Exploring the Wonders of Winterthur

Friday was reserved on my calendar to meet up with a special friend whom I hadn't seen in a while.  I certainly would have been happy to enjoy a meal and chat together, but when she proposed making a trip to Winterthur, I knew I couldn't pass on THAT opportunity!

All I needed to do was to show up at her house early and she would do the driving.  It doesn't get much better than that!  So we headed out early on this glorious day and arrived at our destination in the historic Brandywine Valley, shortly after the doors opened in the Visitor Center.

The house and grounds were home to the DuPont family and it once acted as a large working farm with a large sheep and bovine population amid the acres of fruit trees.  The house began as a relatively simple structure with only 12 rooms, but Henry Francis Dupont expanded it to 175 rooms so that he could use the home as a museum to feature his many collections of antiques.  The family moved to another home built on the grounds and the mansion was devoted strictly to Henry's passion.  The finished museum is so large that it is relatively impossible to get a photo of the entire structure, particularly since it is nestled among trees that have been standing for generations.

But, there was this very nice print of the house hanging in the Women's Room, of all places. It gives the viewer an idea of the enormity of this place.

For some reason, this particular day was a super busy day in regards to house tours, but we manage to secure an 11:30 entry with a delightful tour guide.  By the end of our tour, we felt as if Harry DuPont was our best friend!  She had a real love for the man and her enthusiasm was greatly appreciated.  

The first room on our tour was a dining room.  It held a very long table as well as some valuable artwork adorning the walls.

A small adjacent room had alcoves holding various tea sets from past eras.  I was amused by the teapot featuring an image of George Washington.

We then walked into a family room that was adorned with painted Chinese wallpaper on all of the walls.  Here is a closeup of the corner just inside the door.

The details get lost in this photo, but you can easily see how the walls are all covered with this unique paper.

This staircase came from a Southern Plantation and it stretched through several floors above.

Opposite the staircase stands a doorframe that once stood as the lintel around a fireplace. 

How clever is that?

Walking through, one enters the large parlor would have been where tea would have been served. The room features chandeliers that have not been upgraded to electricity, each holding a bay of candles, but low grade ceiling lights offer plenty of light today. 

We learned that the shiny silver tea set only needed to be polished every 10 to 15 years due to a special coating that was developed by the chemists at DuPont.  Pretty clever,  if you ask me. 

As you can see, every room was unique in character and there were so many interesting articles to admire.

Even the some of the windows had a unique character.

The view from the outside balcony was enhanced by the beautiful white puffy clouds hanging in the brilliant blue sky. 

The balcony overlooks a pool which now stands as a lovely reflection pond.  We ventured down for a first hand view. You can see the house in the background if you look closely through the trees. 

This cupid sundial stands on the grounds half way between the house and the pool.

and we took advantage of its placement, using the top to support my camera for a "selfie" shot with the house standing behind us.  

Well, at least you can see some of the house behind us. but it's fun to have this great memory of the two of us together.

Walking along the grounds, we explored the Enchanted Forest which offered fairy tale entertainment for little ones,  including a narrow house carved from a tree

a thatched roof house

complete with wee chairs for a child's enjoyment

and there was even an Acorn Tearoom

featuring chairs with a cute squirrel motif engraved on the back.

I haven't mentioned that the extended house holds nine floors, although we certainly were not able to tour them all.  But we did take an elevator up to tour the rooms that I've featured here.

In another part of the museum, there are rooms set up as a typical museum, with displays and explanations.

Here you can see just some of the textile displays.

There was unique American furniture

and artwork as well.

There was a large collection of ceramic items that one might see in any museum, but there were a few items that I particularly enjoyed, so I will share them here.

A five fingered flower vase

a gravy boat shaped like a mouse, which I must say wouldn't be all that appealing to see on a dining table, if you were to ask me.

And then there was the Campbell Soups Tureen Collection.  It had been mentioned on our tour, and I was eager to see it, expecting to be charmed by cute little Cambpell Kids.

Let me just say that there wasn't one of those famous cherubic figures in the lot.  But there certainly was quite an array of interesting soup tureens, most of them imported from Europe.  I've shared a few photos here for your enjoyment. 

Water Buffalo

Turkey

And a swan.

There were several dozen on display, many of which were quite unusual.  But I'm willing to bet not too many people have been served soup in their home in such style!

Winterthur is known for featuring various collections that go on tour around the country, and the one presently set up in a wing of the museum is the costume collection from the Netflix series, The Crown.

Marty and I had watched it, so I was certainly interested in seeing what was on display.

Having once been an avid seamstress, I found this to be quite fascinating.  The displays explained how the design team actually came up with the costuming for the series.  The production staff wanted the clothing to be authentic to the time period, so they pulled out magazines to examine the fashions of the day.

From there, they drew up sketches of the desired costume, and attached fabric samples that would be used.

Here you see the finished dress from the above sketch.  

In many instances, the costume was duplicated from a photo that the team would have in their possession.

It's a bit difficult to see, but Queen Elizabeth is wearing the original dress in this photo, when she was on her tour of Africa. 

Here you see Queen Elizabeth wearing the original dress that is copied above.

This was a copy of Princess Margaret's 19th Birthday dress, which I just loved.

The wedding dress took 6 weeks to make and was all hand embroidered, as would have been the original.

Princess Margaret's wedding dress was a bit trickier to make as the actress was 7 inches taller than Princess Margaret, but the designers were able to achieve the same effect.

Here is a copy of the coronation dress that was featured on the cover of Life Magazine, that you can see in the case.

Other items were simply styles that the design team felt were ones that Queen and family would have worn in the day, each unique to their particular style.   This was an older Queen style.

And this would have been from her younger days while touring Africa.

And this dress was featured in the film, but was not copied from any particular item that the Queen would have worn.

There was a room filled with clothing from many of the characters featured in the films, most of these being design productions rather copies from originals.

And, of course, the red letter box needed to be on display.

as well as a copy of the coronation crown.

It certainly was a fascinating exhibit, set up in an easy to read and view style.  And, despite being told that it was a record day for touring, we certainly didn't encounter any mad crushes of people in our adventures.

In fact, we enjoyed a peaceful, very entertaining day together, and I am thrilled that my friend suggested this.  It was a great day out gallivanting!