City of Riverside California Metropolitan Museum

Writing Alcove...

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MOURNING STATIONARY     (Picture...)

Mourning stationery was one of the outward signs of sorrow typical of the late nineteenth century. On exhibit here is an original box, made by Eaton, containing two sizes of envelopes, note cards, and lined paper, all with a black border. This was meant to be used by the deceased's family during the customary period of mourning. Also to be expected were black wax to seal envelopes and calling cards with black edges.

The arbiters of good form dodged the difficult matter of prescribing definite periods for mourning. The rule was that there was no rule, but it was occasionally hinted that the degree of display was not a reliable indication of the depth of the survivor's sorrow. Indeed, meticulous observance was recommended as most useful where the sorrow was not so great.


The socially understood methods for a survivor to show sorrow included closing the blinds and drawing the shades. The bell was muffled and crape was fastened to the door. Dresses were typically of lusterless black. Widows wore a black cap and veil, men wore a conspicuous crape band on his hat. If a widow was in "deep mourning", she was swathed in black. The black veil with heavy border covered the face and swept to the ground. All pins and buckles were of black jet. There were no bows or flounces. Black gloves and a handkerchief with a black edging completed the costume. Deep mourning typically lasted up to two years, but many American widows, wrote Eliza M. Lavin in her Good Manners (1888), never put aside the garments of grief. In most cases, though, over time, in a series of carefully regulated steps, a widow threw the veil back from her face, cut off its tail, and began to wear diamonds. Then she moved into the "second", or "dressy", mourning period. In this stage, custom permitted white collars and cuffs and a net or tulle veil. Then came a succession of purple, violet, lilac, and gray shades and a bit of ruching at the neck and wrists. After the first three months, a widow might visit an art gallery, but not a fashionable exhibition. She might attend a concert, but not the theater or opera. She might go to a wedding, provided she sat where the bride could not see her. A widow in mourning would not wish to go where there was gaiety, so the question of attending balls and parties would not come up. It was customary for a widow to keep her piano closed.


STAIRCASE     (Picture...)

All of the components of the staircase -- steps, stair screen, balusters, and newel post -- are oak. The newel posts have considerable hand carving in addition to machined work.

At the lower landing, after only three steps, there stands a grandfather clock made about 1810 in Cardigan, Wales, by W. A. Davies.


GRANDFATHER CLOCK     (Picture...)

The case for the grandfather clock is plain and veneer mahogany with its original finish. The case is in the late Georgian style. The clock runs on a weight system and, like all of the clocks in the house, keeps good time. This particular example is called a "rocking ship" clock, with a ship bobbing in the painted waves above the clock face with each swing of the pendulum. 


MUSIC BOX     (Picture...)

The music box is a classic example of late nineteenth century automata, or spring-driven entertainment. American-made by the Regina Music Box Company between 1889 and 1893, this music box, with its fine oak case, is precursor of the twentieth century jukebox, allowing the listener to select one of a number of selections on perforated metal discs, or to play the discs in a consecutive order until the spring wound down. In fact, when such machines were located in hotel lobbies and other places where the public gathered, they were equipped with a coin slot requiring a deposit in order to operate the mechanism

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