Have you seen Villa Finale’s collection of Fairings? Fairings are small porcelain figures – ranging from three inches to no more than five inches – that depict a variety of political or domestic scenes, usually with humor – they were the “memes” of their era, if you will. The term was used for a variety of prizes awarded mainly at English country fairs but somehow, the name “Fairing” would be forever tied to these charming miniatures which could be won or purchased for only a few pence by happy fairgoers.
Fairing showing the “joys” of parenthood. (From the Villa Finale Collection.)
Popular amongst the working classes between 1850 and 1914, the figures were not only humorous but many times, rather risqué – oh, my! Among the popular domestic themes for Fairing collectors were unhappy marriages, affairs, drunkenness, and, well, you get the picture!
A fairing known as a “bedpiece” with the caption “Returning at one o’clock in the morning.” (From the Villa Finale Collection.)
Villa Finale’s collection of Fairings can be found in the Green Sitting Room upstairs and could be difficult to spot. However, beginning on February 13th, we will have many of these on display during one of our annual “mini exhibits.” The mini-exhibit called “The Wonderful World of Fairings” will be on view in the museum’s Dining Room table. Come see these fascinating little figures up close when you visit during a self-guided tour. Warning: blushing may occur!
Aluminum Christmas trees were all the rage between 1958 and the mid-1960s. The shiny trees had branches with aluminum needles and were produced in a variety of colors. Many came with a spinning color wheel to add more “pizzaz” as the lights would shine from below and bounce off the reflective aluminum material. Imagine sitting in your mid-century modern home while having the lights from one of these babies bouncing off your wood paneled walls!
Putting the final touches on her aluminum treasure (from Vintage Everyday).
Aluminum Christmas trees weren’t cheap, either. Mostly manufactured by the Aluminum Specialty Company of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the trees retailed for $25.00 each or $265.00 in today’s values. The Sears catalog advertised the trees for those who were “sure to be the talk of your neighborhood” … $25.00 to make the “Joneses” next door green with envy? Sign me up!
So many sizes, so many colors, so many choices! (From themorningnews.org)
Enter the Peanuts gang who in 1965 starred in the now classic A Charlie Brown Christmas. In the holiday special, Charlie Brown picks out the only live tree on the Christmas lot, a sad little sprout sitting amongst fancy, expensive aluminum trees. The sorry little tree comes to life after the gang decorates it with love: the spirit of Christmas conquered over commercialism! Thus began the decline in popularity of the shimmering faux spruce. Aluminum Christmas trees stopped being produced in 1967, just two years after the release of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Afterall, no one wanted to look as if they were putting commercialism ahead of the TRUE meaning of Christmas!
Linus and Charlie Brown look for the perfect tree in a lot full of aluminum choices in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (from doyouremember.com).
In today’s era of Christmas light wars, inflatable lawn Santas, and snowflake projections, the aluminum Christmas tree has made a comeback as a fun piece of nostalgia to, once again, be the “talk” of your neighbors. You can find one of these glittery nine-foot darlings – color wheel included – for a mere $2,995.00 on eBay. That $25.00 price tag of the 1960s is looking real good right about now!
The more things change, the more they stay the same. *sigh* (From arbico-organics.blogspot.com)
Napoleon died while in exile in 1821 on the island of St. Helena in British custody and was buried there. Before his death, Napoleon had expressed in his will that he wished to be buried on the banks of the Siene “in the midst of the French people, whom I loved so much.”
This wish however was not to be granted for another twenty years
France Really Loves Revolutions
In the years during Napoleon’s initial exile to St. Elba and then St. Helena, the French Senate had invited the brother of the ill-fated Louis XVI and brother-in-law of Marie Antoinette, Louis Stanislas Xavier to be king of the French as Louis XVIII. He and his immediate successor, Charles X, were not keen on stoking Bonapartist fervor any more than necessary. So, while Napoleon’s remains being in British custody was only meant to be temporary, it did not seem like Napoleon would be returning to France anytime soon.
Charles X (from Wikicommons)Louis XVIII (from Wikipedia)
In 1830 it was apparent Charles X had not learned from the mistakes of his older brothers. Charles X rolled back the gains made by the French Revolution, restricted the press, and attempted to dissolve the newly elected legislative branch of the French parliament, making him incredibly unpopular.
In July of that year he was overthrown in what was to be called the ‘July Revolution’ and his cousin, Louis-Phillipe I of the Orleanist branch of the Bourbon family, was installed as King of the French shortly afterwards.
Louis Phillipe (from Wikicommons)
Okay, so let’s try this monarchy thing, again.
Louis Phillipe I began his reign as a fairly popular and liberal-minded monarch. He avoided the flashy pomp and overspending of his predecessors and was supported by the wealthy bourgeoise, steering a middle course between the ultra-royalists on one side and the republicans and Bonapartists on the other.
Louis-Philip and his ministers wanted to reconcile the Ancien Regime, the name ofthe French monarchy pre-revolution, with the Republicans and Bonapartists. In an effort to recapture the glories of France and boost the image of the monarchy, Louis Philip and his prime ministers hatched the idea of bringing Napoleon’s body back to France.
In May 1840 Louis-Phillipe I and his ministers, some of whom were very against this whole venture, put in a request with the British government for the return of Napoleon’s body. The request was approved, a lot quicker than many wanted, and Louis-Phillipe and his Ministers started preparations.
Debate erupted in the public papers and in the French Parliament where Napoleon should be buried and what manner. Some thought Napoleon should be buried at the Cathedral of St. Denis, the traditional burial ground of the kings of France. Some suggested the Parthenon De Paris or the Arc De Triomphe, which was built by Napoleon. Eventually Les Invalides, which was built as a home for old and disabled soldiers by Louis XIV, was chosen as it was already the resting place of several of France’s top generals.
Hotel Les Invalides (from Wikipedia)
Francois d’Orleans, the Prince of Joinville, Louis-Phillipe’s third son and a career naval officer( as well as a noted painter who would later serve in the US Army in the American Civil war with his sons), was chosen to lead the expedition to bring back Napoleon’s remains. On July 7th this expedition set out with several officials, members of Napoleon’s household staff that had been at his funeral on St. Helena twenty years before, and military officers on the Belle-Poule and escorted by the Favorite.
