Conservation Work in Progress in Suffield

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Connecticut Landmarks invites visitors to toast the start of conservation work with the team working to stabilize the 18th-century Réveillon wallpaper adorning the Phelps-Hatheway House. This intimate gathering and demonstration will take place on Sunday, November 3rd with sessions at 1 pm and 2:30 pm. Proceeds from this event benefit the wallpaper conservation project at the Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden, supported in part by a Historic Preservation Fund grant administrated by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

Attendees will enjoy exclusive access to the expertise of conservators from Studio TKM Associates, who will explain and demonstrate their work caring for the papers. Attendees are invited to learn about the house and its residents while imagining the turbulence of the 1790s as two nations attempted to assert their independence—and their identities. Tickets are available for purchase at wwww.ctlandmarks.org/wallpaper.

In 1788, Oliver Phelps purchased a center chimney house in Suffield, Connecticut, from Shem Burbank. A budding land speculator in the tumultuous years after the American Revolution, Phelps commissioned the addition of a large wing that may have served to entertain potential clients. The wing features five splendid Parisian Louis XVI wallpapers printed been 1791-95 by Jacquemart et Bernard with wood blocks made by Jean-Baptiste Réveillon. Today, it is one of the oldest, largest extant wallpaper collections in the United States contained within one of the most complete collections of late 18th-century woodworking and interior decoration.

Connecticut Landmarks is honored to be recipients of a Save America’s Treasures grant to support this project, awarded by the National Park Service in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

“While the wallpaper at the Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden is in spectacular condition given its age, regular wear, light, and weather changes have impacted it over more than 200 years. We are grateful for the opportunity to take proactive steps to holistically care for the paper and educate others about the conservation process along the way,” said Lynn Mervosh, site administrator at the Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden.

Following a competitive proposal process, this project will allow Connecticut Landmarks to work with experts from Studio TKM Associates, who are assessing and documenting the condition of the paper, analyzing key color and design elements for conservation, and stabilizing the paper in place so that it will continue to be a resource for scholars and a treasure for visitors over the next two centuries and beyond.

Donations can be made to support the project at www.ctlandmarks.org/wallpaper.

About the Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden
The Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden is located at 55 South Main Street, Suffield, CT. It is open for tours May through October. For hours and more information, visit www.ctlandmarks.org; https://www.facebook.com/PhelpsHathewayHouseAndGarden/; or call 860-668-0055.

Examine the lives and experiences of the first two owners of the Phelps-Hatheway House, Shem Burbank and Oliver Phelps. Although the two lived during the same period, they experienced the late 18th century in different ways. How did their political views and the opportunities they pursued during the American Revolution change their fortunes – or lack thereof? Understand the role of Connecticut in the American Revolution, examine colonial era trade and commercial exchange, consider land and real estate speculation and Indigenous people’s land rights, and observe the ways we display wealth and status.

About Connecticut Landmarks
Connecticut Landmarks uses historic properties to inspire an understanding of our complex past. Founded in 1936 as the Antiquarian & Landmarks Society, we are a state-wide network of 11 significant historic properties that span four centuries of New England history. For more information, please visit www.ctlandmarks.org.

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