If you did read this month's column, then you are likely here for the promised pictures of some nifty Ohio Valley objects that came to Garth's, in part, because of my (Andrew) master's thesis research, which was on the early furniture of the Marietta area. In doing that research, I encountered Henderson Hall, a Virginian (now West Virginian) plantation that survives phenomenally intact...with much of the original furnishings and household objects not only in the house, but in some cases, where they have sat for over a century.
When one branch of the family left the home in the late 19th century, they didn't go far...just about 500 yard down the road. And when the descendant who owned that home decided to sell, through a local referral who knew of my interest in local material culture, she called me. On the one hand, I hated to see these things leave the old homeplace. But if it was to be done, I was thrilled to be charged with doing it. And, just so you know...the three most important items, all pictured below, all came back home, so to speak--all were purchased by locals wanting to keep them there.
For the full story on each object, click the link to see the original Garth's catalog descriptions.
