Physical Description:

Photograph provided by Ashley Trainor: Front view of Charles Warner’s Tilt-top table

The table displayed to the left stands about 2ft off the ground when the table top is parallel with the floor. The table top is hinged allowing it to be turned on it side when is not being used to hold various objects. In its entirety, the table has minimal scratches/ chips. The base of the table has been constructed out 5 separate pieces of mahogany wood. The central piece is an urn-like base that appears to have been turned on a lathe with a pineapple carved into the center of it. The base is connected to three arched, tapered legs. Each leg consists of acanthus leaf carvings that transition into the paw of an animal (likely the paw of a lion). Attached to the center base and legs is a smaller table top, likely to function as a seat. The table top is an ovular shape with pinched corners that it approximately 2ft x 1.5ft. Beneath the tabletop is a makers mark inscribed “Charles Warner, Cabinet Maker, Poughkeepsie.” This type of table (hinged table top with smaller attached smaller seat) is referred to as a tilt-top table. This table was constructed approximately 1800-1820.

Illustrations of the decorative motifs most common in this style.

Furniture being designed during this time (1805-1830) which overlaps with the same time of Charles Warner’s life was referred to as American Empire style furniture. Influenced by neoclassical and french empire during the reign of Napoleon. Specifically this style was largely inspired by Napoleon’s architects Percier and Fontaine after Napoleon returned from a trip to Egypt in 1798.(LaChuisa, 2005) This style uses decorative motifs including rope twist carvings, animal paw feet, Acanthus leaves, stars, eagles with spread wings, etc. It was common during this era design to use oak, mahogany, and other dark woods for building furniture. However, dark woods were so popular that often mahogany was painted black. Also, inlays were often used and were made of ebony or maple veneer. This style varied within utilizing this set of visual motifs with New York City being the center of this design style. (LaChuisa, 2005) New York city was also the center of fashion at the time, which will relate to the utility of this kind of furniture explained later in this post.

Provenance:

Side/Back view of Table. The Gold square at the top of the table is the Makers mark engraves “Charles Warner, Cabinet Maker, Poughkeepsie”

Sought out by furniture historians as a major landmark in cabinet making, Tilt-top tables arrived in America in the early eighteenth century from England. From their start in England, Tilt top tables were associated with a gentile behaviors, namely tea drinking. Tilt top tables were also referred to as tilt- top tea tables. Other common nomenclature used to refer to this kind of table was the “claw table” and the “snap table.” The tables became an indispensable unit of the ritual of tea drinking. Tilt top tables were just as necessary as the tea, kettle, and cups as they contributed to the fashionable parlors and heightened the status for politicians, artisans, laborers, etc..  Generally speaking, people invented new types of furniture to accommodate the continuously changing needs at the time. (Fayen)The tilt top table did contribute to the solving the problem of spatial efficiency however, this table gained recognition for its appearance more than its utility. Historians figure that this was in part due to the state of consumerism at the time. It was during this period that the production of goods were becoming more affordable and widespread to produce. The fashionable experience of tea drinking that was once only afforded to the rich and wealthy became accessible to those in the middle class. Between 1740-1790 tilt top tables were omnipresent components to American parlors.  This time frame leads right into about the time of Charles Warner and his desire to construct these tables. Based on the provenance of the tilt top table it becomes clearer the intention of building such tables. (Fayen)

Makers Bio/Historical Narrative:

Detail image of the base of the table

Charles Warner worked as a cabinet maker in Poughkeepsie in 1820. It appears that Charles Warner was born and raised in Poughkeepsie, dying in 1834. He was the son of Thomas Warner who purchased a lot of land in Poughkeepsie “beginning at the northeast corner of Myndert Van Kleek’s garden fence along the new street” 1785. Warner was not only a cabinet maker but also, a businessman. He owned a considerable number of stock shares, including stock in the Poughkeepsie Whaling Company, the Farmers and Manufacturers Bank, the Eastern Market, the Poughkeepsie Steam Boat Company, and the Dutchess Whaling Company. Financial records indicate that Charles Warner was a successful cabinetmaker and businessman, with considerable financial resources for the period.(Fallen)

