House Style: Five Centuries of Fashion at Chatsworth

A monumental exhibition at Chatsworth, home of the Devonshires, began when Laura Cavendish Countess of Burlington went in search of a christening gown withn the estate's many textile storage spaces.
What results is House Style: Five Centuries of Fashion at Chatsworth.
Upon folding back the tissue papers covering one gown, her first thoughts upon reading the handwritten label— “Christening robe made for Nancy Mitford by her mother Lady Redesdale in 1907. Also worn by her brothers and sisters,” was what lay beyond this single treasure.


The Countess of Burlington on Chatsworth’s terrace wearing a Gucci suit with the necklace from the  Devonshire parure (1952) and Debo’s bejeweled bug brooches. —Photograph by Anton Corbijn

The Countess, along with Hamish Bowles and costume historian and exhibition curator Patrick Kinmonth and his creative partner Antonio Monfredo have mounted Five Centuries of Fashion at Chatsworth. She also sought out Hubert Givenchy's advice, saying to Vogue UK, “He told me not to make it all about couture and grand things – personal things, he said, are as important as great craftsmanship – and that I should look for Andrew Devonshire’s embroidered slippers.”  Along with those slippers, his jumpers (sweaters to the colonies) emblazoned with pithy quotes, there is a coronation gown worn by Duchess Evelyn in 1937, and Duchess Mary in 1953.

photograph by Thomas Loof

The Exhibition runs from March 25 until October 22
See all the images of the Exhibition and read the story by Violet Henderson at Vogue UK here.  Hamish Bowles writes about the Exhibition here.

There is no doubt this Exhibition will rival the Costume Institute's Spring Exhibition. I am certainly intent on England before Chatsworth closes its doors on Five Centuries of Fashion.

GREAT HOUSES, MODERN ARISTOCRATS

Rule Britania 

Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire

While my favorite books about houses and lifestyle are Horst and Lawfords', a new book  GREAT HOUSE, MODERN ARISTOCRATS, stands out as an absolute treasure in the release of new books being published this Fall. The book by James Reginato, the writer whose stories are often within the pages of Vanity Fair and gifted photographer Jonathan Becker, the books' principal photographer, have given readers a reason to read, and to immerse ourselves in the pages of a truly beautiful book. That said, it's appropriate to mention the editor of this book is also my editor—Philip Reeser. It also behooves me to note editors should share the covers of books, certainly my book coming in the Spring. Philip has been integral in my book, and his expertise is unassailable.

Blenheim Palace

One of the Saloons at Blenheim with murals by  Laguerre.

The Grand Dame of Modern Aristocrats was definitely the Duchess of Devonshire—Deborah Cavendish. Entrepreneur, author, wit, Mitford sister, and certainly the most famous poulterer ever, the book finds the late Dowager Duchess ensconced in a tidy nest, The Old Vicarage at Chatsworth in Derbyshire.

Sensible Shoes, Chintz, and— Letters from Oxford Hugh Trevor-Roper to Bernard Berenson, Mellon: An American Life, and Flowers: Jo Self.

Lisemore Castle~ the realm of the Earl of Burlington, William Devonshire, in Ireland

The very proper Drawing Room of Lismore doesn't reflect the dynamic works of art the Earl has added to the Castle rooms. The modern art is indicative of the new life the handsome couple-William and Laura Cavendish has interjected into the property. This room was designed by A.W. N. Pugin and Joseph Paxton in the mid-nineteenth century.

Luggala, County Wicklow, Ireland 

Luggala's beautiful Drawing Room was decorated and restored by David Mlinaric and his associate Amanda Douglas. Another Pugin room, Mlinaric used a hand blocked wallpaper designed by Pugin called Gothic Lily—part of the Cole & Son archive.


Great Houses, Modern Aristocrats is a must have (exaggerated?)
Definitely Not.
It is substantive and beautiful. It will be one of those books you will return to time and again—and again.
Some of the additional properties included are: Dudley House in London (44, 000 square feet), Haddon Hall, Clandeboye, Houghton Hall, Dumfries-home of the Prince of Wales, and from the cover and perhaps my favorite is St. Giles House in Dorset.




 Great Houses, Modern Aristocrats by James Reginato, Rizzoli New York, 2016. The above images by Johnathan Becker were provided to me by Rizzoli and should not be used without permission from the publisher.

