Lingering Look at Windows #37: Winterthur, DE, 9/11/14

Photo challenge: Lingering Look at Windows, Week 37

Windows at Winterthur, home of Henry Francis du Pont (1880-1969), six miles NW of Wilmington, DE, overlook spacious gardens. The impressive eagle spreads his wings, a fitting tribute to today, September 11, 2014, when our thoughts return to the tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2001 in New York City.

Henry du Pont’s home of 175 rooms, now a museum, houses extensive exhibits of early American furniture, paintings, textiles, needlework, ceramics, glass, and costumes. Dining room tables, set for company, feature beautiful displays of seasonal flowers and fine china.  On a daily basis, Henry du Pont chose the china settings himself to match the fresh flowers available in the garden. Of course, flowers used in the dining rooms could not be used anywhere else in the house that day. The same was true for the china. It could not be used twice in the same day, so numerous full sets of china had to be available.  A log of number of guests, menus, flowers, and china settings ensured that duplication would not occur.

A walk through this house is a walk through another time and lifestyle. Well worth a visit. The gardens surrounding the house are breathtaking with color and variety. We visited in May, at the height of the season for white, pink, coral, and red azaleas; white, pink, and lavender rhododendrons; and white magnolias. Exquisite beauty.

The current major exhibit at the museum, Costumes of Downton Abbey, runs through January 4, 2015.

Costumes of Downton Abbey
Photo credit: Winterthur.

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