Guide To The Winterthur Library

"The purpose of this book is to provide practical information so that you can care for your objects in an informed manner. The first line of defense is always preventive conservation. Knowing what you should and shouldn't do is crucial. Knowledge of materials is also of paramount importance in helping you understand how objects change over time and what the susceptibilities to damage might be. Finally, advice about proper storage and display will aid in providing an environment that is conducive to prolonging the life of your objects. Also included in our discussions are the procedures that can be safely done by an owner as well as those that require the services of conservation professionals"--

This guide to the Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera, named for Winterthur's first curator, provides descriptive information for the primary research material held in the collection. The Downs Collection acquires materials from the mid seventeenth century through the twentieth century that document American lifestyles, concentrating on the domestic scene and activities within the household and art. It includes such items as diaries, business accounts of craftsmen whose products decorated dwelling houses, family papers, tax records, construction of homes, artists' sketchbooks, wills and household inventories, children's toys and games, and scrapbooks and journals. Items from individuals famous in American history rest alongside materials from people who led routine lives yet still contributed to the development of America. An extensive microform collection, including copies of material owned by other public repositories and private individuals, supplements the manuscript holdings. Hardcover is un-jacketed.

The story of Henry du Pont and the museum of Americana he envisioned.

Winterthur offers a rare combination of beauty, history, art, and learning. Nestled in the scenic Brandywine Valley of Delaware, the estate is the former home of three generations of du Ponts, including Henry Francis du Pont, a scion of the family whose industrial achievements played a significant role in American history. Entering the estate, visitors encounter tangible reminders of its past. Rolling meadows, freshwater ponds, stone bridges, greenhouses, dairy barns, a vast garden, workers' housing, and an imposing mansion all remind us of the days when Winterthur figured prominently in the American country estate movement. In the 1920s, the property encompassed more than 2,600 acres and housed some 250 resident workers. It consisted of numerous farms; the finest dairy herd of Holstein-Friesian cattle in America; an expansive, wooded landscape with a naturalistic garden; and a family manor house that provided the perfect setting for country-house weekend entertaining. While developing the family home as a country estate and collecting the finest American decorative arts, H. F. du Pont was also beginning to envision a wider role for his Winterthur--one that would eventually include opening the mansion and grounds to the public, offering all a glimpse of life in the past: "My idea of Winterthur is that it is a country estate museum, to show Americans of the future what a country place and farm were like." Since 1951, its guests have enjoyed just that experience. Today Winterthur's thousand-acre estate offers much for visitors to explore: a world-class museum of decorative arts that celebrates the best in style and craftsmanship; a romantic landscape of incomparable beauty that imparts the peace and great calm of a country place; a naturalistic garden that combines the art of horticulture and landscape design; and a superlative research library that supports Winterthur's graduate programs in early American culture and art conservation.

When Oskar Reinhart (1885-1965) bequeathed a significant part of his remarkable art collection - chiefly of French nineteenth-century painting but also containing a number of outstanding Old Masters - to the Swiss nation, he did so on condition that the works of art would never be loaned. As a consequence the many very important works in the collection have not been discussed in major exhibition catalogues and have not received the scholarly attention they deserve. This volume, with full entries on the entire collection of 207 works by 45 leading scholars in their field, both American and European, and superb plates carefully checked against the originals, sets out to rectify this state of affairs. Artists represented by several works in the collection that Reinhart made his monument include: Cezanne (11), Chardin (4), Corot (9), Courbet (10), Daumier (20), Delacroix (9), Gericault (2), Van Gogh (5), Maillol (8), Manet (4), Picasso (4), Pissarro (2), Renoir (15), Sisley (2). A well illustrated introduction explains the ideas and context behind Reinhart's collecting and affords insights into his character.

An ideal sourcebook for architects, woodworkers, and homeowners, this beautiful reference showcases the stunning architectural details of the Winterthur Museum. This guided tour explores 33 rooms from the Georgian and Federal periods with stunning photography, architectural terms, detailed drawings, and fascinating commentary.

In these days of an aging traditional audience, shrinking attendance, tightened budgets, increased competition, and exponential growth in new types of communication methods, America’s house museums need to take bold steps and expand their overall purpose beyond those of the traditional museum. They need not only to engage the communities surrounding them, but also to collaborate with visitors on the type and quality of experience they provide. This book is a groundbreaking manifesto that calls for the establishment of a more inclusive, visitor-centered paradigm based on the shared experience of human habitation. It draws inspiration from film, theater, public art, and urban design to transform historic house museums while providing a how-to guide for making historic house museums sustainable, through five primary themes: communicating with the surrounding community, engaging the community, re-imagining the visitor experience, celebrating the detritus of human habitation, and acknowledging the illusion of the shelter’s authenticity. Anarchist's Guide to Historic House Museums offers a wry, but informed, rule-breaking perspective from authors with years of experience and gives numerous vivid examples of both good and not-so-good practices from house museums in the U.S.