Sense & Sensibility: Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire

The Duchess of Devonshire photographed by Cecil Beaton, Dec 1949, c) The Cecil Beaton Studio Archive at Sothebys.

On March  2 this year Sotheby's in London will hold the auction: Deborah Duchess of Devonshire, The Last of the Mitford Sisters. This last Mitford- painted by Lucian Freud, photographed by all of the great photographers of the 20th century, was perhaps the most beloved, and ultimately the most accomplished of all the Mitford sisters. The auction encompasses the possessions the Duchess selected from Chatsworth when she moved to The Old Vicarage at Edensor on the estate, which would be her last home.

On downsizing the Duchess wrote in Wait for Me! ~ "For me it is the unheard-of pleasure for the kitchen to be just two steps away and for it to be two steps the other way into the garden."

PORTRAITS & FAMILY

Lot 124. The Mitford Family, photographic print, 1922.

“This auction paints a vivid picture of Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire, featuring mementoes, objects and pictures that tell the story of her remarkable life. A friend to many of the people who shaped her generation, she herself was a writer, an entrepreneur, a patron of the arts, and a much-admired beauty who also had the knack of absorbing the influences of other designers and decorators to develop her own style. The objects with which she chose to surround herself in her final home, the Old Vicarage at Edensor, were often moving, funny, or both, and usually had marvellous stories attached. The items in this sale capture the very essence of this endlessly captivating woman.”-David MacDonald, Sotheby’s specialist in charge of the sale

Lot 333. PORTRAIT OF DEBORAH, MARCHIONESS OF HARTINGTON by Mogens Tvede, pencil and watercolour, 1959. This portrait was painted at Edensor House on the Chatsworth Estate, Derbyshire, where Andrew and Deborah lived before moving into Chatsworth in 1949, and hung in the Duchess's Bedroom at the Old Vicarage, Edensor. TVEDE had painted Deborah's sister Nancy Mitford in 1948.

Lot 62. BY THE WINDOW painted by Nancy Mitford

Lot 63. PORTRAIT OF THE DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE, SEATED IN AN INTERIOR by Duncan Grant, 1959.

 “What is particularly wonderful about the sale is not only the sense one gets of the personal taste of Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire, but also of the value she placed on these objects that she chose to take with her from Chatsworth to the ‘Old Vic’. Together they form a rich collage that tells a remarkable story. I am sure the Duchess would have been quietly amused by this auction, and would undoubtedly have enjoyed correcting our cataloguers on the breed or species of animal which feature in many of her pictures. She would also have enjoyed telling the stories her possessions carry with them, as many of the lots have been ‘touched’ by the great and the good of the 20th century, among whose number Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire must certainly be counted.” -Henry Wyndham, Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe.

a DUCHESS &

...HUSBANDRY

the Duchess with one of her Shetland ponies at Chatsworth

Lot 215. A matched pair of large Continental earthenware hen tureens and covers, 19th century. one modelled with its head turned back, with four chicks under its breast and an egg behind and decorated in shades of red and purple, the other of lighter colouring, with five chicks under her breast and another behind, 32cm., 12.5 in. long

The Duchess writes, 'In middle age, when looking after my own chickens was too complicated, I gathered together pottery and china hens and ducks. They are less trouble than the live kind and are ever-present in my bedroom and sitting room. My favourites are a Belgium faience pair of life-sized speckled hens with heads turned back and beaks buried in their feathers, in that expression of poultry contentment hens wear after a dust bath on a spring day. One has a brood of chicks poking out from her breast, the other an egg. They are dishes - the top halves lids, heads and necks the handles. I bought them from one of those expensive antiques shops that catered for rich tourists in Park Lane, long since replaced by a travel agency. I remember stopping and staring at them with a great longing. The price seemed wild at the time and it certainly was. A recent valuation put the dishes at less than I paid twenty years ago, but the price is not the point when grabbed by such a longing. They have given, and continue to give, great pleasure'. 

-Deborah Devonshire, All in One Basket, London, 2012, p. 44

Lot 130.

