. Bulletin - United States National Museum. Science. Figure 9.— The Honeymoon, by John CoUctt. aboul 1760. In the midst of a domestic scene replete with homey details, the artist has depicted with care the tea table and its furnishing, including a fashionable tea urn symbolically topped with a pair of affectionate birds. {Photo courtesy of Frick Art Refer erne Library.) placed in front of the lady who pours the ; ^" This practice is depicted in a number of 18th-century pictures, with the tea table well out in the room, often in front of a fireplace, and with seated and standing f
. Bulletin - United States National Museum. Science. Figure 9.— The Honeymoon, by John CoUctt. aboul 1760. In the midst of a domestic scene replete with homey details, the artist has depicted with care the tea table and its furnishing, including a fashionable tea urn symbolically topped with a pair of affectionate birds. {Photo courtesy of Frick Art Refer erne Library.) placed in front of the lady who pours the ; ^" This practice is depicted in a number of 18th-century pictures, with the tea table well out in the room, often in front of a fireplace, and with seated and standing figures at or near the table (fig. 1). Evidence of such furniture placement in American parlors is recorded in a sketch and note Nancy Shippen re- ceived from one of her beaus, who wrote in part: *- . . this evening I passed before Vour house and seeing Com- pany in the parlour I peep'd through the Window and saw a considerable Tea Company, of which by their situation <' Bayard, op. cil. (footnote 31), p. 47. *' Letter from [Louis Guillaume] Otto [to Nancy Shippen], undated, Shippen Papers, bo.\ 6, Manuscripts Division, Library of Congress. The letter is dated about 1780 by Ethel Armes, op. cit. (footnote 21), p. 8. I could only distinguish four persons. You will see the plan of this Company upon the next page. In the sketch (fig. 8), a floor plan of the Shippen parlor, we can see the sofa against the \\all between the windows, while chairs and tea table ha\e been moved out in the room. The table is near the fire- place, where Miss Shippen served the tea. In the 18th century such an arrangement was first and foremost one of comfort, and perhaps also one of taste. The diary of Jacob Hiltzheimer indicates that in 1786 the first signs of fall were felt on August 1, for the Philadelphian wrote: "This evening it was so cool that we drank tea \i\ the ; " In the south <3 Jacob Hiltzheimer, Extracts Jrom the Diary oj Jacob Hiltz- heimer of Philadelphia, 1765-
Size: 1792px × 1394px
Photo credit: © Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorun, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectscience
