Oh Charleston...

A two week long break from the city was just what I needed. Charleston was so beautiful and pleasant as always. 

The cemetery of the Unitarian Church between Archdale and King... a favorite spot since I was a child. 

But now it's back to New York...

The Pope

 

So are you obsessed with the painted Empire screen, the cast bronze leaf, or the taxidermy bird? They're all amazing and they're all available at my favorite Charleston antiques store, John Pope Antiques. John has had the shop for the last 4 or 5 years and has done amazingly well... from museum quality antiques to really affordable pieces, you'll definitely find something to take home.

Normally most people would be worried about the extra expenses of living in New York... I'm actually going to be saving money since I will no longer be able to regularly frequent this shop.

 

A collage of paintings from every period... I've always loved the St. Sebastian on the demi-lune table...

 

I love everything about this combination... the painting, that tribal fabric, and the blown glass light fixture...

This pair of lamps are definitely my favorites right now. Cast metal painted to simulate marble? I don't care if they're Jansen or not, I'll take them!

 

A detail of my lamps...

 

What is there not to like about this? 

Well... actually I can understand someone hating it, but that's fine, just means it'll have a better chance of ending up with me.

 

I love the vibrant glazes of these Asian statues... instant collection. I'm particularly obsessed with that turquoise color right now.

 

and finally, something I wouldn't normally go for... but I love the purples and blacks in this painting, especially combined with that pop of chartreuse 

Basically you have to stop by if you're ever in Charleston... I mean, he carries around an 18th century chalice to drink out of with his Pope costume every Halloween... I'm pretty sure it doesn't get any more sybaritic than that.

Arrows

 

I have always loved these cast iron gates with a crossed arrow motif on New Street in Charleston, SC

Opportunity of a lifetime

This historic George Robertson House in Charleston is for sale. Located at 1 Meeting Street, you can't get more South of Broad than this. This home was built in 1846 on the site of a previous home designed by James Hoban, architect of the White House. The piazza on the south side is masked by a brick wall with windows that allows the east elevation of the house to remain symmetrical. The front bay was recently removed due to structural issues and rebuilt.

This aerial view from the side exposes the piazza that looks out on to South Battery and White Point Gardens...

The George Robertson House as illustrated on a bird's eye view map of Charleston from 1872...

The Robertson family sold the house to the Ross family following the Civil War. Mary Jane Ross filled the home with art and decorative arts during the Victorian period and attempted to leave the house in a trust to be operated as a museum at her death in 1922. This never came to fruition and the contents of the house were sold in 1944.

The house today... 

A spectacular staircase... I would edit out the 50 rugs in the entrance all, eliminate that pathetic excuse for a chandelier, and remove the wallpaper...

I wish I could begin to understand the pattern of this wallpaper... you can hear this room screaming in agony from the rug, matching camel back sofas, and general color palate. At least it maintains the original mantle and woodwork... 

Through the pocket doors is the dining room... what is there to say? I'm not sure I could rationalize maintaining any piece of furniture in this room with the exception of the sideboard... think how amazing these two rooms could be... perhaps a charcoal gray wall color with soft white trim, and furniture and decorative objects in flame mahogany, vermilion, and gilt? I'd also have to get rid of those chandeliers... they somehow manage to make absolutely no decorative statement. I also wouldn't mind a taxidermy creature of some sort in one of the bay windows. 

I hate to say it... but I almost like this wallpaper. Without the bad furniture (I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume this is a real Charleston Rice bed and let that piece remain) and horrendous rug, I think I could work with it. I'd tear out the make shift closet and create something a little bit more intentional, a built in armoire of sorts, that followed the lines and proportions of the original door frame behind it.

I would assume this archway originally opened into the next room, but I like that it's closed off now. From what I can tell I love the side tables, but on further examination I'd ditch the bed and upholster the arched opening and create a bed that didn't distract from the period woodwork. We'd obviously have to say good bye to the chandelier.

What can I say? I'm horrified by everything in this room. I really can't believe that anyone living in this neighborhood is living in such an ungracious and common way. Two chests shoved up next to one another? No bed skirt? 

I'm not even going to acknowledge the trim color or wallpaper and matching drapes.

I think I love the light fixture though...

Not as awful as the previous room, but still almost unbelievable that a room like this even exists in a house such as this. The light fixtures are interesting... I think I really like them and could definitely rework them into my redecoration.

Photos of the kitchen and bathrooms are conspicuously absent... your guess is as good as mine but I would assume there are toilets in every range of pink and mauve you can imagine and faux brick linoleum in the kitchen.

and it can all be yours, horrible wallpaper and all, for a mere $7,495,000.

View the rest of the real estate listing and more photographs here.

I would live here: 46 Wentworth

I would move in tomorrow.

This unusual structure was originally part of a larger triple tenement building built in Ansonborough following a fire that devastated the neighborhood in 1838. The other part of the building was demolished in the 1950s leaving this slender classical temple. 