Lot 64. COCKEREL AND HENS IN A FARMYARD 1860, painted by William Huggins 1820 - 1884 The Duchess writes, 'I have fallen for paintings of hens too... William Huggins, taking time off from painting lions, is the artist responsible for another group of poultry, in which the iridescent green and black tail feathers of the cock are brilliantly painted." -Deborah Devonshire, All in One Basket, London, 2012, p. 45. 

Lot 180. BUFF ORPINGTON HEN naturalistically worked and painted, the underside with a printed label about the sculptor's work and annotated in the Duchess's own hand 'hen - given me by Jayne / Aug 06'. A gift to Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire (1920-2014) from Mrs Jayne Wrightsman, New York in 2006

Lot 60. A French bronze and marble presse-papier in the form of a cockerel, second half 19th century

Lot.111 DEBORAH, DOWAGER DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE AND 'SKEWBALD MARE', 2004, Chromogenic print by David Dawson Signed, dated and titled ‘Lucian’s Studio.’  The Duke and Duchess were significant early patrons and acquired seventeen works by Freud for the collection at Chatsworth, including a mural of Cyclamen and a group of six family portraits. The painting: Skewbald Mare, featured in the offered lot, is now a cornerstone of the collection and was a favourite of the Duchess. During Freud’s extraordinarily turbulent social life, countless friends would come and go, but his bond with the Duchess remained a rare constant and lasted over fifty years. (from Sotheby's)

Lot 193. A PRIZE OX IN A BARN by W W Waite 1839 pen and ink and watercolour

Lot 168.EIFION JUMBO, an embroidered collage by Sarah Waters Allen 82. 

more selections from inside the Sotheby's Sale & The Old Vicarage

The dining room (the painting is Lot 269 below)

LOT 118. DELPHINIUMS by Emma Tennant

Lot 269. WOODLANDS GAY WITH LADY SMOCKS by Reginald Rex Vicat Cole

Lot 290 A four-fold screen with one side decorated with cut-paper panels profusely decorated with cartoons, notables of the time and vignettes with some titles in manuscript Provenance: Probably William Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire (1790-1858)

Lot 324. An Edwardian carved mahogany and cane bed, head and footboard, early 20th century.

Lot 362. THE DOWAGER DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE'S GERANIUM by Jo Self, titled, dedicated with love for Deborah and dated 31. July . 2006 

Lot 331. A Pair of George II style upholstered armchairs specially commissioned loose covers in printed 'Chatsworth Rosebud' fabric, 1985. The pretty fabric which covers these armchairs was produced by Warners copying antique fabric found at Chatsworth. This was not the first time that Chatsworth linen stores yielded fabric which went on to inspire designers or was copied by them. The Duchess writes (Chatsworth, The House, London, 2002, p. 226). 'In 1985 Laura Ashley, then at the height of her fame, was brought here by a mutual friend. She was fascinated by the little bundles of chintzes and silks neatly tied with ribbons and put away in one of the cupboards by a housekeeper of yore. Laura took a number of them and in due course they were copied in her factory. There was great satisfaction in going into her shops and seeing rolls of the prettiest cottons imaginable sold to appreciative customers and knowing that the original came out of that grubby old cupboard.'


The delights of this sale are bountiful. Sotheby's has provided extensive quotations along with provenance-all of which are noted in the text above in links to Sotheby's Sale here.
It makes for great reading.

with my Body I thee worship, and with all my worldly Goods I thee endow.

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I never miss a chance for another book-mostly at this point I am booking it for older books-Not the shiny new ones, though they are good too. It's ALL the books I missed and should have read that I seek. Anything memoir-ish or biography-ish or auto- Perfection.

A recent Winner- LOVED ONES, PEN PORTRAITS BY DIANA MOSLEY. If you want a good portrait go to a good friend for the goods. Diana Mosley's pen sketches include her husband, Sir Oswald Mosley, Lytton Strachey and Carrington, Evelyn Waugh, Professor Derek Jackson, her sister Pamela's husband, Prince and Princess Clary, Lord Berners and Violet Hammersley.

