Lady Charlotte's Lily Dinnerware

Lady Charlotte’s Lily is reproduced from a pair of porcelain plates, circa 1755, made at the Bow Factory in London and now in the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation collections. Its exquisite lily and anemone are rendered in the deep enameled colors that made expensive British-made porcelains the hottest luxury goods of the 1750s. The aristocracy and “ladies who took tea” competed to own the multi-colored porcelain dinner and tea wares that the finest English companies could make by mid-century.

Edgy designers and innovative technologies enabled English manufacturers such as Bow, Chelsea, and Worcester to painstakingly replicate shapes and decoration perfected by the Chinese. Just as the 18th-century British artisanssucceeded at emulating Chinese colors and techniques, Mottahedeh has brilliantly captured this vibrant floral pattern in a crisp, fresh bouquet for 21st-century tables.

The name honors Lady Charlotte Schreiber, a 19th-century British collector of porcelain and pottery, who gave her collection (including important records of the Bow Factory in east London) to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London’s great museum of decorative arts.

At a Glance:
Porcelain floral dinnerware
Five-piece place setting
10 3/4" dia. dinner plate
8 1/2" dia. dessert/salad plate
6 3/4" dia. bread and butter plate
5 1/2" dia. saucer
2 3/4" dia.; 2 3/4"H cup
Microwave and dishwasher safe
WILLIAMSBURG by Mottahedeh

For more information: http://www.williamsburgmarketplace.com/
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An 18th Century Wedding

Today, as in the 18th century, a wedding is one of life’s most anticipated celebrations. Few things are as deeply steeped in tradition.

In colonial Virginia, marriage was an expected right of passage. Bachelors and single ladies were few and far between. Young women who didn’t marry were considered a burden upon their families and an old maid by age 25. Courtship often began through meeting at a social occasion like a dance or party. As the relationship progressed, “courting candles” would be lit during each meeting—when the candle burned down, courting time was over.

Paternal approval of a prospective spouse was crucial. Whether parents consented to a marriage was generally dependent on financial considerations and social status, rather than romantic love. Prior to marriage, very specific provisions regarding land and wealth were formally arranged. Washington described the widow Martha Custis as an "agreeable consort for life." Her wealth, apparently, did little to diminish her amiability.

The wedding ceremony usually began around midday, with the officiating Anglican minister traveling to the bride's home. The proceedings were taken directly from the English Book of Common Prayer and followed by communion. After the simple ceremony, it was time to party—with lots of food and drink, lasting for several days.

Christmas was actually the most popular time for weddings. The 12 days of Christmas were the height of the colonial social season. Since so many people were already gathered together in a celebratory mood, it made an ideal time to get married. George and Martha Washington wed at her home in Williamsburg during the Christmas season, and several years later, Thomas Jefferson married his wife Martha on New Year’s Day.

In 18th-century Virginia, music and dancing were integral elements at any celebration. Dancing gave young men and women a socially acceptable setting to speak and interact with one another without being overheard by their parents. George Washington was said to have been an exceptional dancer and had dancing slippers imported from London. Unfortunately, Martha Custis Washington did not share her husband's enthusiasm for the activity.

Giving guests or hosts a gifts originally started as a wedding tradition, as early as the 16th century. In the 18th century, guest often received wedding favors like gloves, scarves, garters, or ribbons. In some places, a bowl was passed to collect goods or money for the newlyweds. In others, the groom, riding on a pole, was carried to a pub to treat his friends to a drink. Perhaps the original bachelor party.

Of course, over time, all these traditions have grown and evolved. It’s always fun to follow the time-honored rituals of the past, but also be sure to create at least one new tradition that will make your wedding day uniquely your own.

http://www.williamsburgmarketplace.com/style
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Entertain with a little "Garden Whimsy"

In anticipation of warmer weather (please, please, please!) it's always fun to think about casual entertaining in the garden or ways to bring the elements of the garden into the home to create a tablescape reflecting what you love about the spring season. Here's an excerpt from the WILLIAMSBURG Spring Entertaining Style dvd with Cindy Cragg explaining how you can use the garden's in Colonial Williamsburg's historic area as inspiration for tabletop decorating indoors or out.




