BERLIN– Two new additions have been added to the already impressive collection at the Taylor House Museum.
An antique grandfather clock and a knife box were donated by the Ocean Pines-based Arcadia chapter of the Questers.
“They are a historic preservation organization, so they kind of adopted our museum, and each year they raise money to buy us historic things,” said museum curator Susan Taylor. “The year before we had the Andrew Jackson lithograph from 1832, and last year was the argon lamp. They’ve been really generous.”
No specific information accompanied the clock, which was purchased from a shop in Roanoke Rapids, N.C.
“It’s a red-flame mahogany tall case clock,” Taylor said. “It’s hand-painted, and it’s signed by Anderton Huddersfield. It does work – we have the weights underneath and the bell, so we’re just waiting to set it up to run. Hopefully sometime in July that’s going to happen.”
The knife box is Georgian mahogany circa 1800.
“It was purchased by one of the Quester ladies when she went to England,” Taylor said. “She bought it from Hampton Antiques in North Hampton in 2008.”
Taylor said the box was used to store silverware.
“One of our docents told me the other day one silver knife would sell for enough money to run a household for a year,” she said. “So it was good to put all your silverware away.”
The museum has been working with consultants during the last several years to restore the house to 1832 conditions, when it was first built. The museum was named for its most famous owner, former Berlin Mayor Calvin B. Taylor, who lived in the house during the 1890s.
“They did the microscopic studies to get the paint colors correct, so all the colors that you’ll see is what they found,” Taylor said. “They found marbling on the baseboard, so we had that painted on. The carpet is hand-woven from a firm in Red Lion, Pennsylvania, and it’s based on an 1832 design that’s on display at Winterthur Museum in Delaware.”
The floor cloths were hand-painted by a local artist, and window treatments were created and hand-knotted by area volunteers.
“We’ve had a lot of support from the whole community,” Taylor said.
The museum’s longtime curator said attendance has been dramatically up since Budget Travel magazine dubbed the Berlin the “Coolest Small Town” in America.
“We had 11 people waiting on the porch when we opened on Wednesday, and it was busy the whole day,” Taylor said. “A lot of people come in and they’re amazed at how much we have in here. It’s not just a historic house – it’s a great place to start a tour of Berlin.”
The Chesapeake Brass Band will play a free concert on the lawn on July 13 at 6 p.m., and the museum will host the Peach Festival on August 2.
Visit the Taylor Museum on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. through the end of October at 208 North Main Street. Donations of $5 per adult are suggested. Appointments are available.
For more information call 410-641-1019 or visit www.taylorhousemuseum. org.
An antique grandfather clock and a knife box were donated by the Ocean Pines-based Arcadia chapter of the Questers.
“They are a historic preservation organization, so they kind of adopted our museum, and each year they raise money to buy us historic things,” said museum curator Susan Taylor. “The year before we had the Andrew Jackson lithograph from 1832, and last year was the argon lamp. They’ve been really generous.”
No specific information accompanied the clock, which was purchased from a shop in Roanoke Rapids, N.C.
“It’s a red-flame mahogany tall case clock,” Taylor said. “It’s hand-painted, and it’s signed by Anderton Huddersfield. It does work – we have the weights underneath and the bell, so we’re just waiting to set it up to run. Hopefully sometime in July that’s going to happen.”
The knife box is Georgian mahogany circa 1800.
“It was purchased by one of the Quester ladies when she went to England,” Taylor said. “She bought it from Hampton Antiques in North Hampton in 2008.”
Taylor said the box was used to store silverware.
“One of our docents told me the other day one silver knife would sell for enough money to run a household for a year,” she said. “So it was good to put all your silverware away.”
The museum has been working with consultants during the last several years to restore the house to 1832 conditions, when it was first built. The museum was named for its most famous owner, former Berlin Mayor Calvin B. Taylor, who lived in the house during the 1890s.
“They did the microscopic studies to get the paint colors correct, so all the colors that you’ll see is what they found,” Taylor said. “They found marbling on the baseboard, so we had that painted on. The carpet is hand-woven from a firm in Red Lion, Pennsylvania, and it’s based on an 1832 design that’s on display at Winterthur Museum in Delaware.”
The floor cloths were hand-painted by a local artist, and window treatments were created and hand-knotted by area volunteers.
“We’ve had a lot of support from the whole community,” Taylor said.
The museum’s longtime curator said attendance has been dramatically up since Budget Travel magazine dubbed the Berlin the “Coolest Small Town” in America.
“We had 11 people waiting on the porch when we opened on Wednesday, and it was busy the whole day,” Taylor said. “A lot of people come in and they’re amazed at how much we have in here. It’s not just a historic house – it’s a great place to start a tour of Berlin.”
The Chesapeake Brass Band will play a free concert on the lawn on July 13 at 6 p.m., and the museum will host the Peach Festival on August 2.
Visit the Taylor Museum on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. through the end of October at 208 North Main Street. Donations of $5 per adult are suggested. Appointments are available.
For more information call 410-641-1019 or visit www.taylorhousemuseum. org.