The Decay of the Past

My visit to New England this summer has reinforced my notion that upkeeping any historic property is an immense task, ultimately requiring millions of dollars.  In most of the homes I visited, even those with endowments and of well-known figures, there is always work to be done.  For example, in the Frelinghuysen house the Dining Room window had suffered a crack and was duck-taped.  Another ledge next to a window suffered from obvious water damage.  The director noted to us that while there are some structural issues that need attention, there are sometimes conflicting reports about how to best replace an item.  Also, in the case of the Frelinghuysen house and others, if you are starting with the original items, I would assume you want to keep the original for as long as possible, while still preventing any future damage to the property.

Another case in point occurred at Naumkeag (a gilded age "summer cottage/mansion" built in the 1880s by the Choate family).  The guide here showed us a bedroom with bold fabrics on the bed and window drapery.  However, she then took out a sample of what the original fabric looked like (brown beyond recognition, faded, tattered with holes).  In this case, the curators were lucky in that the original receipt for the purchase of the fabric was in the archives.  They contacted the company in England, who had a sample pattern swatch in their archive, and they were able to replicate the original fabric for the restoration.  In most cases is it never this easy.

In 2010, I spent a week in Concord, Massachusetts, at a National Endowment for the Humanities summer workshop.  We visited numerous sites, including the homes of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Louisa May Alcott.  At these homes, and others, I was struck by the lack of central air, climate controlled conditions, and the constant need for repair, upkeep and restoration.  At one historic home there were 150 year old books on the shelf with windows open and floor fans running.  I could only think about the humidity damage.

So, anyway, this vacation has reinforced the notion that our houses and our bodies, and we are always in some state of decay, which is only natural and expected.  I guess the task of life is to focus on those things which blunt the force of corrosion a bit more easily, such as relationships, love, and friendship.