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Artifact Spotlight: Tea Time

11/27/2018

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With tickets now on sale for our yearly Tea Party at the Ingomar Club in Carson Mansion,  we wanted to share some more information on the history of tea parties- and some photos of the beautiful tea sets we have in the museum collections!

Tea in England

While nowadays tea and England are seen as inseparable as pumpkin spice and autumn, it wasn’t always that way. Tea was traditionally grown and cultivated in Asia and arrived in England via trade routes, however in the early 1800s, tea was being cultivated in England and decreasing in price, making it more available to the general public. Before widespread sanitation practices, tea could be safer than commonly available drinking water due to boiling the water before steeping the tea.
As with most fashion trends, tea parties started with the royalty. Traditionally, meals in England were eaten twice a day: Breakfast in the early morning and dinner around 8 pm. The Duchess of Bedford (who happened to be a close friend of Queen Victoria of Victorian Era fame), began ordering tea and snacks in the early afternoon to fend off what she called a “sinking feeling” in the afternoon. The afternoon snacking session grew when she began inviting friends for tea and gossip and the concept of a tea party caught on like wildfire. With Queen Victoria’s attendance at some of these teas, they became staples of society and were mimicked with modifications by the middle and lower classes, creating a myriad of tea events such as
  • elevensies: not only for hobbits, this is England’s morning coffee time
  • meat tea or high tea: served when people came home from work, but before 8 pm dinner, featured what is more like a multiple courses of heartier snacks with tea
  • afternoon tea: early afternoon casual snacking and tea time
  • cream tea: Tea with scones and clotted cream, the most basic of teas
  • royale tea: Tea served after champagne or before sherry
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Etiquette writers in true, social structuring fashion, took on the trend and devised books of rules on how to behave before and during tea parties, including how people are invited, how to RSVP, who serves what, and if servants should or shouldn’t be present (after all, you wanted to be sure they didn’t hear the gossip that was undoubtedly being passed around during the party). The parties ranged in size from small, intimate affairs, to an event with 200 people in attendance. The rise of tea parties didn’t just affect how people socialized, but had effects that reached outward to how homes were built (with parlors to accommodate guests for tea) and fashion (with the rise of a looser-fitting dresses that were called tea gowns). There are even records of interior designers working with fashion designers to coordinate dresses with colors and patterns present in parlors, to ensure that the hostess and her parlor were complementary during tea time.
While the concept of tea time hasn’t become something of a daily ritual in America as it is in England, the tea parties made it into the American imagination through books like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which originated right around the same time as the rise in popularity of tea time.

Cups, Mustaches, handles, and saucers: A brief history of the teacup

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Chawan with hare's fur pattern and black glaze, Jian ware, from Jianyang in China, Song dynasty (Wikipedia)
Teacups, of course, are central to the concept of tea, and over time, their appearance has changed. The earliest teacups from Asia were small, with no handles. These kinds of tea cups are still in use today around the world.
With time, a saucer, or small plate that the teacup sits on, was added to serve a double purpose: protect the teacup carrier from the hot sides of the teacup, and as a method to cool hot tea by pouring the tea from the cup into the saucer and sipping from the saucer rather than the cup. A handle was eventually added to the cup itself, which led to the saucer being more of a decorative element rather than a utilitarian one.  
Part of a tea set originally owned by HH Buhne.
​Ella Craddock Brown Collection.
Mustache tea cup
With the rise of the perfectly shaped wax mustache in men (attributed to the enforcement of mustaches as part of the British military uniform), the “mustache teacup”, or more simply mustache cup was invented. The cup featured a shelf on the inside of the cup to protect the wax on the mustache from melting when it came in contact the with the steam that rose off of hot tea. With the decline of the waxed mustache, mustache teacups also fell out of style.
A third kind of teacup actually resembles more of a bowl-teacup hybrid: the two-handled teacup. This cup held consomme (a type of soup) or other treats at tea parties when the hostess didn’t want to get a soup bowl. The double handles also made it easier to feed soup or broth to ill people who may not be able to drink from a cup with one handle or a bowl with no handles. They were also used for hot chocolate, another favorite drink during the Victorian period. ​
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Double handled tea cup
While looking through the collections to find teacups for this article, I came across this little gem of a cup shaped like a shell. Turns out it was a souvenir purchased in Arcata! 
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We hope to see you at our upcoming tea party at the Carson Mansion! If you haven't gotten tickets yet, be sure to purchase them here! Not a member but want to attend? You can sign up to be a member here or stop by the museum to sign up!
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The End of November? Already?!