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Notes from Paris

When a WILLIAMSBURG product manager and self-proclaimed design addict takes a busman's holiday to Paris she returns loaded with upcoming trends, entertaining stories, and a bit of history. Below, Liza Gusler shares her notes from days of "window licking", window shopping to the French, and absorbing a surprising array of colors and fashions inspired by the 18th century!



“It was obvious that fuchsia and purple were the trend colors, literally saturating storefronts and displays all over Paris. Those who know the Colonial Williamsburg antiques collections will appreciate that pink and purple were the fashion colors of the rococo. They were just as fashionable in 1760s Paris, London, and indeed at the Governor’s Palace in Williamsburg—prized on porcelains and brocaded silks—as they are today in the trendy home furnishings and clothing boutiques in St. Germain and the Marais. Soon you’ll be seeing pinks and purples in glorious WILLIAMSBURG fabrics from Waverly and Schumacher and on the exquisite new “Lady Charlotte’s Lily” dinnerware from Mottahedeh.

Imagine my delight at spying our WILLIAMSBURG licensed “Palace Garden” napkins in the window of the Caspari store on the rue Jacob! No surprise that they would appeal in France-- the gardens of the Governor’s Palace (which inspired the paper products) were partially modeled after Louis XIV’s gardens because Lt. Governor Spotswood, who designed the gardens, owned a book on the gardens at Versailles.



Lisa Fingeret, president (and design genius) of Caspari, is always right on trend. She hosted a gathering of friends at their Paris store and gave me the first proofs of our newest WILLIAMSBURG design, “Le Jardin Chinois.” This luscious pattern of birds and peonies features the same hot pinks and purples I saw all around Paris. The colors were taken straight from the chintz in the Colonial Williamsburg collection that inspired the paper pattern. Lisa, as always, honed in on the fuchsia peonies as fresh from the 18th century and just right for ’09.

The pink and purple theme continued at the Maison et Objet show, the semi-annual home design exhibition that is the largest in the world. Other trends were silvered surfaces and the use of mosaic effects. My favorite section of this amazing display was “Ethnic Chic.” The cultural mélange of furnishings from China, Africa, India, Uzbekistan, etc., proved that global style is as inspiring today as it was in 1693, when William and Mary chartered a college in their royal colony of Virginia. The British monarchs took style lessons from the Sun King. In newly rebuilt London, they adopted Louis XIV’s classical baroque splendor, enhancing it with design ideas from every corner of their growing empire. Queen Mary’s china-filled tea rooms, decorated by the French designer Daniel Marot, were the first Asian-style interiors in England.”
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Richard Charlton's Coffeehouse

In September of 2008, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation began the reconstruction of Richard Charlton’s 18th-century Coffeehouse. The Foundation’s Architectural Historians designed the building to appear as close to the original as our evidence permits, and the plan incorporates the remaining portions of the Coffeehouse’s original foundations. The building’s site, the location of the Cary Peyton Armistead House until 1995, has been the subject of extensive archaeological research in consultation with the Armistead family.

These excavations revealed critical information about the building and its history, in concert with evidence from a number of other sources: The size and shape of the Coffeehouse’s porch was determined by soil samples and the original footings, the site’s historic timeline was filled-in with advertisements and public accounts, details of the building's structure and interior were seen in wooden fragments from the Armistead House, and the day-to-day business of the Coffeehouse was informed by tens of thousands of archaeological fragments.

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s Historic Trades department will be creating much of the construction material, including bricks, rafters, shingles, and metal hardware, using traditional 18th-century building methods.

English coffeehouses appeared in the 17th century and quickly became popular. These establishments provided patrons with new beverages such as coffee, tea, and chocolate. Even more importantly, coffeehouses served as sites for the energetic discussion of politics, news, and business. Despite Williamsburg’s relatively small size, locals sought to emulate the cosmopolitan fashions of Europe, which included this coffeehouse culture.

In the early 1760s, Richard Charlton, a local wigmaker, became proprietor of a newly converted coffeehouse near the Capitol. During the ten years the coffeehouse was open, many important political figures frequented its rooms, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Lieutenant-Governor Francis Fauquier, as well as many merchants and gentry.

Although the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is well known for its historic taverns, the addition of a coffeehouse will provide the chance for guests to experience this specialized social environment; once completed, Charlton’s will be the only reconstructed and interpreted 18th-century coffeehouse in the nation.