 Mrs. Hammersley's portrait by Philip Wilson Steer in 1907 reflects the style of Gainsborough. She remembered the painter as having disliked the blue satin bows and 'Steer replaced them with white’: I sat to him all through the winter andspring and into the summer of 1907, and we had near a hundred sittings.These took place at 109 Cheyne Walk, and I sat on a sofa at the end ofhis charming drawing room … The sitting lasted about three hours and Ido not remember ever being bored for a moment. "
(Mrs. Hammersley quoted in MacColl, 1945)

Along with this cast, other players enter and exit with choice starring roles and bit parts.  Violet Hammersley was a sort of godmother to all the Mitford girls-being their mother's dearest friend.  Once a beauty and a wealthy one at that, Mrs. Hammersley never let that be cause for optimism!  After Cox's Bank failed Mrs. Hammersley's fortunes turned and she announced the news to the Mitford family in a note written on the back of a crumpled bill. According to Diana Mosley, her love of  the dramatic never abated- and with the lessening of her fortunes Mrs. Hammersley lived in "despair," but she continued to be a delight and the girls remained attached to her throughout their diverging lives. Some of the most charming anecdotes in the book come from this chapter.

Violet Hammersley was great friends with Somerset Maugham, Sybil Colefax and Osbert Sitwell. One of several homes included Sargent's old studio in Tite Street-where the great portraitist had painted Violet's sister in law-Mrs Hugh Hammersley in 1892.

Mrs. Ham, as she was called by the Mitford girls, was once overheard telling her dog- 'I worship your body.' The expression was carried on by Debo, the now dowager Duchess of Devonshire, applying it to anything she happened to like. Diana wrote: I once heard her say,

Oh! that Chintz! I worship its body.

Deborah Devonshire, above, in 1938, with her dog & her chintz, & below photographed by Derry Moore in 1985. in the Blue Drawing Room at Chatsworth with her dog & her chintz & her Sargent.

Sargent's painting of the Acheson Sisters-Ladies Alexandra, Mary and Theo Acheson, was likely commissioned by the grandmother of the girls, Louisa, Duchess of Devonshire, who was previously married to the Seventh Duke of Manchester (grandfather to the girls)

Louise von Alten - Duchess of Manchester, later the Eight Duchess of Devonshire-from the painting by Robert Thornburn

Dogs ! Chintz ! Portraits !  Sargents ! - & Loved Ones!
I worship your body!

there is a copy at High Valley books here

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the Stateside Mitford

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"Objectivity? I always have an objective." JM

Born this day one of the six Mitford Sisters, Jessica,  known as DECCA
portrait by William Acton

they all seem to hold a unique tie to their generation- 

she was to feel the constraints of her privilege most.

she would resent her parents for not allowing her a formal education., yet her Hons and Rebels leaves any sensitive Anglophile longing for ties to that Mitford family.

 Decca seated age 6, with Unity age 9

 "The Hons' Cupboard, where Debo and I spent much of our time, still has the same distinctive, stuffy smell and enchanting promise of complete privacy from the Grown-ups."  Jessica Mitford

Decca , center above & below

 The year she made her come out Decca fell out with the frivolity and flirting of the season, and ran off with her second cousin Esmond Romilly to Spain-joining Communists in the Spanish Civil War. Esmond was reporting on the war scene at the time and Decca was falling in love with Esmond.

 the young &  golden Romillys

Oh yes-and Esmond was First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill's nephew. Family, along with a British destroyer tried desperately to make the pair see reason and return to England. 

Ever the rebel, Decca married Esmond in 1937.

 Esmond and Decca, at left

 The young marrieds emigrated to the States  in 1939- soon after Britain declared war on Germany and Romilly enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Decca stayed in the States while in 1941-Esmond was killed in a bombing raid over Germany. Decca stayed on in America, marrying Robert Treuhaft in 1943-and so her life in civil rights and political life was born stateside. 

Her first book-written in 1960 when she was 43- Hons and Rebels-is a memoir of  her childhood. In her book, The American Way of Death Mitford writes a scathing criticism of  the funeral industry  practices toward Death and Family. The book became an instant bestseller &  was one of the inspirations for Tony Richardson's film The Loved One,  based on Evelyn Waugh's novel. More on this movie later. In 1977, Mitford published A Fine Old Conflict- about her life as a Communist. The book's title was Decca's version of the Communist anthem The Internationale- with the words being Tis the Final Conflict.

Her last work was an update entitled The American Way of Death Revisited. Jessica- Decca- died in 1998 of lung cancer in accordance with her wishes she was cremated and her ashes were scattered at sea for a mere $533. 31- 

A woman of conviction to the Last.