11/20/2018

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This year FLEW by at the Museum, and as we were compiling our annual report, we had the difficult decision of determining what the highlights of our year were. There were a LOT of highlights to choose from, which I take as a great sign. You can see what made the cut in our freshly-published Annual Report here!
Annual Report
Celebrations and festivals around this time of year across cultures focus on the idea of being thankful for the bounty at the end of the harvest season, and celebrating the gains of the last year in preparation for a new year.  
At the Museum, there's a lot to be thankful for this year.  
  • A great partnership with the Humboldt Made Visitor Center, which has expanded museum hours and helped us share our mission with both tourists and our local community through longer hours and joint events.
  • A fabulous team of volunteers donating their time, knowledge, and efforts to help with the never-ending lists of projects, leading tours, and working with the public to promote knowledge of local history.
  • Partnerships with other non-profits and private businesses.
  • The continued support of our members, visitors, and community.
  • A staff team that is small but mighty.
  • Our blog readers! Thank you for reading, commenting, and liking our posts!
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Here are our staff’s favorite memories from this past year:

Ben, Museum Director: My favorite moment occurred during the Arts and Cultural Festival. While the public was writing personal reflections on what the redwoods mean to them, a woman got teary-eyed while telling me about how important the redwoods are for her, particularly during a difficult time in her life. The event really brought the community together, everyone I saw that day really had a positive experience, I don't remember ever seeing so many happy Eurekans at one time!
Brittany: my favorite memory of 2018 has been helping out with tabling and wheat-pasting for the Clarke's Opera Alley exhibit during the Eureka Street Art Festival and people sharing their favorite memories of the Redwoods. As well as getting to see the Native American collection more in depth and seeing something new every day.
Katie: ​ My favorite memory for this year was hosting our Redwood National and State Parks exhibit opening on July 7! I have a long history with the National Parks and putting together an exhibit and event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Redwood National and State Parks was a fantastic experience for me. It was a really fun event and I'm happy that the exhibit was received so warmly.

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Part of looking back is also looking forward- where do we want to go? What do we want to do next year? What do we want to do differently this next year? We’ve already got fun plans for next year including:
  • Three main hall exhibits on early industries, quilting in Humboldt County and prohibition.
  • A new exhibit space for our antique weaponry exhibit and natural history exhibits
  • New exhibits in Nealis Hall on dresses and basketry designs (and more!)
  • New flooring and restored historic lighting fixtures!
  • Continued work on restoring the interior of our historic building
  • A public art installation featuring replica cutouts of the Romano Gabriel sculptures painted by local school kids
  • A new round of fascinating docent training opportunities including a Yurok Language workshop, tours of Nealis Hall focusing on basketry design and construction, and more (consider becoming a volunteer docent to take advantage of these workshops!)
  • Our famous yearly Labor Day Block Party
  • Participation in new Old Town traditions like the Friday Night Market and the Eureka Street Art Festival
  • Members-only previews before the opening of new exhibits
  • New Opera Alley, Artist Wall and Community case exhibits including displays on CERT Humboldt, Humboldt Sponsors, Mark Alder’s artwork, and local baseball.


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With the end of the year, we’re launching our yearly Membership Drive with a goal of reaching 300 members-right now, we’re at 271! 

With an action-packed year ahead of us, 2019 is a great year to become a member and get in on the action. Your membership helps us keep the lights on and the doors open, put on fun events and share stories from our county’s past with kids, visitors, and our community,. As we always say: History is for Everyone!
Please consider joining us in 2019 as a member as part of this year’s membership drive- or getting a membership for a friend or family member this holiday season.  

Thanks for reading, we’ll see you at the Clarke!

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The Second Cora Wright

11/18/2018

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It turns out that our current display of Cora Wright’s works may include the works of two artists-both named Cora Wright, who were both painting around the same time period.
The second Cora Wright was Cora Alice Akers Wright, who was born in 1908 in Coalinga, CA. In 1936, she settled down in Arroyo Grande, CA and founded the El Camino Art Association. Her work, like Cora Wright’s work, was shown at a number of State Fairs and Exhibitions. She passed away in 1992.
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Cora Alice Akers Wright, Photo from findagrave.com

How Can You Tell?

Although some of Cora Wright’s paintings are unsigned, a closer look at the signed ones reveals an interesting detail. The style of Cora’s signatures varies slightly, but usually includes a characteristic side to side squiggle under the g in Wright. The second Cora’s signature is fully capitalized, with a capital G in place of the characteristic squiggle. It also looks like this painting features trees reminiscent of pepper trees, which grow in the southern part of the state where Cora Alice Akers Wright was painting. Check out the comparison photos below:

Cora Alice Akers Wright

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Cora B. Wright

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The Museum was previously unaware of Cora Alice Akers Wright and we are happy to share this new development with you! We would like to thank Eric Klepl for sharing this insight with us.  
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A Clock Ticks at the Clarke

11/11/2018

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If you've been by the Museum in the last week or so, you may have seen a scaffolding set up with a light on top and a person meticulously chipping away at the area around the historic bank clock.
The Clock on the wall was part of the original, 1912 Albert Pissis-designed Bank of Eureka Building, which you can see in the photo to the right, c 1920-1930. In this same photo, the walls and ceilings had colored details, although due to the dates of the photo, we were unsure of what those colors were. For a long time, we've been hoping to figure out what the colors were and restore them, as the paint would highlight and draw attention to the elaborate plaster work that covers the main hall.
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The clock (as seen from the Visitor Center) before the restoration.
This year, Lisa Jarrow cracked the code: using special paint excavation techniques, she chipped away at more recent coats of paint to reveal the historic colors beneath. This week, she chipped away more of the paint and painted the wreath around the clock face to its historic gold color. She also cleaned up the marble in the clock face to restore it to its original appearance. 
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Lisa Jarrow's ketch of the restored clock area.
The long-term plan is to restore the building interior to its original appearance, by repainting the wall and ceiling detailing, updating lighting, and re-installing previously removed chandeliers. We always say that our historic building is our number one artifact and, following protecting the building with our recently installed new roof, restoration is the second step we take to ensure that its historical value remains intact. 
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Day 1
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Day 2
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Painting finished-for now

What's Next?

