.

Christmas in New England

December visitors to SPNEA's Otis House are often surprised that it contains neither holiday decorations nor a Christmas tree. But, while today Christmas is considered one of the most important holidays of the year, most of its traditions originated in the Victorian era, many decades after the Otis House was built.

Location, Location, Location

Situated on a rocky ledge, the Rocky Hill Meeting House is a quintessential example of early American public architecture.

A Century of Skiing in New England

The sport of skiing was a novelty in New England when Elise Tyson, resident of the Hamilton House in South Berwick, Maine, photographed Harriot Sumner Curtis on skis in 1904. But skiing, while long common as a means of winter transportation for Scandinavians, was just beginning to be seen as a sport.

Feeding Birds in Winter

Walter and Ise Gropius loved to watch the many birds that came to the feeders around their house in the countryside of Lincoln, Massachusetts.

Country Arts for Your Home

SPNEA's Cogswell's Grant in Essex, Massachusetts, is a veritable treasure house of painted furniture, folk paintings and carvings, textiles, ceramics, and whimsical artifacts of all descriptions.

Window Dressing: Shutters and Blinds in Historic Houses

The desire to bring light and air into our homes has resulted in a progression from the small casement windows of the First Period, to the more elaborate multi-light window sash of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and now to the large uninterrupted glass panes installed in many new homes. The history of shutters and blinds illustrates their utility, versatility, and appeal.

A Passion for Old Designs

SPNEA's collection of historic wallpapers enjoys an international reputation. What began as a gift of thirty-nine samples in 1911 has grown to be the best documented regional collection in the country and the second in size only to the collection at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York City.

News New England and Beyond

Short news items from Historic New England Magazine.

A Woman's Pastime

In the late 1890s, Alice Augusta Rogerson Brown (1851-1928) of Milton, Massachusetts, took up photography. Like other middle- and upper-class women at this time, Mrs. Brown embraced photography as an outlet for her creativity. Advances in technology, made it easy for amateurs to become adept.