Francois d’Orleans, the Prince of Joinville (from Wikimedia Commons)
The mission took 93 days to reach St. Helena, mainly because of the young age of most of officials and officers, it turned into something of a pleasure cruise, with several stops including Cadiz Spain, Madeira Portugal, a stop in the Canary Islands, and Bahia, Brazil.
The Exhumation
Finally, on October 8th the Belle-Poule and Favorite finally made landfall on St. Helena and it was agreed with the British Governor of St. Helena that the remains would be turned over to the French on October 15th.
On October the 14th at midnight, the exhumation party stood in the Valley of the Tomb surrounding Napoleon’s grave. It was a simple affair with three stone slabs even at ground level, surrounded by an iron grate over the tomb and the whole thing was surrounded by a fence.
Earlier in the evening the French soldiers had removed the first layer of top soil, sharing among themselves the flowers that had been growing there. The rest of the work was to be done by British soldiers present. After the British soldiers lifted the slabs and while a priest recited a blessing the coffin was raised and taken to a tent where it could be opened, in order to examine Napoleon’s remains.
Napoleon had been buried in three coffins all nestled in one another. The outer coffin was mahogany, with a second inner coffin made of tin and a third and final coffin made of lead.
When the final coffin was opened, the onlookers were met with a shapeless white form, causing concern about the state of the emperor’s body, but this turned out to the linen lining of the coffin that had become detected from the lid.
When it was pulled back, they found the body to be in remarkably good condition, with many witnesses writing later that he looked as someone “lately preserved” as in someone who had just been embalmed (which Napoleon was not) and buried. While some of his features were sunken in or shrunken, he was very much still recognizable.
Napoleon had been buried in the uniform of the mounted chasseurs (which was his favorite) complete with his honors and his hat, his boots were worse for wear, having decayed to the point his feet showed through.
Placed between his legs were two silver vessels holding the remains of his heart and his stomach. Removing, embalming, and casketing organs was not unusual for the time and it was common practice to have your heart or viscera buried elsewhere, usually a church that held special significance or with family members who were entombed elsewhere. Napoleon had wanted his heart sent to his wife Marie Louise, but the Governor of St. Helena had declined this request and so these vessels were instead placed between Napoleon’s legs and buried with him.
Check out our video on our model of Napoleon’s casket!
Napoleon in casket (from Wikipedia)
Satisfied that the remains were in good condition, the coffins were closed, resealed and placed inside another coffin made of ebony and another made of oak, with the whole thing weighing a total of 1200 kilograms or about 2200 pounds. The coffin was then draped in a black velvet pall, embroidered with bees and crowned imperial eagles and placed on a hearse and carried to the ship.
Painting by the Prince of Joinville (from Wikipedia)
The Return
On October 18th, the Belle-Poule and her escort ships set sail for France. Meanwhile, preparations in France had begun in earnest. The government under Louis-Phillipe had changed, and eager to avoid the possibility of a military coup (led by Napoleon III), preparations were rushed. Despite initial plans for the funeral to include a civil cortege made up of law and medical students, the new government insisted that the funeral be a strictly military one.
Many structures that would line the funeral route were put up the night before, made of plaster and gilt and the effect, according to author Victor Hugo, was lost:
“Around the Arc de Triomphe stages and raised seating had been built so that everyone could see as the funeral processed by. There were portable kitchens in full swing, getting up potatoes and sausages in such an inviting way that ere noon they had all disappeared. There were besides lemonadiers, and to the annoyance of the resident cafetiers, brandy merchants.”
Then came the intellectual large sheets-some colored, some plain,-with all manner of representations of the Emperor, ascending to or seated in Heaven, surrounded by his old guard or emerging from his tomb at St. Helena, which were thrust before every passenger and eagerly purchased. Another set of merchants sold you, for three sous each, gilt or plated medals commemorative of the occasion…”
On December 10th the coffin was transferred to a small steamboat to be brought up the Seine as thousands lined the riverbank. Waiting for the cortege in Courbevoie was the funeral carriage that would carry Napoleon’s body to Les Invalidies.
Funeral carriages or hearses originally were wood or metal frames placed around the bier or coffin, that separated the coffin from the rest of the church or chapel where they were placed prior to burial. These would hold the funeral pall and eventually this grew to mean the carriage that carried the body to their burial site. For those of particularly high status these carriages could be quite elaborate decorated.
Hearse of James I (copyright Westminster Abbey)
Napoleon’s was no exception. His funeral carriage was more of a triumphal car, or what we might think of as a very elaborate parade float than a carriage meant for a sober funeral.
It was twenty-five feet long with four massive wheels and gilt decoration, while the first tier was six feet high. A semi-circular platform was at the front with gilt figures holding the crown of Charlemagne. On the back rose another pedestal, this time eighteen feet long and seven feet high, at the top of which stood fourteen female figures draped in gold and purple clothes which were decorated with the heraldic arms of Napoleon. These figures supported a model of Napoleon’s sarcophagus draped in a funeral pall. The whole carriage weighed nearly 13 tons and had to be pulled by sixteen horses all draped in black velvet for the occasion.
It brings a whole new meaning to the phrase “go big or go home.”
When his coffin was transferred to the funeral carriage it was placed in the base where it could not be seen by the public – most likely out of a combination of respect and to try to limit inspiring Bonapartist passions.
Victor Hugo commented that “This is the carriage’s great defect. It hides what one wants to see: that which France has reclaimed, what people are awaiting, what eyes are looking for- the coffin of Napoleon.”
Napoleon’s funeral cortege (from Reddit)
Louis-Phillipe and his government had intended the funeral be a strictly military affair, again trying to limit any revolutionary furor, and declined requests from law and medical students in Paris the right to join the funeral cortege.
The students decided to join anyway and followed behind members of Napoleon’s household and veterans of the Napoleonic wars singing the national anthem, shouting “Death to the English!” and “Death to Francois Guizot!” who had recently become the foreign minister and was very, very unpopular. So overall it sounds like it was a great time!
The funeral procession eventually reached Les Invalides around 1:30pm and was greeted by King Louis Phillipe and his officials, members of the royal family of France, and some of the royal family of Spain. None of the Bonapartes were in attendance, mostly due to the fact they had all been banished from France.