Richard Charlton’s Coffeehouse is also significant because of the role that it played in the town’s history. Beyond its list of famous patrons, the Coffeehouse served as an important center of social, political, and business activity within the town, due in part to its proximity to the Capitol.

Finally, the Coffeehouse will be the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s first major reconstruction on the main street of the Historic Area in fifty years. A project of this scale and breadth gives Colonial Williamsburg’s research and trades departments the opportunity to work closely together, utilizing the advances made in scholarship and technology in recent decades.

check out the blog at http://research.history.org/Coffeehouse/Blog/

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The launch of our 2009 marketing theme

Boy, do we have a story to tell... Our rich American heritage, items from our decorative arts collection, and, thanks to you, a strong assortment of reproduced and inspired product provided the foundation for this year's theme. With beautiful imagery and a strong tie to the educational mission of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, we set out to remind the retail world that not only do we have a story to tell but it's a story with a purpose. The collateral for our 2009 theme captured this story and displayed it throughout markets nationwide


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Where trend meets tradition: WILLIAMSBURG to debut on QVC®

This Presidents Day, leading multimedia retailer QVC is marking the occasion with the much-anticipated launch of the WILLIAMSBURG: Home for All Seasons collection.Inspired by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s rich design resources, the new line will make its QVC debut at 2 p.m. (ET) on Monday, Feb. 16.

During the broadcast, WILLIAMSBURG Home Stylist Cindy Cragg will introduce QVC viewers to the collection’s wide array of bedding, rugs, pillows, glassware, lamps, topiaries, wreaths and decorative accessories.

“We are proud to work with QVC to launch our collection,” said Jim Easton, vice president of products for The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. “Presidents Day is an especially timely opportunity since the WILLIAMSBURG brand embodies classic American style and QVC’s support for our educational mission is so important to the relationship.”

The WILLIAMSBURG: Home for All Seasons line will feature a variety of historic pieces that range from quilts designed with antique textiles, to faux boxwood wreaths and topiaries that were inspired by the English boxwood in the Colonial Williamsburg Historic Area. The collection offers consumers the opportunity to bring rich American history into their homes while supporting one of the country’s most important educational institutions.

Sales of WILLIAMSBURG products support the preservation, research and educational programs of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the not-for-profit organization that oversees the restored colonial capital in Williamsburg, Va.


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Tom Hanks narrates public service announcement extolling the importance of CW to the American experience

Award-winning actor and producer Tom Hanks has described Colonial Williamsburg as an important part of the American experience in a video public service announcement produced by a Los Angeles production company. Mr. Hanks, who narrates the 30-second video, appears on screen near the end of the announcement with the Capitol in the Historic Area in the background.

The half-minute message encapsulates the American experience using Historic Area scenes to portray the American dream of land ownership; the ingenuity of historic tradesmen creating products in small, hands-on manufactories; fine craftsmanship as skilled cabinetmakers fashion intricate furniture; the origins of American justice in our early courtrooms; and the perseverance of the enslaved in seeking and securing their eventual freedom. A gathering of Revolutionary-era patriots personifies the “very idea of America itself.”

The video was shot, edited and produced by Herzog Cowen Entertainment, a California production company known for its documentary work and its strong ties to Mr. Hanks’ production firm, Playtone Productions.
The public service announcement will be distributed to television stations and broadcast and cable networks for airing during the year on behalf of the non-profit Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. In addition, the video may be viewed on Colonial Williamsburg’s Web site, www.history.org, at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center and on in-room television throughout the hotels of the Colonial Williamsburg Resort Collection.

“We are very grateful to Tom Hanks for speaking so generously about the Colonial Williamsburg experience,” said Colin G. Campbell, president and CEO of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. “His abiding interest in history is not only evident from this video, but also from his past leadership of an impressive range of high-quality historical productions, including the multiple award winning HBO miniseries, ‘John Adams’ a portion of which was filmed in Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area.”

In the interest of authenticity, Colonial Williamsburg experts and historians provided extensive knowledge and advice to Herzog Cowen Entertainment during filming of the public service announcement and to the production company filming “John Adams” in Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area. In the 2008 HBO special, “The Making of John Adams,” Mr. Hanks—along with lead actors Paul Giamatti and David Morse, director Tom Hooper and author/historian David McCullough—cited Colonial Williamsburg for its authenticity and assistance in the production.

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