Charles Warner’s table, which now lives in the Empire gallery room in the Deyo House, signifies not only a time of advancement in consumerism and commercial trade, but also lends itself to the attitudes of status and fashion in the early 19th century in the Hudson Valley. Although little is known about the local artisan himself we can deduce by his financial resources that he was an affluent man who enjoyed and benefited off of the popularized gentile lifestyle of the early 19th century. Additionally, I ascertain based on the quality of craft that was involved in the construction of this table that there are a wide variety of Charles Warner tables scattered through the Hudson Valley. Although it is unknown who was utilizing this table, the specific qualities of this table indicate that the individuals were mindfully curating an image of what I like to call efficient elegance.

Work Cited

1. Fayen, Sarah Neale. “Tilt-Top Tables and Eighteenth-Century Consumerism.” Chipstone.      N.p., n.d. Web.

2.Fallen, Todd. “A Regional Study in Early Nineteenth-century Cabinetmaking: Charles Warner, Cabinetmaker, Poughkeepsie, New York.” 2005. WAG Postprints. Web.

3.“American Empire (1800-1840).” Guide to Furniture Styles from Connected Lines. Connected Lines, n.d. Web. 04 May 2017.

4. LaChuisa, Chuck. “Furniture – Empire Style.” Empire Style. N.p., 2005. Web. 04 May 2017.

For this project I originally wanted to type this blogpost on a typer writer on campus however, this was made impossible by the development of a pretty awful infection that landed me in the hospital this week. I am home and resting now, which gave me sometime to reconsider my analog project.

I decided to reflect on the phone calls I was making this week. I have always preferred communicating with others via telephone for a while now. I find that texting can be fun when you’re talking to someone new or if useful if you need to send a message that can be read and dealt with later. However, if I need to communicate with someone immediately texting does not fit the bill. This is for a couple of reasons. 1. it is so rare when I urgently text someone that they will read it immediately because they were either in class, their phone was in their bag/pocket, their phone was dead, etc. 2. The silly little beep noise or subtle vibrate of a text is not always easily heard or felt depending on the place you’re in. 3. Ive recently found that a lot of people will only display on their lock screen that they got a message from a person but it doesn’t disclose the message on the screen until you open the messages app. 4. Usually my urgent text messages will say something about calling so why not just skip this step and go straight to the calling?

This week the ability to call someone was dyer whether it was my mom, boyfriend, friend, or the health center. Particularly when you’re sick, having immediate response makes a worlds of difference. I am not referring to sick as head cold sick, I am referring to the sick that renders you immobile and practically helpless/confused which is where I was at Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Time passes extremely slow when you’re sick. If someone doesn’t promptly answer it feels like it could be hours or days until they get back to you. Especially in this case it was even more critical that I call instead of text because I would need to use more brain power (that I did not have) to text someone. Wednesday when I was really feeling ill, I called my mother for some support. (Normally I just tough it out when I am sick but this felt a lot different from previous experiences being sick.) It was nice to hear her gentle voice on phone talking me down from my nerves and addressing the situation with serenity and grace. It was able to give me some peace of mind that this would be figured out. By the end of the call she suggested that I either go to first care or the hospital. After taking this called Immediately fell asleep and woke up about an hour or two later in a puddle of sweat.  The second call I made was to my boyfriend Alex. He knew I was pretty sick when he had left for work. Luckily he was walking in as I was calling him to let him know that I needed to be brought to the ER. Finally when I was starting to be treated I received a couple calls from my close friends that learned of what had happened. There is such a massive difference between someone wishing you well over a text and someone doing the same but over a phone call.

I think some of the big difference between this analog system of communication versus the digital means of communication via text is the level of urgency that each technology carries, the level of human connection that is felt, and level of fluidity in conversing with another(referring to the level of brain power needed to text versus talk on phone).

