Author: clermontstatehistoricsite
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Quick Curiosity about Nancy and Otto
In paging around through the internets for information on my last Nancy Shippen blog (part 11 of the ongoing tragedy!), I happened across a reference to The Sylph on \”The Dutchess of Devonshire\’s Gossip Guide to the 18th Century.\” It\’s one of my guilty history pleasures (okay not so guilty because it is well-researched, just…
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Love and Divorce: The Sorrowful Tale of nancy Shippen, Part 11
Louis Otto had been Nancy Shippen Livingston\’s dearest love since she was a bouncy teenager ballancing the attentions of several suitors. It seemed that their lives had parted irreparably when, in 1781, Nancy followed her parents\’ advice and married the wealth Henry Beekman Livingston and Louis Otto contented himself with a bride of his own…
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Isn\'t it Suite? Livingston Furniture Returned to Clermont
It was with great excitement last December that welcomed the donation of three pieces of Livingston furniture back to Clermont. After some time in our cramped temporary storage area, these pieces were gently transported to our Peebles Island Resource Center for conservation and photography. Above at right you can see the sofa, a transitional piece…
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Always Learning: A New Silhouette of Alice
Quite some time ago, I was all excited to have discovered a little sihouette of Janet Livingston, made during the family\’s trip to England in 1921 (at right, Honoria and Janet on Woolacombe beach in North Devon). Because it was the only one in the file box, I had assumed this little card to be…
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"Gown" With the Wind: Is This Alice\'s Wedding Dress?
On Saturday, March 10th (2012) I am giving a lecture about gilded-age costumes. I\’ve got to be honest here: we were all more than a little inspired by the PBS series \”Downton Abbey.\” Quite simply, it\’s gosh-darn beautiful. So anyway, in preparation for the talk, I went prodding around in Clermont\’s own costume collections. The…
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Appleton Manor
Quite a while ago, I wrote a blog about John Henry Livingston\’s first daughter, Katherine. Thirty six years older than daughters Honoria and Janet, Katherine had married and moved to England by the time Alice was moving into Clermont and beginning to redecorate (and revitalize the gardens that Katherine had once cared for). In her…
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Wedding Album
Our wedding coordinator Roberta just sent me this link to a wedding at Clermont featured on the blog Style Me Pretty New York. If you need more convincing that a wedding at Clermont can be absolutely beautiful–well, then I guess I don\’t know what to say to you. Anyway, don\’t miss the adorable croquet pictures.…
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A Photo Tour of Clermont
It occurred to me today that probably most of the 1,000-2,000 visitors to this blog every week have never physically set foot inside of Clermont. Using my internet stalking device (also known as a stat counter), I see that our web visitors come from down the road in Red Hook, New York, glamorous and beautiful…
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"Company at Dinner:" The Sorrowful Tale of Nancy Shippen, part 10
Not all of Nancy\’s life was sorrowful. In fact, the round of parties, teas, and socials she describes are enough to dizzy the modern reader! With the issue of her daughter\’s custody finally at a settlement and her dreadful husband for the moment out of the picture, Nancy Shippen Livingston could rejoin the dazzling Philadelphia…
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From Our Fellow Bloggers
Our good friend and steamboat enthusiast Pete sent us this link to the blog of the Morgan Library & Museum today. Definitely the livliest contemporary image of Robert Fulton that I have seen, the picture had me all in smiles. Don\’t miss the associated essay where Fulton defends his \”invention\” against competitors and interlopers!
Clermont State Historic Site 