Electricians from Bob White Electric, who also helped to sponsor this project, came by last week to determine how the clock is wired and how to update the wiring to modern standards for safety and will be powering up the clock within a few weeks. It's been about 10 years since the clock worked, and we're excited for it to start ticking again! 

Thank you to the following individuals and companies for making this project a reality!

Lisa Jarrow
Bob White Electric
​Chuck Petty
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Local Veterans Portraits on Display at Redwood Curtain Theater

11/6/2018

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We're happy to share the press release about a recent collaboration with Eureka's Redwood Curtain Theater to display part of the Katherin Burleson local Veteran portrait collection, which is housed at the Clarke Museum.

Redwood Curtain welcomes a unique exhibit to their lobby gallery walls for the months of October and November. Working in conjunction with the Clarke Museum, the theatre gallery will feature portraits of Humboldt County Veterans as drawn by local artist Kathrin Burleson. Burleson created a portrait project after getting involved with the Honor Flight program several years ago. Honor Flight is an organization that takes World War II (WWII) veterans to Washington DC to see the memorial built in their honor. While on the Honor Flight as a travel companion, Burleson started drawing portraits of the flight participants. The project grew to document all of Humboldt County’s WWII veterans and there are currently 170 portraits.  
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After starting the portrait project, Burleson recognized the historical significance of the undertaking – particularly as most of the veterans she has drawn are no longer living and the ones still alive are in their 90s. This project took Burleson the better part of two years. She found it was a beautiful way to honor service men and women from Humboldt County and to learn many interesting stories along the way and she says it’s been one of her favorite projects.
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The Clarke Museum provides the permanent home to Burleson’s service member portraits. They are on display electronically through the museum’s website and at the museum’s permanent WWII Memorial located at the Humboldt County Airport. Redwood Curtain Theatre is pleased to have this interesting collaboration with the Clarke Museum and the timing of the show nicely coincides with Veterans Day.
Veteran portraits will be on display in the gallery at Redwood Curtain Theatre for the months of October and November, and through the theatrical production of Ripcord. The Redwood Curtain theatre and gallery are located at 220 1st Street, Eureka. For additional information about Arts Alive at Redwood Curtain Theatre, the veteran portrait show or the upcoming theatre production visit www.redwoodcurtain.com or call the theatre at 707-443-7688.
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New Exhibit! Cora Wright's 150th Birthday

11/2/2018

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This November's Arts Alive will feature the opening of a new exhibit of artwork by Cora Wright in celebration of her 150th birthday this December. Below is a short telling of Cora's life in Eureka with her husband Charles and son, Carl. 

Cora Wright (1868-1948) was born in Martinez, CA and was later trained by Manuel Valencia, a well-known painter of landscapes and Mission scenes in Marin County. Cora moved to Eureka in 1888 after marrying Charles Wright, a jeweler originally from Michigan. Charles ran a successful jewelry shop while Cora ran a painting studio out of the house that Charles had built, which still stands today at 1230 H Street in Eureka. The Dutch Colonial style home was built in 1905 with custom stained glass windows designed by Charles Wright.  
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The Wright family home
 Cora taught classes in easel and ceramic painting in her home studio, and produced a plethora of her own works featuring still life subjects, redwoods, and scenery from the Klamath River area. She was very popular in Humboldt County, with her works collected by Sarah Carson (wife of lumber baron William Carson) and museum founder Cecile Clarke. Some of her artwork was even displayed in the Humboldt County exhibits at state and international exhibitions, including the Panama Pacific International Exposition (1915), California State Fair (1926) and the Golden Gate International Exposition (1939).  
After the passing of Cora and Charles, the home was owned by State Senator Arthur and Dorothy Way. It was restored by Sandra and Gerry Peterson and 2001, the Clarke Museum loaned out a number of Cora Wright’s works to the owners of her house, so the works could be displayed for viewing during a museum fundraiser that was held in the home. The paintings have since been returned to the museum and are on display in celebration of Cora Wright’s 150th birthday.
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Cora, Charles, Carl and their family dog

Some of Cora Wright's Work on Display in this Exhibit:

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    ​Posts created by Katie Buesch, Interim Director-Curator unless otherwise noted.

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Clarke Historical Museum
240 E Street
​Eureka, California 95501
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(707) 443-1947
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Open until 8:30 p.m. during Friday Night Markets
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