CSI: Preservation

Benjamin Harrison constructed and lived at the house at 1230 N Delaware Street from 1875 until he was elected to the office of President of the USA in 1889, and for many years after his term was over. During his residence the finishes in the house were updated at various times, as most houses are, to reflect changing trends and tastes of the inhabitants. The house served as a residence and then a dormitory until 1951. It was later turned into a museum. An extensive renovation was undertaken in 1973 to make it look more historic. Unfortunately, the changes were not based on historic evidence. With a grant from Save America’s Treasures and matching money raised by the President Benjamin Harrison Foundation much of the first floor was able to be restored to a more historically accurate appearance. Using the following techniques we were able to crack the case.

• Hidden Photography – one of the biggest resources we relied on for the project was historic photography. Unfortunately, people do not often focus on wallpaper patterns in their snapshots, so most of our information was gathered from the background. Zooming in and adjusting the contrast allowed us to discern the patterns. Cues were taken from historic wallpaper patterns found in resource books and reproduction wallpaper companies such as Bradbury & Bradbury. After many iterations and revisions, custom patterns were created by a local artist for the walls, borders and ceilings of the two parlours.

L-Historic photo of parlour wallpaper (courtesy of PBHH archives) R-Draft of recreated pattern (by Walter Knabe Studios)

•  Chromatic Analysis – Another failure of historic photographs is that they tend to be in black and white. To determine colors for our wallpaper patterns we had to turn to other resources. Historic paint palettes published by paint companies such as Sherwin Williams gave us a clue to the popular colors of the time period. Historic newspaper articles that described the rooms also gave insight (one referenced blue brocade chairs in one of the parlours, hinting at the color scheme). Analysis of paint chips at the ceiling gave us another clue. An original rug in the room further informed the color selection. Helping us along was the fact that the Victorian Era was notoriously bold and colorful, so it was perfectly acceptable to use all of the colors together!
• Forgotten Fragments – Moving some large casework in the library uncovered fragments of the original floral wallpaper. This was a major discovery in the investigation. The fragments were used to accurately replicate the pattern, scale and colors of the original wallpaper. One interesting aspect we would not have known without the fragments was that the colors had a metallic sheen to them. This was able to be replicated. One question arose about the background of the paper – had it always been that shade of brown, or was that a result of discoloration over time? With no clear answer, we chose to replicate the colors in the fragments as they were instead of guessing what they may have been.

L-Fragment of original library paper (PBHH archives) R-Recreated patterns for the library (by Walter Knabe Studios)

• Ghost Hunting – No, we did not conduct séances to commune with former residents, but rather looked for outlines of elements that had been removed to provide information on what may have been there. In the library we discovered a shadow line about 2/3 of the way up the wall at the perimeter of the room, indicating the location of a picture rail that had been removed. No evidence remained of the profile, and no picture rail remained in the house, so we looked to another home of the same time period in the neighborhood for inspiration. The profile of the picture rail at the James Whitcomb Riley House was copied and installed over the ghost of its predecessor.
• Stunt Double – Ideally the carpeting in the library would have been custom made like the wallpaper to replicate that shown in the historic photo. Unfortunately the budget would not allow this. Instead a suitable reproduction carpet in a period appropriate style is a close match.

T-Historic carpet pattern (PBHH archives) B-Period appropriate reproduction carpet pattern

• Carbon Copy – The PBHH archives contained a receipt from the original construction for two plaster ceiling medallions for the parlour chandeliers, only one of which still existed. After stripping off over 100 years worth of paint, the contractor was able to make a rubber mold of the existing medallion, and cast a copy out of plaster for the front parlour.

L-Original medallion after much stripping of paint by PBHH staff R-New medallion cast from mold

Combining all of these resources, we were able to recreate the scene as it would have been when President Benjamin Harrison lived there – check out the before and after pictures below.

L-Historic photo of back parlour (PBHH archives) C-Front parlour prior to restoration R-Front parlour after restoration (Susan Fleck Photography)

L- Historic photo of library (PBHH archives) C-Library prior to restoration R-Library after restoration (Susan Fleck Photography)

Tags: building forensics, carpet reproduction, CSI, President Benjamin Harrison Home, wallpaper reproduction

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