The Prince of Joinville was supposed to make a grand speech, but everyone involved neglected to tell him beforehand and instead, when meeting the King, he announced “Sire, I present to you the body of Emperor Napoleon.” To which Louis Philip mumbled a reply, “I receive it in the name of France.”
Louis Philip then asked General Betrand, who had accompanied Napoleon into exile, to place the emperor’s sword worn at Austerlitz and Marengo, but Betrand was so overwhelmed with emotion the task had to fall to a different general present.
A mass was held and Mozart’s Requiem was performed by the principle singers of both the French and Italian Operas, and those in attendance fought to get a better view of their favorite. After the service, Napoleon’s coffin was left lying in state for two weeks to allow the public to come view it before it was moved into the chapel of St. Jerome in Les Invalides.
It would be another twenty years before Napoleon was finally laid to rest in the great Dome of Les Invalides by his nephew, Napoleon III
Napoleon’s tomb (from Wikicommons)
The aftermath and, well, that didn’t last very long
While Louis-Phillipe had hoped that this event would lend majesty, increase the popularity of his reign and his government, and reconcile the competing political factions that came about after the revolution, those wishes did not come to pass. Much of the population felt they had been denied the chance to pay proper respects to Napoleon, and the lack of respect from the important personages at the funeral in Paris angered many. Hugo wrote, “The government seemed to fear the phantom they were summoning up.”
As a result, the government began to fear the possibility of riots and began clamping down on people gathering in large groups, resulting in a growing rift and distrust between the people and their government. Eventually, Louis-Phillipe was forced to abdicate on February 24, 1848, was exiled along with his family, and France was once again a Republic.
Or at least until a coup d’état in 1851 resulted in the establishment of the French Empire under Napoleon III.
On a cool December morning, just over a decade since the execution of Louis XVI and only five years since the end of the French Revolution, France was once again a monarchy. Not only that, but it was an Empire.
A Bloody Start
France in the late 18th and early 19th century was a bit of a mess, to put it mildly. The French Revolution began quietly in 1789, while France was in the clutches of a financial crisis. Up until this point France had been an absolute monarchy with power and the finances of the state held firmly by the Crown. The worsening financial crisis though prompted the king to call the Estates General to solve these issues and create reforms.
Eventually though, these attempts at reforms and compromise failed, and on August 10th 1792 the monarchy, called the Ancien Regime, was abolished and the First Republic was declared. On January 17th 1793 Louis XVI was executed by guillotine.
Execution of Louis XVI (from Wikicommons).
While historians debate the exact time, that year began what we now call the Reign of Terror, a series of mass public executions, by the Committee of Public Safety. France’s National Convention was at war with seemingly the whole of Europe and the Committee of Public Safety was charged with protecting the fledging republic against its enemies in whatever form that took. Soon though, the Committee was essentially running the French government and thousands were killed as “enemies” of the state and the Revolution.
By the time the Terror ended in 1794, it is estimated that the death count was between 30,000 to 50,000 people. Sixteen thousand given to the guillotine all across France, some ten thousand dying in prison, not to mention the thousands killed without official trials or in mass executions such as the Drowning of the Nantes.
In July 1794, a new constitution began to be drafted and a bicameral legislature was established and in 1795, The Directory period began, led by a committee of five men elected from the new legislature and a slightly – ever so slightly – stable government began.
And it was here where Napoleon Bonaparte stepped on to the international stage
Out of the Chaos
Napoleon was the son of a Corsican noble. Corsica had just been seceded to France the year before his birth from the city-state of Genoa and his father’s work for the new French government as well as other family connections afforded him more opportunities than the average Corsican.
He was able to attend school on the mainland and was considered an excellent student by his teachers. In 1784 he enrolled in the Ecole Militaire in Paris and completed the two-year course in one primarily because of lack of funds.
After graduation he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the first artillery regiment. He spent much of the Revolution back in Corsica fighting a three-way battle between the Royalist, Revolutionaries and the Nationalists, who fought for an independent Corsica.
When he returned to France he quickly rose through the ranks of the army, having helped suppress royalist insurrections and after success fighting on the battlefield, was named brigadier general at the age of 24. Three years later he was named Commander of the Interior and was in command of the Army of Italy.
Young Napoleon Bonaparte (from Wikicommons).
In September of 1799, Napoleon staged a coup d’état and took control of the French government, essentially ending the first republic and setting himself up as Consul of France. Unfortunately, simply being Consul did not lend itself to convincing many citizens that the government was stable and there were many attempts on his life. Add in that Napoleon was still leading the army and the relative stability that had been achieved didn’t seem so stable anymore.
Thus, in the spring of 1804, he launched a referendum and was “elected” Emperor of the French by an overwhelming majority, though his brother is believed by historians to have probably put his finger on the scale to ensure this result.
After Napoleon was declared Emperor of the French, his coronation was planned with his eagle eye toward detail.
It’s All About Image
Napoleon was worried about the appearance of legitimacy in the eyes of the rest of Europe. After all, he had supported the Revolution that had overthrown the Ancien Regime, he wasn’t royal, and there were Bourbons still around with a claim to the throne of France.
There was a rush to create a royal court around Napoleon and Josephine, who he had married in 1796. He started to revive royal traditions, restructuring his house and that of Josephine’s much like that of the Ancien Regime complete with the same titles for those close to them. Etiquette now ruled every facet of court life, much like it had at Versailles. Napoleon and Josephine took up residence in the Tuileries Palace in Paris.
Napoleon embraced the idea that he was a new Charlemagne, and that his new empire was the heir to its medieval precursor, stuffing the almost nine hundred years of monarchical rule in-between behind the proverbial curtain.
Engraving of Charlemagne by Theodoro Matteini 1792, (from Wikicommons).
Napoleon even borrowed symbols that were associated with Charlemagne to reinforce this connection. The eagle was associated with the Carolingian Empire, and the bee, which was Napoleon’s personal emblem and symbolized diligence and industriousness, was associated with Childric I, who ruled Gaul during the Roman Empire.
Most of the regalia used during the coronations during the Ancien Regime was destroyed, lost, or melted down, and so new pieces were made. The crown of Charlemagne, which was used for centuries for the coronation, was one of the pieces lost so Napoleon had a new crown made in a pseudo-medieval style and called it the Crown of Charlemagne.
Crown of Charlemagne (from Wikicommons).
