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In honor of the
upcoming holidays, this month’s artifact is a 1912 promotional
pamphlet, “The Dining Room: Its Decoration and Entertaining,” which
was donated to the Healdsburg Museum in 1978 by (the late) Duvall
Bell. Bell was a well-known pioneer Dry Creek Valley resident and
early supporter of the Museum who donated many historical objects to
the Museum during his lifetime.
The
pamphlet presents the finer points of setting an elegant table for
most significant occasions, including a wedding table, an Easter
table, a Halloween table, a children’s birthday table and a
Thanksgiving table. It has special tips for decorating in the
Colonial style, the Louis XIV style and the Craftsman style. The
pamphlet was produced by R. Wallace and Sons Manufacturing, Inc, a
sterling silver manufacturer. It was a promotional item that the
Louis Koberg jewelry store on Plaza Street (formerly Powell) gave to
customers who bought their silver from the store.
Tips for decorating
the Christmas table are as follows:
Spread a white linen tablecloth and drape with
fancy paper runners. A toy Santa Claus is placed in the
center, surrounded with snow balls containing gifts. The gifts
are covered with paper and cotton is glued around the balls to
give the snow effect. The favors are little metal reindeers. At
the end of the meal, ice cream is molded in the form of balls and
covered with grated coconut. A little spray of holly should be at
each place card and strings of popcorn are draped in the form of a
canopy from the chandelier
in the middle.
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