Recreating Jefferson's Famous Fireplace

Few aspects involved in creating this wine exhibit have impacted me more than the research devoted to Thomas Jefferson and his appreciation of wine. In October of 2008 when visiting Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia I learned (and saw firsthand) more about Jefferson in two days than all the book research that I had done for months prior. The curators at Monticello were a wealth of information. In addition to touring throughout the various rooms of Monticello, I was taken into the wine cellar. This was very special to me, to actually be walking in Thomas Jefferson's cellar, standing exactly where slaves stood as they placed selected wine bottles in the carriage boxes of his famous fireplace wine dumbwaiter to be sent upstairs to a waiting Jefferson and his dinner guests. The cellar was located directly below the dining room. The dumbwaiter system that Jefferson devised allowed for wines to be served without the intrusion of waitstaff.

For 'The Culture of Wine' exhibit we are recreating a portion of Jefferson's dining room and wine cellar areas. The focal point of the dining room will be a recreation of his fireplace showing the ingenious dumbwaiters hidden in the sides of the mantle. Shown in the photo above is George Bush Presidential Library 'Exhibit Specialist' Jason Hancock and 'Museum Tech' Debbie Page, both worked on building the replica. As shown here the fireplace is about 80% finished. Still to be added are the Wedgewood Jasperware plaques, the marble trim and finishing moulding. The photo below shows a detail of the hidden dumbwaiters located in each side.

The Vineyards are Yellow

Every year from late January through March the vineyard landscapes of Northern California are blanketed in the yellow glow of 'Wild Mustard'. This is one of the most beautiful times of the year to be in wine country. The wild mustard, 'brassica kaber' also provides many beneficial actions in the vineyard. For the organic vintner, it acts as a superb cover crop for the good insects that eat the bad insects. It's root system also helps to open up the soil. The wild mustard plants seed in the winter when the vines are dormant. The plants can grow between 1 and 3 feet tall. Technically they are listed by the state of California as a 'noxious weed'...but don't tell that to the wild mustard for in Napa the plants have garnered nearly celebrity status... just check out the Napa Valley Mustard Festival website.

Preparing the Corkscrew Collection

It is interesting that a device designed to perform the simple task of removing a cork from a bottle of wine has become almost an objet d' art in itself. I casually began collecting corkscrews sometime back...but now with the opening of 'The Culture of Wine' exhibit, I am researching them as a more serious collector. Once you become familiar with antique corkscrews you can quickly place them into many different categories such as; non-mechanical direct pull, mechanical, lever, pocket, concertina, folding, waiters, etc. Within each category models may range from very plain & simple to beautiful & ornate.

Depending on where a collector purchases an antique corkscrew, you may or may not need to know a few things about cleaning and caring for them. Most of the corkscrews that I have obtained are inspected and then cleaned and preserved by a method endorsed by museum conservators. First, I apply a solvent such as 'low odor' mineral spirits with a soft brush to any rusty areas. Depending on the amount of rust or dirt present, I then use a nylon or even a soft metal 'brass' brush dipped in the solvent to begin cleaning. After this step I dry the corkscrew with a soft dry rag and set the corkscrew aside to further dry for about half an hour. The next step is to wax the entire corkscrew with a special micro-crystalline wax called 'Renaissance Wax'. This wax is applied as an additional cleaner and a protectant. It drys very quickly and once buffed alittle it leaves a very nice luster finish.

Once finished the corkscrews are placed in archival boxes for storage. For the exhibit, a selection of various groupings will be displayed in acrylic wall cases. Many of my personal favorites were produced in England and France between 1850 and 1930. Below is a "Farrow & Jackson' champagne knife from London, England circa 1900.

Completion of the Exhibit-Space Floor Plans

Museum Curator Susie Cox gave me a deadline...I must have the completed floorplans turned in by December 10th... I needed that deadline. The core walls of the exhibit area are being produced by a German company and are called mila-wall® panels. My design and plans needed to take into consideration both dimensional and structural aspects of these special museum walls. Working with Jason Hancock, the exhibit specialist at the George Bush Presidential Library & Museum, we will be utilizing some of the mila-wall® panels with additional custom walls that we will fabricate in the Library's shop. Needless to say, I was happy to get this design element wrapped up. A lot of thought went into the details of this. My pencil drawings are now being transfered into CAD drawings that will become the master plans.