He even invited Pope Pius VIII to officiate the coronation, mirroring when Charlemagne was crowned by Pope Leo III as Holy Roman Emperor in 800 AD. This was important, as during the Revolution Catholicism was banned and relations between France and the Vatican had been tense. Inviting the Pope to consecrate Napoleon as emperor was to help smooth over relations with Catholics in France, but also show Napoleon’s power over the church. It was also maybe a slight thumbing at the Ancien Regime, who had only been crowned by a bishop.
Preparations for the coronation and consecration of Napoleon began very quickly and were completed in record time. The embroiderers of Paris had so much work, they had to send to Lyon for relief workers to help with preparations. The decision was made to host the coronation at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, as it was a bigger venue and could hold upwards of 20,000 people, over the traditional venue of Rheims Cathedral.
Everything was planned in minute detail. From order of service to the prayers and hymns, nothing was left out or done without Napoleon’s approval.
The Day of the Coronation
The day of the coronation started off cool and overcast. Napoleon woke at 8:00am to the sound of cannon fire and at 11:00am he and Josephine departed to Notre Dame de Paris in their carriage drawn by eight horses, surrounded by guards from the Mounted Grenadiers and the Elite Gendarmes. It must have been quite the sight because it wasn’t only Napoleon and Josephine’s carriage in this procession, but almost forty carriages filled with government officials, courtiers, and members of the imperial family.
Pierre François Léonard Fontaine Arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris for his coronation (from Wikicommons).
The couple arrived at Notre Dame just before noon. A special pavilion had been built along Notre Dame to allow the most important dignitaries and guests to depart from their carriages without being exposed to the elements. It was elaborately decorated with large tapestries of beautiful scenes.
After a quick costume change for Napoleon, they entered the Cathedral to a four-hundred person choir singing Paisiello’s Mass. Not only that, but there were two orchestras and numerous military bands composed of an estimated three hundred musicians to play for the magnificent event. {Link to music via YouTube}
Napoleon and Josephine entered dressed in white with the trim shot through with real gold thread. Every inch of the coronation was dripped in symbolism and meaning even down to the clothes. While Napoleon’s coronation robes have not survived, we can look to contemporary pieces that do to give us an idea of what the splendor of that day must of have felt like.
This piece is believed to be similar to what Napoleon would have worn on his coronation day, probably on the way to the cathedral.
Instead of the blue associated with the Ancien Regime, red and purple associated with imperial Rome was used for the colors of the ermine lined robes during the coronation and were delicately embroidered with the Napoleonic bee instead of the Bourbon fleur-de-lis. Napoleon’s robes invoked images of a Roman senator, while the raised collar on Josephine’s dress might have been a call back to the style favored by Catherine de Medici.
If you come to Villa Finale, you can see pieces in our collection showing the Emperor and Empress in their coronation robes!
Empress Josephine in Coronation Robes (from Wikicommmons)From the Villa Finale Collection.From the Villa Finale Collection.
The ceremony lasted about three hours, between the Mass and the religious and secular ceremonies that had to take place, which made it a bit of an ordeal for those in attendance. Some snuck in drinks and snacks and some would discreetly sneak outside for a breath of fresh air before returning to their seats!
The coronation took place in the sanctuary of the church and the ceremony mixed elements from the traditional ceremony used by the Ancien Regime and that of Ancient Rome, further connecting the ancient world with Napoleon’s new world. In a departure from most coronations, where the consort would be consecrated and crowned only after the sovereign had gone through all the rituals first, Josephine was consecrated immediately after Napoleon.
The pivotal moment of the whole event, however, was the crowning. Napoleon took the crown of Charlemagne from the high altar and placed it upon his head before the assemblage before placing it briefly on Josephine’s head. Scholars still debate if this was something that Napoleon did to spite Pope Pius or if it was something planned ahead of time between the two of them beforehand. We may never truly know.
From the Villa Finale Collection.
In any case, Pope Pius proclaimed “Vivat Imperator in Aeterum!” (May the emperor live forever!) before retiring so that secular part of the coronation ceremony could take place. For this part, Napoleon moved to a specially made dais on the west end of the church. From this dais high in the air, under the words “Honor and Fatherland,” and in front of the court and officials, Napoleon swore to uphold the constitution and preserve the gains of the Revolution.
Napoleon was now Emperor of the French. Not of France, where the kings of old had claimed the land and where it was felt that their citizens were almost viewed as possessions, Napoleon proclaimed he was Emperor of the French people, and, by implication, emperor by their will.
After the coronation ended, the imperial family, court, and officials traveled back to the Tuileries among the celebrating crowds and so began a month-long celebration.
The coronation possibly did little to cement Napoleon’s legitimacy in the eyes of the rest of Europe, however. A year later, on the one-year anniversary of his coronation, during the war of the Third Coalition, Napoleon would win the Battle of Austerlitz and it was this that was celebrated in the years to come, not the coronation.
Napoleon would reign as Emperor of the French for another eleven years before his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo on June 22nd, 1815, and his subsequent abdication. An inglorious end to what had seemed a glorious beginning.
Ridley Scott’s new movie, Napoleon, hits theaters on November 22nd and all of us at Villa Finale are very excited to see it. Will you be seeing Napoleon?
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work in a museum? Based on the questions we get from visitors who come to our site, we realize that many people are not very familiar with museums or the museum field. Most people know that museums have curators, but many may not realize there are many other various job positions in the field. I did not come from a museum background when I got my first job in a museum, so I didn’t know much either. However, I’ve learned more over my ten years of working in the field. This blog series will give a bit more insight into different jobs in the museum field. But first, let’s talk about museums in general.
What Is a Museum?
Capitoline Museums in Rome are the oldest in the world. (From Wikipedia)
Museums are institutions that serve the public by collecting, preserving, and interpreting objects of artistic, historic, or scientific importance. Early museums were started as private collections of wealthy owners or institutions that displayed them in what were called wonder rooms or cabinets of curiosities. The earliest recorded museum was established around 530 B.C by Ennigaldi-Nanna, a priestess and daughter of the Neo-Babylonian King Nabonidus, which featured Mesopotamian antiquities that were arranged in a small collection. (Read more at the European Museums Network website: https://museums.eu/)
Museums are part of the GLAM profession which stands for galleries, libraries, archives, and museums. All these institutions collect materials of public interest and cultural heritage. However, there are significant differences between them.
