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Potteries of Trenton Society Invites Public to ‘First Ladies and Their China’
The Potteries of Trenton Society invites you to their annual meeting on April 6 at 1:30 pm. This year’s lecture will be "The First Ladies and Their China" by Ellen Denker. The lecture will be held in the Woodrow Wilson Board Room at the Trenton War Memorial on 1 Memorial Drive, Trenton.
Hospitality is the keynote of international diplomacy, and a state dinner in the White House is the highest symbol of American hospitality, displaying grand tables set with beautiful flowers and the finest china, silver and crystal. Our First Ladies are called upon to muster American hospitality by making sure that the appointments for a White House state dinner are impeccable. Since the beginning of the United States, Congress has appropriated funds to furnish the White House and demonstrate our nation’s wealth and power to foreign heads of state. But White House china has often been supplied by foreign potteries. Mrs. Denker’s lecture, sprinkled with anecdotes, will examine the topic of White House China from Martha Washington to Melania Trump, explain the history, use and preservation of the table china they chose, and demonstrate Trenton’s role in this fascinating story.
Ellen Paul Denker is a museum consultant and independent scholar based in western North Carolina. She holds degrees from Grinnell College, Iowa, and from the University of Delaware, where she was a Fellow in the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture. As a museum consultant, Ellen has worked on a variety of exhibition topics from ceramic and furniture history to visiting nursing and blindness. She has written extensively on American ceramics, the Arts & Crafts movement, and American home furnishings. Ellen’s list of publications as author and co-author is extensive, ranging from Lenox China to rocking chairs. She has lectured extensively for art and historical organizations across the United States, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Newark Museum, Museums of Fine Arts in Boston and Houston, Saint Louis Art Museum, and Art Institute of Chicago. Ellen is a founding member of the Potteries of Trenton Society.
The lecture is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and pre-registration is strongly suggested. To register, please email president@potteriesoftrentonsociety.org with your name and the number of people in your party.
Free parking is available in the state parking lots on Memorial Drive near the War Memorial. Handicapped parking is located beside the War Memorial on West Lafayette Street, available on a first-come, first-served basis. The War Memorial is fully ADA compliant.
For more information visit the Potteries of Trenton Society's website at potteriesoftrentonsociety.org
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Local Arts and History Grant Deadline Approaches
Don’t forget that the FY2020 application deadline to submit either the Local Arts Program (LAP) or History Grant is July 12. For more information about the application process, guidelines or questions, visit www.mercercounty.org/departments/culture-and-heritage/grants-information. The commission's Program Development Specialist, Tricia Fagan, is also available to assist potential grant applicants with questions or concerns, (609) 989-6418.
Mark Your Calendar: Mercer County Cultural Festival is June 15
Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes and the Board of Chosen Freeholders present the 9th annual Mercer County Cultural Festival on Saturday, June 15, rain or shine, from 11 am to 7 pm at Mercer County Park, West Windsor.
This one-day festival will celebrate the many diverse cultures of Mercer County through traditional art demonstrations, live cultural music, dance performances, kids activities and more! 2019 brings back the popular international food trucks featuring amazing dishes from some of the best ethnic food trucks in the region as well as the popular biergarten! Admission and parking are free.
To learn more click the link mercercounty.org/departments/culture-and-heritage/cultural-festival or find us on Facebook at facebook.com/events/362491597863947/ / (609) 278-2712.
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Tiffany Window Tours offered at United Methodist Church
The spectacular stained-glass window of Saint George and the Dragon, from the studio of Louis Comfort Tiffany, is a little-seen jewel in Princeton. On Fridays and Sundays from noon to 2 pm, Princeton United Methodist Church guides welcome visitors to view this and other spectacular stained-glass windows. Stop by and marvel at the abstract and symbolic designs. Tours can also be arranged by calling (609) 924-2613 or emailing at windows@PrincetonUMC.org.
Now on View: 'Voices for the Abbott Marshlands' Photography Show
The 9th "Voices for the Abbott Marshlands" is a photographic exhibition featuring the works of local artists showcasing a New Jersey marshland and surrounding natural areas in Hamilton, Trenton, and Bordentown. The purpose of the show is to further the protection and preservation of the Abbott Marshlands, by illustrating to a broad audience its ecological and historic significance. Photographs were submitted in five categories: Plants, Wildlife, Natural Habitats, People Connecting with Nature, or History. Jurors were Photographer Ricardo Barros, well known for his Commercial & Fine Arts, including portraits, architecture, and advertising, and Naturalist Kelly Rypkema, Manager of the Tulpehaking Nature Center.
The exhibit is on display now until September 15 during nature center hours and by appointment (609-888-3218).
The Tulpehaking Nature Center is located at 157 Westcott Avenue, Hamilton. For more information please visit abbottmarshlands.org or mercercountyparks.org/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#!/facilities/tulpehaking-nature-centermercercountyparks.org.
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Mercer County Artists 2019 Submission Date Draws Near
Calling all artists! Artists age 18 or older who live, work, or attend school in Mercer County are invited to submit their art for consideration for the “Mercer County Artists 2019” exhibition at The Gallery, located at Mercer County Community College, West Windsor.