Physical Description:

The table above stands about 2ft off the ground when the table top is parallel with the floor. The table top is hinged allowing it to be turned on it side when is not being used to hold various objects. The table in its entirety has minimal scratches/ chips. The base of the table has been constructed out 5 separate pieces of mahogany wood. The central piece is an urn-like base that appears to have been turned on a lathe with a pineapple carved into the center of it. This base is connected to three arched, tapered legs. Each leg consists of acanthus leaf carvings that transition into the paw of an animal (likely the paw of a lion). Attached to the center base and legs is a smaller table top, likely to function as a seat. The table top is an ovular shape with pinched corners that it approximately 2ft x 1.5ft. Beneath the tabletop is a makers mark inscribed “Charles Warner, Cabinet Maker, Poughkeepsie.” This type of table (hinged table top with smaller attached smaller seat) is referred to as a tilt-top table. This table was constructed approximately 1800-1820.

Furniture being designed during this time (1805-1830) which overlaps with the same time of Charles Warners life was referred to as American Empire style furniture. Influenced by neoclassical and french empire during the reign of Napoleon, this style uses decorative motifs including rope twist carvings, animal paw feet, anthemion leafs, stars, eagles with spread wings, etc. It was common during this era design to use oak, mahogany, and other dark woods for building furniture.

Provenance:

Maker Bio/Historical Narritive:

Charles Warner worked as a cabinet maker in Poughkeepsie in 1820. It appears that Charles Warner was born and raised in poughkeepsie, dying in 1834. He was the son of Thomas Warner who purchased a lot in Poughkeepsie “beginning at the northeast corner of Myndert Van Kleek’s garden fence along the new street” 1785. Warner was not only a cabinet maker but also, a businessman. He owned a considerable number of stock shares, including stock in the Poughkeepsie Whaling Company, the Farmers and Manufacturers Bank, the Eastern Market, the Poughkeepsie Steam Boat Company, and the Dutchess Whaling Company. Financial records indicate that Charles Warner was a successful cabinetmaker and businessman, with considerable financial resources for the period.

Before I begin this blog I must inform you all that I tried to take this class a couple of semesters before this, however was not able to due to schedule conflicts. When I originally took this class I decided to explore a beaded necklace that was passed down to my mother and father many years ago from distant relatives in Detroit.  I look to revisit it because I found out more information about this necklace. Additionally, it is currently being passed down to me. So this post will be a conglomerate between what I had already learned previously with some new tidbits mixed in.

This necklace was sent to my family by relatives, whom I have never had the opportunity to meet, from Michigan. Two sisters, now in their nineties, who I have been told hold practically hold all the information regarding my heritage on my father’s side of the family. After writing and speaking to them on the phone multiple times (even after I dropped the class) more information began to come out about the movement of this necklace, contributing to the history of this object.  

The necklace that is contained inside of a long gold box has existed in my family for little less than a century. This piece measures approximately 8 to 10 inches long and the chain itself is about one and a half to two inches wide. This necklace is entirely embroidered in blue, silver, gold, and hints of brown glinting beads. The necklace was mainly made with blue beads, but alternates in a maze-type pattern of silver beads with minor gaps of brown beads. Toward the bottom of the necklace is inscribed the initials PB, which stood for Paulena Byllott, my great grandmother. Just below her initials, the very bottom of the necklace is lined with beaded tassels.

Inside the golden box writes ” Given to Grandma Paulina Byllott, by Capuchin Monastery.” This necklace was a gift to her from a Monastery in Detroit, Michigan.

This is a  piece of jewelry worn by my great grandmother, whom I am partially named after (Caryn Paulena Byllott). I had not known much when I first came across however, through further investigation at the time I was informed that a letter was sent to my family along with the necklace.

Paulina Byllott, who I mentioned above, was born in 1868 and immigrated to America in 1886 from Germany. She married in 1887 to August Byllott and lived on McDougall ave, which was walking distance from the St. Bonaventure Monastery. Apparently, they were both great benefactors and supporters of the monastery and the Capuchin Friars there as well. For years they walked to the Monastery at 6a.m. for Sunday Vespers and my Great grandfather, August was a occasionally an usher too. Additionally, August was a blacksmith by trade and made iron hooks that were affixed to the church and used to hold the doors open. Around the turn of the century this gift was bestowed upon Paulina by the other Capuchin Friars for her work and dedication to the church.

