Victorian House Rescue: August 2020

Not a lot of work was done this quarter, so I will attempt to entertain you with what happened in the garden and yard, as well as showing you where our disposable cash went.

Pump it Up

Pete installed this basement sump pump, it's really helping to keep the basement dry. It's a relief, digging a moat around the interior walls for the water to collect would have been the next step. We have enough projects, thank you.

Flora & Fauna

Nesting Instinct, Chapter Two

The eggs in our Scooby Doo birdhouse hatched! It's enchanting to see these little creatures grow. We are hoping to install a live feed camera in the birdhouses someday.

Its the unicorn of birds!

Wow! I was completely charmed to see two seconds of this hummingbird fly in front of our camera!

Pete saw one in our yard once, they don't seem to very common in Western PA.

Trees 0, stump 1

A storm took our only tree down. We thought it was half alive but discovered it was two trees trying to choke each other out.

The surviving tree is a crabapple tree, which is way too bitter to eat on its own. One website suggested dipping them in toffee, using them to make apple jelly, or making apple liqueur, so maybe there is hope.

Our neighbor is compensating for our lack of trees with his ongoing planting spree. We split the cost of these trees with him. We can stare at his trees while we pine (sorry, I cant help it) for our willow to grow.

I found this beautiful giant leopard moth in the basement, Pete managed to coax him onto a tongue depressor and bring him outside.

Although this basil only half qualifies as grown by us, eating food from ones own garden really is a satisfying experience. Pete got this basil plant from the supermarket and re-planted it in our garden.

Pete found these planters at At Home, a gazillion square foot home goods store that I'd not heard of until now. I'm not a fan of white, but we need some white to go with the gable decorations, so I'll let it slide.

Here's our little wildflower garden in full bloom in July.

This Willow Has Reason to Weep

Our willow tree made a tasty treat for some asshole deer in summer of 2018, now our sapling is back like it never happened. We learned that deer love to eat baby trees, so any trees we plant in the future need a chicken wire fence for protection.

Were you born in a barn?

This is more effective with the sound on.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

I love how this spider and her thread looks on the infrared camera.

New Acquisitions

My subconscious confronts the shopaholic in me when I look at all these photos in one place.

In my defense against myself all of these things are very reasonably priced. We have no credit card debt, and we pay our bills on time, so the sensible side of me gives the concerned side a break.

The mug is round, the jar is round..

In 1900 Kodak Camera released their first Brownie, a small box camera that sold for $1. Cheap, portable, and easy to use, it was the biggest advancement in photography since photography was given to the world in 1839.

After the photographer shot all the frames on the roll, the camera had to be sent to Kodak with the exposed film still inside for developing and printing. The camera was then returned to the customer, loaded with a roll of unexposed film, along with the processed negatives and prints. Kodak later designed roll film with a light tight paper backing that rolled with the film, allowing customers to load and unload their own film.

Many Brownie customers were confused. Having no knowledge of optics, they wrote to Kodak asking why their prints were square when the camera lens is round. Instead of replying with a scientific explanation, the company decided to print the photographs with a dark round border. I don't know how long Kodak printed photos this way. This is the only antique photo I've ever found with a round border. I also like how the models face is completely faded. Creepy.

Row row row your imaginary boat

I originally thought the caption was a nautical reference made during WW1, until I looked at the postmark-1909. I really like the woman's rowing pose and the fabric of her dress. Are the Shore Boys an ivy league row team? The model, Gabrielle Ray, was a British theater actress who achieved success but spent the last third of her life in a mental hospital for depression.

I couldn't resist this print of an odd looking child holding a mouse in a cage. The engraving is based on a painting by 18th century painter Joshua Reynolds. From his Wikipedia page: "He promoted the "grand style" in painting which depended on the idealization of the imperfect"

This image does not disappoint. The kid looks even weirder in the painting.

The Galveston hurricane/flood of 1900 was the turn of the century Hurricane Katrina. 8 to 12 feet of flooding, 7000 buildings destroyed, and around 8000 dead.

Humans cant help but be intrigued by a good horror story, and this book unapologetically caters to that morbid curiosity. This was published at a time when people were probably just getting weaned off of public executions as a social event.

I found this pamphlet about the Woolworth Building, one of the underappreciated gems of New York City.

I've recently discovered Currier and Ives, a printmaking company in business from the 1830s to 1907. Banging out what seems like an endless catalog of images, hand colored and mounted in cheap frames. subjects included stylized Victorian ladies, snowy landscapes, and fiery shipwrecks.

I will be saving the glass from when I reframe the above image. It's original with small bubbles and textures, an added bonus. Its upsetting to see the water damage, but in spite of it their charm still comes through.