Art galleries are mainly commercial, for profit entities that sell works by various artists that support the artists’ career. Museums are mostly non-profit and are focused on educating the general public on a range of art and artifacts that is preserved, collected, and displayed into exhibits.
The primary focus of the library is to provide information to the general public and lend out materials, while museums are focused on displaying objects of cultural significance and do not lend out materials to the public.
Archives collect items for research purposes and public access is limited. Museums collect specific items and are open to the general public.
Types of Museums
There are various types of museums that come in all shapes and sizes. There are art museums, history museums, and science museums which most people are familiar with. But there are also maritime museums, architectural museums, railroad museums, military museums, open-air museums, and pop-up museums just to name a few. Zoos, aquariums, and botanical gardens can also be considered museums!
Here at Villa Finale, we’ve heard visitors often say “I didn’t realize this was a museum” or “Oh wow! Look at all this stuff! It’s just like a museum!” Yes! We are a museum! Villa Finale is considered a historic house museum, but it is very unique. Most historic house museums feature furniture and items from the original time period of the house and the person or family that lived there. Villa Finale displays the vast assortment of decorative art and antiques from Walter Mathis who was the twelfth and final owner of the house from 1967-2005. Though the house was built in 1876 and had gone through various owners, nothing in the collection predates Mathis’ time in the house. However, the house still has many of the original architectural features that were constructed by the previous owners.
Here at Villa Finale: Museum & Gardens, we take great delight in our gardens. We want people to spend time wandering through our site admiring the beauty around the grounds. Many historical institutions have dazzling landscapes filled with various plants that have been carefully preserved for years! Conservation management must be done throughout the year to make sure the landscape remains visually stunning to visitors. Do you ever wonder how the gardens of a historic site are maintained?
Horticultural Best Practices
Horticultural practices can be applied to the care of historic gardens and landscapes. Many historical sites, as well as botanical gardens and arboretums, may utilize horticultural practices to conserve the vegetation around the site.
Villa Finale’s side garden (from the Villa Finale Collection).
Horticulture is the use of plants for food, comfort, and beautification. It can be described as the science and the art of producing fruits, vegetables, herbs, and ornamental plants. Two branches within horticulture can be best applied to development and care of historic landscapes and gardens. Ornamental horticulture involves growing plants for the purpose of beautification for indoor or outdoor areas. It focuses on the process of growing and maintaining various flowering plants, shrubs, and trees. Landscape horticulture is the beautification of a specific outdoor space. It includes planning designs for landscapes, installing the landscapes according to the designed plan, and the constant maintenance of those landscapes.
The Virginia Cooperative Extension provides some basic horticultural best practices which include: testing the soil to learn the pH and nutrients that are present, grouping plants with similar needs for easier maintenance, and making sure to fertilize based on the testing of the soil and at the appropriate time of year.
Villa Finale’s side garden, ca. August 1969 (from the Villa Finale Collection).
When Walter Mathis bought Villa Finale in 1967, he not only restored the house but also developed the magnificent gardens around the property as well! The Villa Finale Cultural Landscape Report mentioned the garden design contained a blend of Italian, French, and 19th Century American influence. The gardens became highly recognized and served as a backdrop for many advertisements and events.
Building and Grounds Manager Orlando Cortinas oversees the continuation of Walter’s design by making sure the gardens around the site remain aesthetically pleasing year-round. He explains his own basic process for preserving the grounds:
“I only use organic fertilizers for the grounds, we top dress the lawn with organic compost annually and also feed our plants with composted mulch annually, also I supplement throughout the year with organic liquid and granular fertilizer. So no synthetic fertilizers used here”
Orlando Cortinas working in Villa Finale’s front yard (from the Villa Finale Collection).
His tasks include rotation of the plants in the flower pots throughout the year, quarterly irrigation inspection, tree pruning and fertilization, weekly lawn mowing, and the routine watering of all the plants on the site.
Come by and visit our gardens for yourself!
Also be sure to check out these beautiful historic gardens featured on the National Trust website!
Coronations for us here in the USA probably seem a little alien. After all we don’t have them here. The closest thing we get is the swearing in ceremony for a US president and it’s not quite an equal comparison!
Coronations are the formal investiture of a monarch in their regal powers and for the British monarchy the coronation ceremony itself has remained little changed since 1066. Unsurprisingly, for almost as long as there’s been a coronation ceremony, there have been royal commemoratives!
Royal Commemoratives are items that celebrate events and milestones of the Royal family, from births, marriages, deaths, and coronations, to victories in battle and jubilees, these souvenirs have been around for centuries. Ever since then commemoratives have made appearances at royal events in Britain as well as on the European continent.
So, in honor of the coronation, here are some royal commemoratives in the collection at Villa Finale!
The King That Never Got His Crown
Edward VIII was king for less than a year and never had a coronation, but that doesn’t mean one wasn’t planned!
Edward VIII (from Wikipedia).
Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, was born on June 23rd 1894 and was the eldest son of the Duke and Duchess of York, the future George V and Queen Mary. Known to his family as David, he was named the Prince of Wales in 1910 and served in World War I as part of the Grenadier Guards, though his rank and his father’s ministers prevented him from seeing action. After the War he traveled through the Empire on a series of goodwill tours which made him popular, but his continued affairs with married women and refusal to settle down frustrated his father.
When his father died on January 20th 1936, Edward ascended the throne with his coronation scheduled for May the following year. Items and coins began to be produced for the occasion, such as this mug, to be ready in time for the festivities.
From the Villa Finale Collection.
This mug in our collection was produced by the E. Hughes & Co. at the Opal China Works in Fenton Staffordshire in England. Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, Hanley, Burslem, Tunstall, and Longton were collectively known as “The Potteries” was the home of England’s pottery industry including Wedgwood, which still operates in the area and can also be seen in the collection at Villa Finale.
From the Villa Finale Collection.
Edward broke with tradition and chose to be displayed on his coinage facing to the left rather than the right and we can see it in the mug as well! Supposedly he liked how he looked better on that side. On the back of the mug is his Royal Cipher, which is a monogram of the monarch’s initials. The ‘R’ stands for ‘Rex’ the Latin word for king. Around the rim is the day of the coronation. May 1937.