With this object resurfacing I decided to take a look at the St. Bonaventure Monastery. This Monastery was founded in 1883 and is home to many of the Detroit Capuchin friars, which are spoken about above.  The Capuchins  themselves were founded in 1528, emphasizing prayer and contemplation, preaching, and physical care of the needy.

As I spoke with these women more they informed me about how this necklace was an icon of Paulina. It was so important for her to wear it all times, they described it was her way to further represent the faith she was apart of. This necklace traveled with her I found out. Her and August did quite a lot of traveling through the midwest and somehow made it to New York for a bit. These women were constantly emphasizing that no matter where she was the necklace was always with her. Also this necklace was one of many gifts from the monastery she received. Those items still remain with the sisters in Detroit, however, they may send more items to my mother soon!

I have been rather blind to my heritage due to early passings of my grandparents and lack of communication among extended family. However, these sisters have been the key into my heritage. Being able to develop a relationship with them over the past two years has been so insightful as well as very grounding. I am feel very honored to be the next owner of this necklace and more so now that I have been able to learn so much about the history of the necklace. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of the necklace at this time. I will see if I can have a picture sent to me soon.

For this blog I have decided to explore a different object. I have a acquired a set of vintage bitter bottles from my parents home on Long Island. To my knowledge these bottles were purchased and owned by my mother however, I am not completely certain about this fact. These bottles are pretty iconic for me. They lived on the mantle above my staircase for quite a while. Going up and down the stairs I was so enamored by the teal, pink, purple, brown colored bottles. I always thought of them as bottles I could hold different magical potions in.  I could absolutely never touch them as my mother though I would break them. The bottles eventually made their way into my basement and for what they thought was going to be their final resting place–forgotten and collecting dust. Fast forward to last spring. I was getting ready to move into another apartment and while I was preparing and packing I was looking around my parents house to see if they had any furnishing I could take along with me. While rummaging downstairs I came across these bottles once again and after 22 years of being told to keep my distance with these objects, I finally picked them up. I finally got to feel the smooth texture of each bottle, their lightness, and I could finally get close enough to read what was engraved on the bottles.

These set of bottles I am currently exploring for my thesis project. While analyzing these bottles, I questioned why these bottles were fashioned in a set to be collected as a decorative object. The set has never held any liquids just merely for show. When I began researching, I found that collecting antique bitter bottles was a hobby of what seems like a pretty large community of people.

James H. Thompson in 1947 wrote the first book on bitters. Bitters being alcohol disguised as medicine. According to this book bitter bottles are one of the older bottle collecting categories. Bottles in this category must be embossed with the word “Bitters” or have a label which has the word “Bitters” printed as part of the trade name. Today, bitters bottles may sell anywhere from a few dollars for common clear or aqua examples to over ten thousand dollars for unusually colored figural varieties. These bottles meant a lot to me already but, to find out that they might be precious and valuable aside from the inscribed memories was exciting. However, this excitement did not last that long. While going through the process of identifying the traits that prove the bottles authenticity, I came across an engraving on the bottom of the bottle that said “made in Taiwan.” This only devalued these bottles monetary amount– in many ways the bottles are priceless to me.

Although these bottles are not originals, I do want to share some history about them. I never really used bitters and knew much about them until just a couple months ago. As I said earlier they used bitters to disguise alcohol as medicine. The practice of adding a small amount of herbal bitters to gin was so that it might be sold without taxation under the guise of medicinal liquor .This practice originated in England and became popular from 1850-1870, when laws which taxed liquor, the popularity of various temperance movements, and local restrictions on the liquor trade made bitters very appealing and highly valued. Additionally, the civilized man of the 1870’s could sate his desire for strong drink being condemned by the temperance union or from his neighbor for wasting his family’s money by taking his libations in the form of bitters. At this time everyone knew that a dose a day of “Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters” was not only respectable but would keep one in good health as well.