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165 Eaton Place Style

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The Before

The After

all images from the BBC, BBC one, Masterpiece Theatre or the links at the end of this story

the Place-Eaton Place

the Decoration

& decorating by the book, it's almost as if Lady Agnes turned the pages.

for her 165 Eaton Place Style

Dorthy Draper at l. , The Greenbrier Resort decorated by Dorothy Draper, r.

There is undoubtedly something- about it. 

165 makes me think DRAPER.
Oddly there is very little evidence of the British designers of the period like Syrie Maugham at 165. I think it is safe to say, the Lady (Agnes) of the house did the decorating herself.

 urban electric's dorothy

there's even something like this-there.

Watch the full episode. See more Masterpiece.

another shot of Draper

image: South Florida Sentinel

Mike Stocker

Here we have the cast of the new episodes of Upstairs Downstairs.
I couldn't wait. Should we have to wait? Dreadful that the series doesn't start in the states til mid April. The story begins with the opening up of the old Bellamy Mansion at 165 Eaton Place and the three episodes encompass the death of the King- the coming of King Edward VIII-Wallis Simpson-Abdication- World War II-and all the intrigues of- ups and downs of -those living under the roof of 165.

Happily, Rose- yes, that is the original Rose Burk, played by series creator Jean Marsh, is back at 165 holding it together along with another sort of Original- Lady Holland played by Dame Eileen Atkins.  Eileen Atkins along with Marsh were the creators of the original Upstairs Downstairs. The original produced 68 episodes from 1971-1975 and  it's back and it's good, very good- better than Downton Abbey. Perhaps it is Rose that makes it connect-she was and again is- the heart and soul of the story.

The Cast at 165 Eaton Place

A List from Masterpiece Theatre here

Residing at 165 Upstairs & Down

The Ladies who run the show- Lady Maude l, Rose r

Maud, Lady Holland is the spark that sets fire to Eaton Place. She will be likely-the unforgettable character of the series. Maud returns to England just in time to upset the arrangements her daughter in law- Lady Agnes played by Keeley Hawes  is making  to dazzle her guests and new husband Sir Hallam handsomely played by Ed Stoppard. There is more than meets the eye there I'll tell you!  Lady Holland selects the best rooms with plans to dictate her memoirs of the Raj to her -of course-most elegant Indian secretary Mr Amanjit.  Uptight Lady Agnes is attempting to get the hang of things, while Lady Holland is stealing every scene with quirky -but stylish clothes, having adopted a Lady of the world wardrobe, Indian saris styled as evening clothes.  Be still my heart.

Lady Maud's Wardrobe

(would love to have it)

 South Indian Brocade Sarees  Pre Independence India, c. 1930.

handwoven Indian silk by sophisticated artisans in British services 

(from my collection of textiles)

The Glamour

watch Wallis make an appearance

When she was just Mrs. Simpson

 quote from the blog Beyond the Pale's Miss Nightingale 

"It’s a very particular British kind of glamour – all aristocratic complexions, matte lipstick, clicky heels and that clipped Mitford-esque brittleness which defines the period for me."

 

  the Mitford Sisters look on 

The Eaton Place Sisters

 Lady Agnes and Lady Persie

 

 even the hypnotic  'glamour' of the Fascist Oswald Mosley-who Lady Persie becomes infatuated with-

Oswald Mosley

Lady Persie

ART DECO

 Decoration

All up to the minute furniture of the Art Deco period fills the drawing room-and that is full of fret work moldings on the walls. While the paintings remain of another era and sofas are bursting with down, damask patterns of velvet and full tilt brush fringes (the scenes above)

The new episodes- alas there are only THREE- but I hope many more are to come. It is already a feast for the eyes.

Solomon

devotee of sweet tea,  thick-cut marmalade & the occasional maraschino cherry

all to our particular taste

LINKS

this is an all encompassing blog about every wonderful Period Film- you need to keep up here
everything about the new Upstairs Downstairs at Enchanted Serenity Period Films here
updown.org here 
Maison Gerard here
prettily put together at Beyond the Pale here  & here
full casts- the first and the second here
BBC
BBC talks to production designer Eve Stewart here
 Draper here
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