It was never meant to be though. In December 1936, facing a crisis in the government, Edward abdicated the throne to his younger brother in order to marry American divorcée Wallis Simpson.
As a result, not many royal commemoratives were made and are highly sought after!
The coronation went ahead as planned but with George VI instead of Edward VIII being crowned.
Well, You Can’t Plan for That
Edward VII was Edward VIII’s grandfather and he came to the throne in 1901, after the long reign of his mother, Queen Victoria. At the time of his mother’s death he had been heir apparent for six decades – a record that was only broken recently by Charles who was heir apparent for 70 years.
Edward’s coronation was scheduled for June of the following year to allow for mourning and preparation for the occasion. While Victoria, especially after the death of her husband Prince Albert, loathed the pomp and ceremony usually associated with monarchy, and dispensed with it when possible, Edward loved it. He threw himself into his new role though his first few months on the throne were plagued by illness.
It came to a head in June, as just two days before the coronation he was diagnosed with appendicitis and received an emergency operation. Two weeks later the king was declared out of danger and the coronation was pushed to August 9th to give the king a chance to recover. As a result, many of the visiting foreign dignitaries had left London, but this in-turn turned the event into more of a domestic celebration and the king arranged for ‘Coronation dinners to the poor of London’ to be served to 500,000 people across the city.
As a result of the postponement, many of the royal commemoratives made for the event have the original June date on them, such as our commemorative mug at Villa Finale. This was made by Aynsley China Ltd. which was founded in 1775 and was known for its bone china. It was a favorite of the British Royal family for porcelain.
From the Villa Finale Collection.From the Villa Finale Collection.
The mug and saucer has the Union Jack and the Royal Standard with the heraldic symbols for England (three Gold lions on red), Scotland (a Red Lion on Gold), and Ireland (the Harp on Blue).
One picture is the coronation chair also called St. Edward’s Chair, which was commissioned for Edward I in 1296, and the Stone of Scone or Stone of Destiny, which Edward I stole from Scotland. The other chair is the throne used by the King during the Opening of Parliament in the House of Lords.
From the Villa Finale Collection.
While it didn’t go as originally planned the coronation and the celebrations were considered a success!
Well, That Could Have Gone Better!
Victoria, Edward VII’s mother herself, did not have a very smooth coronation. In fact, royal scholars call hers the last of the “botched coronations.” Like mother like son!
Her coronation took place on June 28th 1838 in Westminster Abbey in London. The new railroads in Britain brought an estimated 400,000 people to watch and join the festivities. The weather was perfect, but the coronation wasn’t.
The ceremonies were not rehearsed beforehand and many of those who were take part in were confused as to what their parts were. One minister commented that “no one knew where to go!”
Queen Victoria’s coronation (from Wiki Commons).
During the ceremony the coronation ring, representing her marriage to the kingdom, was forced on to the wrong finger and it took her some time to remove it and place it on the right one. At one point a bishop mistakenly told Queen Victoria that the ceremony was over and she had to be brought back to finish the service. Lord Rolle, an elderly peer, fell down the steps while paying homage to the young queen. When he tried to climb the steps again, the queen stepped down so he wouldn’t attempt it again. The whole event was five hours long but the Victoria wrote in her diary that it was the “proudest moment in her life.”
After the coronation, there was a procession back to Buckingham palace. In the collection at Villa Finale we have a tableau of the Coronation Procession.
From the Villa Finale Collection.
This book was published in August of 1838, almost two months after the coronation, by Messrs. Fores of Piccadilly Road in London. Our tableau is almost sixty feet long and is wonderfully colored with lots of detail. Many of the soldiers even have different facial hair!
Helpfully this book labels all the members of the procession in case you didn’t know or recognize who they were. Some were members of the British peerage, nobles, members of the government, foreign embassies, and members of the royal family such as Victoria’s uncles.
From the Villa Finale Collection.From the Villa Finale Collection.
The grumpy man in the French carriage is probably Prince Louis of Orleans.
The different parts of the military are shown in full dress and again are helpfully labeled so the viewer knew who was who and what their part in the coronation was.
And finally, we get Victoria with her ladies in the Gold State Coach which was commissioned by George III to showcase Britain’s control over the seas (Britannia rules the waves and all).
Queen Victoria ruled until her death in 1901 and saw a massive change over her life in terms of science, industry, and politics.
From the Villa Finale Collection.
With the coronation around the corner, Royal commemoratives are already on sale. Will you be grabbing any?
Did you know that the famous books, The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers were based on a Black man? Writer Alexandre Dumas’ novels were inspired by the life of his father Thomas-Alexandre Dumas who was the highest-ranking Black leader in the French military and served under Napoleon Bonaparte.
Villa Finale’s copy of The Count of Monte Cristo in the museum’s library.
Dumas was born on March 25, 1762 in Saint Dominique which is now Haiti. His father was a white French nobleman named Marquis Alexandre Antoine Davy de la Pailleterie and his mother, Marie Cassette Dumas, was his African slave. In his youth he studied at the Academy of Nicolas Texier de La Boëssière, where he received a noble gentleman’s education. He learned swordsmanship under Chevalier de Saint-George, who was an accomplished violinist, also of mixed race. (***Be sure to watch the film “Chevalier”!!! Watch the trailer here: https://youtu.be/-LtCIImfSCk ***)
“Portrait of a Hunter in a Landscape, attributed to Louis Gauffier (1762-1801), is said to be a portrait of General Dumas.” From Harvard Magazine
Dumas decided to join the French Army in 1786. Gentlemen who came from a noble family background, like he did, could enlist as an officer. However, due to his mixed race, he had to enlist as a private. Despite this, Dumas rose quickly in the ranks due to his admirable display of courage and strength. By 1792, he became corporal and was recognized for being a fierce leader during the battle between Austria and Prussia. During the French Revolution, he became a member of the all Black French unit La Légion Américaine or the Black Legion. After this, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the Black Legion. The legion was so successful under his leadership that Dumas was promoted to General of La Légion Américaine in 1793, making him the first Black person to become general in the French Army!
Bonaparte at the siege of Toulon, 1793 (from Wikipedia).
