Dear Sharon

 

Summer netting might be as hard to find directly as a needle in a haystack! I think that a search for more information should be directed along the lines of slipcovers… as they were added in summer months to protect furniture in the same way that some netting was used to protect delicate carving on mirrors.

 

Try the Gallier House in New Orleans where they annually exchange textiles in the Summer: http://www.frenchquarter.com/sightseeing/SummerDress.php or the Hunter House Museum. They mention slip covers and exchanging textiles for summer months. http://www.hunterhousemuseum.org/history/interior.htm

 

I would expect that the Hardings in Nashville would have dealt with the summer season in a similar fashion as the Galliers’ in New Orleans.  The website above tells us: “As in the Galliers’ time--when there was no air conditioning, electric fans, or window screens--cool white slipcovers protect elaborate upholstered furniture. Sea grass mats replace woolen rugs and carpets; heavy silk draperies are removed, leaving the windows veiled in airy lace curtains that catch the summer breeze. Chandeliers, gilded picture frames and mirrors are wrapped in netting to protect them from insects and dirt. As a barrier against annoying insects, the beds are all draped in mosquito nets, and a glass-domed flycatcher baited with sugar water and cobalt poison is set out to attract bugs that have slipped through the open windows.”

 

Ned Cooke’s Upholstery book has a great article by Martha Fales that tells us about F.A. Moreland’s “Practical Decorative Upholstery” (1890) and gives the reason why the indispensable slipcover should be used in the “dusty season”. While later in period than Belle Meade, I think it remains valid in purpose.

 

Colonial Williamsburg also should have information about the ritual of changing interiors by season. Unfortunately I cannot recall a particular source for you there.

 

Lastly, there was an interesting article in the NYT by Carol Vogel about Summer slipcovers – that illustrates that this is not purely an American phenomena but a formal practice that also occurred in Europe in the summer months. “The interior designer Keith Irvine remembers the magical day that marked the advent of summer when he was a child in Scotland. ''The rugs were rolled up,'' Mr. Irvine said, ''and all the heavy brocade upholstered furniture was covered with beige linen slipcovers to protect it from the sun. The whole house looked and felt different. The brocade was scratchy to sit on; the summer slipcovers felt cool, soft and comfortable.” June 1983

 

By 1900 when our archives really begin, there is no particular mention of a formal exchange of interior furnishings for summer (that I know of)– other than using the sleeping porch from about May – Sept and cleaning the portieres and curtains annually in the summer.  Certainly, after the advent of air conditioning, the pressing need for such ritual became moot.

 

I hope that this helps.

 

Ware

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sharon Maguire
Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2006 9:43 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Summer netting

 

Would anyone know where I can get historical information on dressing a home for summer?  We have done this in previous years covering the large mirrors, gilded frames (excluding plain wooden frames), furniture, etc. However, I would like to see some documentation on exactly what would have been covered.  Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Sharon Maguire

Belle Meade Plantation