Historical information from Jonathan Poston's The Buildings of Charleston, photograph from HABS.

My last day

With the impending move to New York (the adventure begins November 6th, stay tuned!) this will be final day working at the Julia Santen Vintage Poster Gallery on King Street here in Charleston. I've worked for Julia for about a year now and have seen some fantastic art pass through these doors. It's remarkable that these pieces have survived decades, and for some over a century, in the condition they are in.

Current vintage poster obsession:

 

I love the jewel tones of these vintage Bally posters which both date from 1964. The height of 1960s glamor... I mean a cheetah? Fabulous.

Visit Julia's website here to peruse here amazing collection of vintage and original posters which date from the 1890s to the 1990s

The Seabury Tredwell House

While researching my bachelor's essay on the Aiken-Rhett House I discovered the Seabury Tredwell House, or the Merchant House Museum in New York City. While there I made it my mission to see this period 1830s Greek Revival townhouse.

 

The home in its original context during the 1930s...

 

Sadly both homes on either side have been demolished leaving a vacant lot to the right and a garage building to the left...

 

The impressive door surround which was my initial reason for researching this home...

 

A near identical example at the Aiken-Rhett House which was added in the 1830s, contemporaneous with the construction of the Merchant House...

 

Original cast and wrought iron gas street lamps reminded me of similar examples in Charleston as well...

 

A similar street lamp at the Primrose House, 332 East Bay Street, Charleston, South Carolina...

 

The ceiling of the entrance vestibule... love the marbleized wall finish

While I was there the staircase was covered for renovations, but after the docent described the newel post it reminded me of something...

 

The staircase from The Heiress, 1949, starring Olivia de Havilland... a must see film that documents 1830s New York society... there's no way the set for her home was not based on this building

 

An original gasolier, curtain rods, and furnishings occupy the dining room and parlor...

The parlor of the Seabury Tredwell House in the 1930s...

... and Olivia de Havilland in the parlor of the set of The Heiress... note the similar columns (pilasters were common features around pocket doors, but full dis-engaged columns were rare) and the similarly paneled pocket doors.

This house is a fascinating glimpse into 1830s New York... a must see while you're there; there's nothing else like it in the city.

Biggs Powell on One Kings Lane

Biggs Powell, who recently opened a store on King Street in Charleston, had a fantastic sale on One Kings Lane that opened yesterday. His store, located in one of my favorite buildings on lower King, is a jewel box of unique antiques, reproductions, and contemporary pieces. 

I love this 19th century hall chair... it's so modern in its severity and geometric shape

A pair of fantastic vintage French lamps...

Obviously obsessed with this vintage eglomise mirror...

These are so incredibly beautiful... I've been in love them for a while

And finally, my favorite piece from the entire sale...

These gilt and painted grotto brackets are quite possibly some of the most unique things I've ever encountered. If only I had an extra $3,000 lying around...

View the sale here

Visit Biggs' website here

from his website you can visit his listings on 1stDibs

New Inventory

So after a very successful first month at Antiques of South Windermere here in Charleston, I've added a lot and have almost doubled my inventory.

 

I found the Old Paris cup, saucer, and creamer this weekend at a local antiques show for next to nothing...

 

An overview of the booth... the drop leaf table in the foreground, the Tudor Revival chair at the console table, and the marble topped cocktail table against the back wall are all new to the booth...

 

This beautiful slab of marble is what initially attracted me to the table... the blackamoor bracket is new, but it has a great look...

 

These were my favorite finds... fresh from an antiques store in Asheville, NC, I love the frames, mats, and the coloring of these antique plates... 

In light of current events...

I thought I would post some photos of the Charleston Earthquake of 1886. This earthquake, which was a 7.3 on the Richter scale, was one of the largest and most devastating of any in the Southeastern United States. Over 2,000 buildings were damaged causing 6 million dollars worth of damage (almost 150 million in modern terms).

Although the event devastated the city and surrounding areas, the resulting photographs are hauntingly beautiful and surreal.

 

Note the large section missing from the upper portion of the spire of St. Philip's on Church Street. To the left is the old Planter's Hotel, now the Dock Street Theatre, and to the right is the French Huguenot Church... 

 

The effects of the earthquake necessitated many large homes to be demolished, fortunately these two homes still stand on Broad Street. Note the small piece of furniture still in place in the gable room of the home at right...

 

This large antebellum building which stood at the corner of Broad and Meeting Streets was so badly damaged that it was demolished... 

 

Tombstones in the graveyard of the Unitarian Church on Archdale... note how the marble obelisk has moved three or four inches from its original position... the church attached to this graveyard was so damaged that much of the gothic ornamentation was removed. Please see here for my previous post on the Unitarian Church.

 

This is one of my favorite photographs from this series... the elaborate doric column was thrown to the left and has partly planted itself in the ground. The capital lies about two feet farther to the left, and the urn finial is to the right...

 

and finally my favorite photograph: a double exposure of a church and the granite works showing toppled over marble and granite tombstones.