In 1794, Dumas began to have health complications and had to take leave to recover which lasted 2 years. After his hiatus, he returned to battle in the Alps in 1796 but was demoted in rank and not given command of the unit. Being upset about this, he requested transfer and was sent to fight in Italy under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte. While Dumas was greatly admired and a victorious general under Napoleon, the relationship between the two was turbulent. Dumas did not agree with Napoleon’s decisions as a leader. Napoleon even became envious of Dumas, during his campaign in Egypt, when the Egyptians mistook Dumas as commander because of his impressive physique and height. After a dispute, Dumas requested to return to France. He was shipwrecked and taken prisoner along with the rest of the ship’s passengers in the Italian city of Taranto for two years.
Thomas-Alexandre Dumas portrait by Guillaume Guillon-Lethière ca. 1797 (from Wikipedia)
During his time in captivity, Dumas was malnourished and kept from all communication. By the time he was released in 1801, he was in poor health. He was denied the full pension usually given to French military officers to support their families. Because of this, he struggled to support his family when he returned to France. He wrote several letters to Napoleon, who ignored them all. Dumas died of stomach cancer at the age of 43 in 1806, leaving his wife and son Alexandre deep in poverty as a result of Napoleon’s resentment. (Napoleon also supposedly died of stomach cancer later in 1821….hmm.)
It is easy to see why Alexandre Dumas was inspired by his father to write these famous novels. For years, the story of Thomas Alexandre Dumas had been obscured from history. In 1913, a monument was inaugurated in honor of Dumas in Place Malesherbes. However, the monument was torn down in World War II by the German military for being “offensive.” In 2009, a new monument dedicated to Dumas was built to replace the one the Germans destroyed. In 2002, he was entombed in the Panthéon mausoleum along with other notable French individuals.
Cecelia Weisz with Bess and her son, Harry (from Wild About Harry).
What happened after that 1922 séance with Lady Doyle? Houdini initially kept his opinions to himself – probably not wanting to embarrass his friends – while the Doyles publicly claimed they had successfully communicated with the magician’s mother. It wasn’t until a little while later that Houdini publicly went on record to say he had never seen anything from any medium to convince him the dead could communicate with the living. This not only hurt Lady Doyle’s feelings, it greatly angered Sir Arthur.
From the Library of Congress.
Further fanning the flames, that same year Scientific American magazine offered $5,000 to anyone who could scientifically prove the existence of ghosts. Being on the magazine’s panel of judges, Houdini passionately set out to debunk mediums by attending seances in disguise and lecturing on the topic, while exposing props used by mediums during their sessions. In 1926, he even testified before Congress to get a bill passed that would regulate mediums and fortune tellers.
One of the most famous mediums of the time, Mina “Margery” Crandon during a séance. Note the “spirit hand” appearing from her abdomen area. (From Wikimedia Commons)
To be clear, mediums and clairvoyants were making a killing during the 1920s off desperate people – rich and poor – who were anxious to communicate with their dearly departed, and they didn’t take kindly to Houdini raining on their money parade. In fact, in 1924 Boston medium Mina “Margery” Crandon, who was one of those exposed by Houdini, put a “curse” on him claiming he would be dead within the year as punishment for questioning the validity of her powers. Said Houdini, “The preposterous and malignant curse which has been put on me in Boston is not going to kill me. But here is always the chance that a coincidence will seem to prove the working of the curse.” [“‘Evil Spirits’ Put Curse Upon Harry Houdini.” Pittsburgh Telegraph, 22 December 1924]
Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead (on the right) (from houdinifile.com).
Houdini’s words couldn’t have been more prophetic. On October 11, 1926 Houdini broke his ankle during a show. Ever the showman, he refused to get medical attention choosing instead to continue his travels to Montreal where he was scheduled to speak on the fakery of mediums. While in Montreal Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead, a student at McGill University, asked Houdini if he could punch him, as the illusionist was famous for withstanding a punch to the gut. Of course, this required physical preparation by Houdini – tensing his abdomen muscles, etc. – but without warning, Whitehead punched Houdini (reportedly more than once) which sent the magician writhing to the floor in pain. Again, rather than seek medical attention, Houdini soldiered on with his shows until his wife, Bess convinced him to go to the hospital once her husband developed a 104 degree fever. Doctors discovered his appendix had ruptured and immediately had it surgically removed, but by then it was too late. The seemingly “undefeatable” Harry Houdini died of sepsis on Halloween, 1926.
The Houdini / Weiss grave at Machpelah Cemetery, New York, New York (from Gardens of Stone.com).
Having an appendix ruptured due to body blows is extremely rare. Many believed Houdini may have already been suffering from appendicitis which was made worse by Whitehead’s punches. Others believed he was poisoned by his many enemies while in the hospital. What was the true reason? We’ll never know for sure since an autopsy was never performed. Interestingly enough, the Houdinis continued their anti-medium crusade even after Harry’s death as the couple had agreed that, should one of them die before the other, the deceased one would communicate with the living partner using a special, predetermined code. After ten years of seances to communicate with her husband, Bess Houdini finally gave up: no medium could ever crack the couple’s code.
“The Wanderings of a Spiritualist” (1921) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (from catalogue.swanngalleries.com).
And what about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? What did he have to say after his once good friend’s death? Both he and Lady Doyle claimed that Houdini’s mother had predicted her son would die young when she supposedly made contact during that séance in 1922, but the Doyles had chosen not pass this message along to the escape artist. There is no concrete evidence of such a message having been recorded. Conan Doyle did say, “We were great friends. He told me much in confidence, but never secrets regarding his tricks. How he did them I do not know. We agreed upon everything excepting spiritualism.” [The Associated Press, “Conan Doyle Mourns Houdini.” The Salt Lake Tribune, 2 November 1926, p.1]
POSTSCRIPT
“Houdini Ruins” off Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles, ca. 1990s. These are no longer visible from the street. (From iamnostalker.com)
Purportedly, people still hold seances on Halloween night near where Harry Houdini was living in Los Angeles. The property is referred to as “Houdini’s Estate” even though the property had been owned by one of his friends, Ralf Walker not Houdini. Located on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, the original mansion and guest house, where the Houdinis likely stayed, burned down in 1959 leaving what eventually became overgrown ruins. Attracted by reported sightings of Houdini’s ghost, I made a visit to the site in 1990 with a group of friends. We didn’t see Houdini’s ghost, but we did find burned out candles and the like, evidence that the magician’s admirers were still trying to “make contact.” The property was sold in 1997 and the new owner cleaned up all the debris and began a restoration. The property has been sold a few more times since then and can now be rented for film shoots and private events: The Houdini Estate.