Drop-off submissions take place on Saturday, May 11, 10 am to 2 pm, at the MCCC Gallery. Early drop-offs will also be accepted Thursday, May 9, from 12 to 3 pm. Judging takes place on Saturday, May 12 at 10 am.
Artists may enter up to two original works completed since May 2016 in any media except photography. An entry fee of $10 for one piece and $15 for two must accompany entries. Works that are not accepted for the show can be picked up on Sunday, May 12, 2 to 5 pm or Monday, May 13, 11 am to 3 pm. Awards include $1,500 in Purchase and Merit prizes, including the Utrecht Art Supplies Best in Show prize and the annual West Windsor Arts Council Prize for outstanding work by a West Windsor artist. Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission Purchase Award winners become part of the County’s permanent art collection.
The “Mercer County Artists” show will be on display from May 20 to July 8 and an Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony will be held May 22, 5 to 7:30 pm. The show is free and open to the public. For more information on submitting work, please visit mccc.edu/gallery or call the Mercer County Division of Culture and Heritage at (609) 278-2712.
Free Recital Series at St. Michael's Church, Trenton
The inaugural recital in a new lunchtime series titled "Music at St. Michael's" will take place at 12:15 pm Thursday, April 4 in the sanctuary of St. Michael's Episcopal Church, an historic building located in downtown Trenton at 140 N. Warren St. The performers, Kenneth Ellison, clarinet; Dezheng Ping, violin; and Larissa Korkina, piano, are faculty members of Westminster Conservatory, the community music school of Westminster College of the Arts of Rider University. The program, which will last approximately 45 minutes, is free of charge, and concertgoers are invited to bring a bag lunch for consumption during the event.
The program comprises the Rondo in B minor op. 70, D. 895 for violin and piano by Franz Schubert, Gioachino Rossini's Introduction, Theme, and Variations for clarinet and piano, and the Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano by Gian Carlo Menotti.
The next Music at St. Michael's recital will take place at 12:15 pm on Thursday, June 6, and will feature the Loeffler Trio – Melissa Bohl, oboe; Marjorie Selden, viola; and Christopher McWilliams, piano.
For more info visit rider.edu/academics/colleges-schools/westminster-college-of-the-arts/westminster-conservatory-music
April 7, Panel Discussion at The William Trent House — The Mystery of the Shoe in the Roof
In February of 2018, workers repairing the Trent House cornice discovered this shoe inside!
Why did someone put a shoe in the cornice of the Trent House?
It was a common custom, originating in Europe, to hide talismans, such as shoes and written charms, in the fabric of a building, to protect the occupants from evil. Discoveries in the United States have been made mostly in New England and the Northeast. They have been found in chimneys, fireplaces, under floors, above ceilings, in roofs, around doors and windows, under stairs and among foundations. They have been found in many different types of buildings including cottages, town houses, manor houses, hospitals, work houses, public houses, and factories.
What kind of shoe is it and when was it made?
All the experts we consulted agree that the shoe is 19th century, but is it from 1800, 1820 or 1830-1850? Is it a man’s shoe or a woman’s shoe? At least one expert says that this type of shoe would not have been worn by the rich, which brings up another question; How did such a shoe end up in the cornice of a building that was always occupied by the wealthy? Was it a shoe belonging to one of the workers themselves? Or one of their wives?
How did a 19th century shoe end up in the cornice of an 18th century house?
The cornice materials where the shoe was found were determined to be original from the time that the House was built in 1719. Were there repairs to the House roof or cornice that might have provided an opportunity for the shoe to be placed there?
Find out the answers to these quesitons on April 7, 2 pm at the William Trent House Visitor Center, 15 Market Street, Trenton. Tickets are $12.
For more information visit williamtrenthouse.org / (609) 989-3027.
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Morven Museum Offers Victorian Pressed-Flower Workshop
Spend Saturday, May 18, from 11 am to 1:30 pm, as Victorian women such as Harriet Stockton might have
and create pressed-flower art surrounded by the Morven Museum's historic garden. Learn the “love language” of flowers, enjoy an illustrated powerpoint on this Victorian art, and create artwork of your own suitable for framing. All flowers, materials, and art instruction provided. No previous experience required and space is limited, ages 12 & up.
For pricing, to register or for more information, please call (609) 924-8144 or visit morven.org
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A Place in Time: Joseph Henry House
The Joseph Henry House is a historic building located on the campus of Princeton University. Joseph Henry, a prominent American physicist who worked in electromagnetics, designed the house in 1836 and lived there from its completion in 1838 until taking a position as the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in 1848. The construction of the house was offered to the young physicist as part of the University's attempt to hire him away from the Albany Academy in an attempt to raise Princeton's profile. After Henry's departure, the house served as the official housing of the Dean of the College, the University's senior undergraduate academic officer, from 1909 to 1961.
The Henry house has been moved repeatedly throughout its history, first in 1870 to a site behind East College, again in 1925 to the corner of Washington Road and Nassau Street to accommodate the construction of the Princeton University Chapel, and finally in 1946 to its present location.The Henry house now stands along the northern edge of the University's campus adjacent to Chancellor Green and serves the home of Princeton's Adlinger Center for the Humanities. The house was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965.
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