One of my favorite places in Brooklyn is Dead Horse Bay, the inlet in Jamaica Bay where NYC trash was dumped from the mid 19th century until around 1930. Officially Barren Island until attached with landfill to Brooklyn, it was the location for organic refuse processing and animal rendering. 90 years later the smell of organic waste is long gone. What's left is a shoreline of old glass jars, bottles, discarded doll heads, old shoe leather soles, broken plates, etc.

I visited Dead Horse Bay with my friend Marie in June. The beach seemed like the perfect safe social distance way to spend time with someone. It just happened to be low tide, so I found (with the help of Marie and a generous stranger) these amber glass Clorox bottle bottoms. I plan to use them as tiles for a back lit wall in the laundry room. We found a few Clorox bottles intact as well, which will be made into lights. Our friend Michael gave me two more bottles that he found there as well. Thank you, Michael!

Garbage picking or archeological dig. You decide.

We bought this phone for our intercom system "PTT" is an acronym for "push to talk." I guess this button was pressed after the user dialed the number.

We bought keyhole radiators!!

If you are a regular reader of this blog you know I am a great fan of radiator heat. The goal is to furnish every room with a pretty swirly lacey patterned radiator. We bought these at a Brooklyn architectural salvage space. I've been eyeballing them for months, visiting them on occasion, paranoid someone would buy them before Pete got a chance to pick them up.

They aren't much to look at now, but someday they will be absolutely spectacular. Hopefully they aren't damaged under all of that paint!

This shape is called the Bourbonne, or Antoinette, and was designed in France. (duh) I found one company, in Great Britain, that casts these new.

Here's what they look like all cleaned up.

Were the ones we purchased shipped from Europe years ago, or made here?

A pretty gas fireplace was on my list, so I was thrilled to find this one at from the same salvage facility where bought the radiators. This is going in the back bathroom, bath time is gonna be cozy!

I love the stylized animal head, although I'm not sure what animal its supposed to be.

Pete thinks its a chicken.

Sink or Swim

I've been looking for an antique washing machine for quite a while on Ebay. This beauty was a three hour drive from the house. This will be our kitchen sink. The seller, a retired auto body repair man, said he buffed a coat of paint off this beast. Why would anyone paint over copper?

The plan is to install a waterfall faucet where the drain below the wringer is. Hopefully our plumber is on board with the plan, because I'm tired of shopping for contractors.

Sewing Circle

Pete bought me this beautiful antique Singer sewing machine. Sold by the owners grandmother, I'm only the second person to own it. I'm looking forward to leaning to use a treadle machine. I've heard nothing but swooning admiration for these old girls!

Special Guest

Pete's cousin Britt was driving from D.C. to Minnesota in July so she stopped to visit. I love that her cat Sonny is harness trained!

Run to the Hills

I like these appropriate social distancing floor stickers at our local heavy metal coffee shop.

Found

The owner of our local (not heavy) metal scrapyard let us have this belt sander. Its an industrial design classic. I think its where the phrase "built like a tank" originated. And yes, the motor is still running.

Inspiration

Storybook Houses

This is my new architectural love. I was going to write about one of these houses, but there are so many, and they are all so adorable. Its really overwhelming.

I recently realized the steeper the pitch of a roof, the more attractive a house is. Storybook houses have really pointy rooflines, mis-matched windows, eyebrow dormers, turrets, and a sense that there is a nasty old witch inside that bakes children for dinner.

These structures began to be built in the 1920s, with the most famous one being the Spadena House in Los Angeles.

The Spadena House was built in 1921 as office space for a film studio, designed by movie art director Harry Oliver. Lived in by several families over the years and moved to a residential location off the film lot, it was restored to its current condition by a real estate agent.

The Santarella House in Tyringham, Massachusetts was owned by Sculptor Henry Hudson Kitson, who started modifying buildings on the estate in 1920.

After an unsuccessful attempt to get a thatched roof installed, he got a team of roofers to custom cut asphalt shingles to look like a thatched roof. I admire this mans obsessive dedication. This must have cost a fortune.

There are several buildings on the property, including The Enchanted Tiny Tower and the Grand Fairytale Turret.

Renaissance Fair nerds can up their game by renting these rooms on Airbnb. If the pandemic ever ends, the estate is available for event rental as well.

Carmel, California has a cluster of these storybook dwellings, this first being built between 1922 and 1925 in its small business district by Attorney Edward Kuster. Resident Hugh Comstock was inspired to build a cottage for his wife, later designing homes for other town residents. Neither of these men had any architectural or design training.

The Hansel House