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.

Colonial Williamsburg: Fine Millinery

Ladies, do you need a new hat? How about the Fine Millinery shop in Colonial Williamsburg? These November 1955 images show a charming young lady eager and ready to assist you in store located on the Duke of Gloucester Street.

Another view of the shop from April 1956:

Let’s zoom in for the signage; I can’t help myself.

Same shop, from November 1955, with a different employee dressed in period garb:

The shop was still there during my 2017 visit, but appears to have lost its decorative signage that surrounded the top window:

See more Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia photos at my main website.

1940's Colonial Williamsburg

Today’s trio hails from 1947 and shows Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. I have no idea what the building is in the first shot (bad blogger); since it’s the first sequential shot in the batch I acquired, it could even be from Fredericksburg. I CAN, however, definitively say that the next one is the Governor’s Palace: 

Still there when I visited in 2017:

A 1940s view of the rear of the Palace:

…and how it looked in 2017:

As a final note before the weekend, if you’re superstitious, you might want to avoid anyone that looks like this who goes by the name Mrs. Voorhees:

Especially if you’re near a lake.

See more Colonial Williamsburg photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley at Mount Vernon

Here’s a 1938 shot of Shirley on the lawn of George Washington’s home Mount Vernon, located in Alexandria, Virginia. Holding the camera at left is her publicity agent, Wendell “Doc” Bishop. As Shirley expert supreme, Rita Dubas, relayed in her book Shirley Temple: A Pictorial History of the World's Greatest Child Star:

[He] acted as press protector, buddy, and often personal assistant. His job was not only to garner media exposure for his star, but to make sure she was content on the set and off—which often meant that he would find himself involved in a game of “Squares,” or acting as Deputy to Shirley’s Texas Ranger.

What was Shirley doing at Mount Vernon? She was enjoying a trek across America during her summer vacation. To round out the post, here are a few vintage shots of Mount Vernon from the 1950s:







This photo of Shirley on the set of “Just Around the Corner” shows her wearing the same dress/jumper combo:



Shirley’s trip was big news; in fact it even made the cover of LIFE magazine!



Here’s the original shot used on the cover, taken at a wheat field in Junction City, Kansas:



See more Mount Vernon 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.