Lady Jean Doyle and one of Sir Arthur’s sons sit for a spirit photograph one year after Doyle’s death. (Harry Ransom Center, University of Austin at Texas)
Now you may be thinking, if Houdini, the unbeliever didn’t make contact, what about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? Did he ever manifest himself during a séance? Mediums claimed Doyle made contact as early as one week after his death in 1930. Four years later in a séance attended by nearly 600 people in London, Doyle reportedly made contact again, and this time is was supposedly recorded on 26 acetate discs. “Doyle’s spirit” was recorded saying, “Take care of my boys and my good wife, Jean.” You can listen to “Doyle’s spirit” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CptSgFovXHw&t=2s
If we should happen to sell out by the time this post is published, we will be hosting another séance in the fall. Sign up for our email list to stay informed about all our events and programs!]
“Spirit is independent of matter”: this is what spiritualists from the late 19th century through the early 20th century tried to prove. In other words, our spirits continue to live even after our physical bodies die, and that it is possible for the souls of the dead to communicate with the living when provided the proper channels.
A Victorian-era séance (from theoldoperatingtheater.com).
Many today do believe in life after death. Recently, I was back home (in the Los Angeles area) and decided to pay a visit to a former schoolmate of mine who had died a few months before. I was provided with the exact plot on a cemetery map from the office but, without any identifying number markers, finding the grave was proving impossible on the hilly memorial park. Just as I was about to give up and place the flowers I had purchased on a random lonely grave, I felt a tug on my denim pants – all of a sudden I had a sudden urge to go down the hill and to my left, in the direction I felt said “tug.” One minute later, I found my friend’s gave. Coincidence? I’ll let readers decide as I can be both skeptic and believer.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: doctor, author, spiritualist (from Flickr).
One skeptic turned believer was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author and creator of the great fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes. Doyle created Holmes in 1887 when he was a young doctor. As a man of science, Doyle created the character with the methodology that “science can take the place of chance” to solve cases. Indeed, Sherlock Holmes used reason to crack even the toughest mysteries. However, by the time “A Study in Scarlet” the first Holmes book was released, Doyle was already attending séances, studying poltergeists, and experimenting with auto writing, and more. By the mid-1890s he had gone from “professional skeptic” as he called himself, to a full-fledged member of the Society of Physical Research (an organization created to understand the psychic or paranormal).
The first book featuring Sherlock Holmes (1887) (from Wikipedia).
By this time, Doyle’s “reasonable” Sherlock Holmes was starting to put a bit of a cramp on the author’s new outlook. Doyle wrote to his mother, “I think of slaying Holmes … He takes my mind from better things.” Indeed, Doyle grew disappointed with the era’s well-known people of knowledge who refused to even study the survival of life after death. To grow as a person, Doyle believed, one had to remain open-minded to everything, including the unexplainable. “Death is not the end,” he proclaimed.
The Doyles sit for a “spirit photographer” (1920). (From the Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia)
Doyle felt spiritualism brought solace to people who lost loved ones, especially after the outbreak of World War I. In 1918, Doyle lost one of his sons, Arthur Kingsley, to the influenza pandemic while he was serving with the British Army. On September 7, 1919, Doyle claimed he had made contact with his dead son during a séance in England led by medium, Evan Powell. He was so thrilled he spent the last few years of his life touring the world to lecture on the reality of an afterlife. Doyle didn’t care that he was ridiculed for his beliefs which included ghosts and fairies.
Two giants meet: Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (from themelbourneblogger.blogspot).
While on tour in 1920, Doyle met famous escape artist Harry Houdini, who was on his own tour at the time to prove all mediums were frauds. Houdini knew many tricks of the trade used by mediums as he and his wife, Bess had claimed to be clairvoyants themselves early on in their careers. Perhaps Houdini had some guilt over taking advantage of people’s emotions to make money when he was first starting out, so this may have compelled him to expose mediums in an effort to protect others from being bamboozled out of their money.
Harry Houdini: escape artist, showman, skeptic (1903). (From forward.com)
Despite their differences about something both were passionate about, the two men formed an unlikely friendship. Perhaps it was because Doyle honestly believed Houdini had supernatural abilities despite the fact the illusionist tried to convince him otherwise. They each tried unsuccessfully to change the other’s mind: Doyle believed there was inexplicable evidence of life after death while Houdini believed it was all hogwash. To be fair, Houdini didn’t completely dismiss the notion of life after death, he just wanted concrete proof he couldn’t debunk.
Stop-motion animation pioneer, Willis O’Brien working with “scary dinosaurs” for the 1925 film The Lost World based on Doyle’s 1912 book of the same name (from scifist.net).
The unlikely friendship began to fall apart in 1922 when Houdini invited Doyle to speak at the annual meeting of the Society of American Magicians. To prove that just because something seems impossible doesn’t mean it can’t happen, Doyle screened a test clip of the yet to be completed “The Lost World” (1925) based on his 1912 book. The clip featured a pair of dinosaurs (stop-motion figures) duking it out on a cliff. Although the special effects seem crude by today’s standards, the clip awed the 1922 audience. Of course, having dabbled in photographic and film illusions himself, Houdini knew there was more to what the eye interpreted on the screen.
Self-proclaimed medium, Lady Jean Doyle (from Wikidata).
Later that year, it was Doyle’s turn to extend an invitation to Houdini. Lady Jean Doyle, Arthur Conan’s second wife, was a self-proclaimed medium who would be leading a séance where Houdini was the guest of honor. During the event, Lady Doyle made “contact” with Houdini’s mother, Cecelia Weisz, who had died nine years before. Communication with Cecelia was via auto writing – also known as psychography – which is a way mediums produced words or messages without consciously writing. The message was about fifteen pages long, opening with a cross drawn on the first page, and written all in English. Houdini, despite not saying a word, noticed two problems: his mother was Jewish and only spoke German and Yiddish, not English.
How did Harry Houdini respond to these obvious inconsistencies? Find out in part 2 coming soon!
If we should happen to sell out by the time this post is published, we will be hosting another séance in the fall. Sign up for our email list to stay informed about all our events and programs!]
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