Open Mon – Sat, 9:30am – 5pm | Wheatland Tours 10am – 3pm
Many readers of this blog are familiar with President Buchanan’s Newfoundland dog, Lara. Lara was a well-known presence at Wheatland, usually found sleeping with “one eye shut, the other half open,” never far from the president’s side. Like many presidential pups, Lara was a canine celebrity in her time. She was one of the few […]
Read MoreFrom Portugal to Lancaster and Around the World with the Armstrong Cork Company Written by James McMahon, Ph.D. My name is James McMahon and for the past few months I have been working as a project archivist for LancasterHistory. My responsibilities include cataloging and digitizing a vast collection of archival materials that document the significant […]
Read MoreTying It All Up And so we have arrived at the end, or rather the beginning, of this reproduction gown’s existence. The last bits of this project all have to do with creating ties, so yes, we are quite literally “tying it all up.” Creating Bodice Ties In my previous post, I created the silk […]
Read MoreArticle Written by James McMahon, Ph.D. Posted by Emily Miller Introduction My name is James McMahon and for the past few months I have been working as a project archivist for LancasterHistory. My responsibilities include cataloging and digitizing a vast collection of archival materials that document the significant role of the cork industry in the […]
Read MoreAnd Sew It Begins… to Come Alive! With the bodice and skirt nearly completed, it’s time to put the pieces together. This is where the magic truly begins, for this is the part where the gown starts looking like something one could wear. Joining the Skirt to the Bodice To join the skirt to the […]
Read MoreA Titanic Story – Milton Hershey’s Near Sail on RMS Titanic Written by James McMahon, Ph.D. Milton and Catherine Hershey loved to travel. From the time of their marriage on May 28, 1895 until Catherine’s Hershey death on March 25, 1915, the Hersheys embarked on multiple tours of the United States, Europe, the Middle East, […]
Read MoreCreating the Skirt When it comes to this gown specifically, the skirt is the thing. Its free-form nature hangs off the body to highlight free movement and the natural form desired with the Neoclassical movement. Because the skirts are attached as a high Empire waist just under the bust, they also elongate the body in […]
Read MoreWritten by James McMahon, Ph.D. “… no man stands higher in business and social circles in the city of Lancaster than this man, who has been crowned with success.” Portrait and Biographical Record of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1894 Milton Snavely Hershey, the man behind the chocolate bar, was in many ways a son of Lancaster. […]
Read MoreConstructing the Bodice [There will be time] for a hundred visions and revisions, before the taking of toast and tea. -“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot Visions and Revisions T.S. Eliot may not have been writing about sewing, but his words provide us with a bit of wisdom for this project. […]
Read MoreWhy Recreate Historical Garments? Whenever I embark on recreating a historical garment, I remember why such recreation is important. As a historian, my mission is to research, understand, and present the past not as an abstract and irrelevant entity from “way back in ye days of olde,” but rather as a very real and almost […]
Read MoreThe movie Beloved was filmed at Landis Valley Farm Museum in 1998.