Monticello Monday

In honor of the recent July 4th holiday, I am posting then (July 1954) and “now” (August 2017) shots of Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd U.S. President. The biggest difference from the above and below shots would be what appears to be a very heavy thinning of the landscape. When I visited in 2017, obviously many of the trees surrounding the home had been removed.



Back to July 1954, with another shot of the home that Jefferson designed himself:



The whites seemed whiter in 1954 vs. 2017, and there appears to have been a different color palette applied to the dome.



I have no corresponding shot for this, which shows the walkway to the side of the house:



A detailed view of the cistern:



Where the tour from July1954 must have begun:





How that side of the house looked in August 2017; again, fewer trees and I am assuming that the whiter-whites in 1954 were not considered historically accurate.



Our 1954 tour group pays a visit to the Ice House:





This 1954 shot of the breezeway along Mulberry Row shows what appears to be a replica of the Liberty Bell:



Complete with crack (the legal kind!). I don’t recall seeing this when I visited in 2017. It must either be in storage or moved elsewhere.



Another shot along Mulberry Row:



The corresponding view from August 2017:



1954 guests look inside the kitchen and read the signage outside:



The inside of the kitchen from 2017:



I have no idea what this building is; if it was there in 2017, I either missed it or it had been removed.






Jefferson died on July 4, 1826; John Adams, the 2nd President of the U.S., outlived him by a few hours, despite his final words being, “Thomas Jefferson survives.”

See more Monticello photos at my main website.

Monticello Monday

If you’ve never been to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, today is your chance to see it in Genuine FauxD©! These 1970’s springtime images give a glimpse at the estate in Charlottesville, Virginia in all its three dimensional glory.



I’ve been fortunate enough to visit the Jefferson home twice; once in 1971 and again in 2017.





Interior views of the estate are hard to find, as tourists are typically not allowed to take photos. Here’s the entry hall:



These interior shots came from a batch of vintage black and white postcards:



Both of these images show the Dining Room:



This 1952 shot shows a young lady perusing the dumb-waiter located on the side of the Dining Room fireplace:



From the vintage publicity blurb:

When Jefferson wanted some refreshment in a hurry from his wine cellar, he sent a servant down to put the desired vintage on this dumb-waiter and got results fast. Another of the president’s inventions, this was the first dumb-waiter in America.



Jefferson also invented the automatic opening doors being displayed by these two lovely ladies. From the vintage publicity blurb:

Jefferson devised these doors in such a way that opening one of them automatically opened the other—an effect similar to modern trolley and bus doors. The exact mechanism is unknown because it has never been necessary to open the woodwork covering its smooth operation.

Back to the set of postcard images, we have the Drawing Room:



Another view of the Entry Hall:



Jefferson’s Bedroom, where there’s no waking up on the wrong side of the bed!



Jefferson’s piano:



Two more color vintage views:



Another view of the dumb-waiter:



See more Monticello photos at my main website.

2017: Leaving On A Jet Plane

Although not quite as hectic as last year, 2017 saw me get on and off a plane way too many times. I am plum tuckered out. Still, nothing like a little travel to open up your eyes and broaden your horizons with new experiences. Here's the Reader's Digest version of 2017. First up in February was Nashville, Tennessee for a Board of Director's meeting. Despite a ton-o-meetings I had a whirlwind tour of Music City that included the Ryman Auditorium and Union Hotel.



In March, a quick trip to Las Vegas introduced me to the Neon Museum Boneyard...



and the Cosmopolitan Hotel. What a view from my balcony!



One month later it was off to Greenville for a Design Conference I was chairing.



May found me back in Vegas for one night to shoot the wedding of my barber at the Little Church of the West.



What a blast!



I had a slight break until September, when I boarded a plane (again) for a whirlwind trip though Virginia including Richmond:



Colonial Williamsburg:



and Charlottesville:



One month later, another conference and Board of Director's meeting for UCDA took me to Baltimore:



with a detour to Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, to see Mom:



November was fossil hunting in The Berkshires:



with a one day excursion to San Francisco in December:



None of this post documents the many additional trips to LA, Palm Springs, and other semi-local areas to which I had a number of fun photo shoots. So thankful for a week off to catch up on rest...and figure out where 2018 and will take me! Hard to believe, but not once did I set foot on a Disney property in the entire calendar year. Will that trend hold? Who knows.

See more Daveland photos at my main website.

Graveyard at Monticello

Today marks the final post of my Virginia trip, finishing up business in the Monticello graveyard. I was a little surprised at the ostentatious gold TJ on the front of the gate. The paint gave a tacky look to the insignia. Other than that, it was a beautiful little plot for the family of Thomas Jefferson.



Here is the marker for the third President of the United States.



Surprising to many is that the Presidency was not on the list of what Jefferson wanted to be known for.





Signage can assist you in finding the plot you are looking for.



Even Jefferson's mother is buried here.



I hope you enjoyed my photos from Virginia; it was a wonderful trip and at some point, I do hope to return. Especially to Charlottesville.

See more Monticello photos at my main website.