I am pretty amazed at the amount of information I did not know about these bottles until very recently. I would love to come across authentic bitter bottles from this time. I only own a replicate set of them and I think they are so beautiful but I could only imagine what it would be like to have an original.

For this blog I will be analyzing two fragmented ceramic tiles I found while I was hiking on Elba Island (An Island off the coast of Piombino, Italy–also the Island that Napoleon was exiled to in 1814, fun fact!). These were also a part of my objects that I brought in on the first day that bring me happiness.

These tiles tend to dance around my room. Sometimes they are sit on my night stand, inside of my memory box, or on my desk. I handle them quite often reminiscing– especially during this time as it has been about a year since I traveled abroad. I came across them while a friend and I were entering a town on the other side of the island from where we were staying. These pieces were on top of a pile of rubbish in what seemed like the outskirts of someone’s backyard–I promise I wasn’t committing an act of larceny. Nonetheless, I grabbed two as a souvenir.

I can only assume that this was not the creator’s original intention. To be quite honest, I’m not sure exactly where these tiles were being used. There are a couple of places I could guess based on my surroundings–either accenting the outside a home, above an outdoor sink/well, or in a bathroom. I’m not sure if these tiles were mounted in the same room or even house.

Based on the size of these fragments, I would presume that the tiles were originally 5in x5in squares. The first tile has more or less a triangular shape. The edges are jagged in some places but smoothed out in other areas. The top has a white glaze with yellow and green line work as well as what appears to be a half of a floral design. The pattern appears to be minimalist in comparison to the second. The the surface of the glaze is surprisingly not chipped other than a small dink on one of the corners.  On the back side of the tile is coated in a some dry cement that was used to adhere the tile to a wall. Engraved on the back is an “S” outlined by a triangle and along one side of the triangle says “S.Marco.” Based on a little Google search , this might be a marking of the tile company/designer called “Terreal:San Marco.”  

The second tile, which is a slightly smaller fragment does not take on a specific shape. The patterning on the white glaze seems to take up more space on this tile. Red circles, blue dots, and blue teardrop shape that arc over the red circles. This tile has a much larger chip on one of its corners. The texture of the edges is basically the same as the first–kind of rough but also smooth. The back side of this tile does not have any cement residue on it. On this side is an engraved grid, the number “1077” and the name “Marazzi.” After looking this name up, I found that this is an international tile company with stores in Italy, USA, Korea, China, and Spain–and after looking at this site, it seems like this tile is quite outdated in comparison to the selections they currently have.

Although I looked at and handled these tiles pretty often and I never paid much mind to the back and more so the names on the back of them. In hindsight I wish I grabbed more of these tiles, in either fragments or whole tiles to have and to analyze.

While reading chapter 3 of Daniel Millers, “Stuff” I identified with the the idea of accommodating oneself in a space through movement and change. Our bedroom, living room, kitchen, etc. and the objects that exist within them not only represent our connection to others around us/ world but, their arrangement demarcate periods of time in our lives. For this post I will be exclusively talking about my bedroom. By providing personal anecdote I seek to contribute to the notion of how the movement of objects can ultimately create change the transcends the physical domain and reconfigure our outlook on life as mentioned in the reading (pg.98-99).

In the space between objects I have displayed in my room and the orientation of the furniture I have live the experiences I have gone through, although silent and not physical they dwell within the crevices of my room. Every time I come home and sit on my bed, there is a release of this emotional energy and without my control they find their space in my room and settle. I bring to my room the happenings of each day, whether a good day or bad. But, what I find for me is that negative energy takes up more room than positive. The positive feels light and airy and the negative feels dark and dense. After a while the dark and dense builds up and the my space reaches a point of stagnation. I usually prefer to live in a space where I feel movement, leading me in a direction where I will eventually find relaxation, motivation, and most importantly clarity. The stagnation the begins to manifest itself in my room is a direct reflection of where I am in my life, stuck. Stuck in a particular mode of thinking, stuck in a routine, and so on. For sometime I will live in a space like that because I don’t have the ability yet to lead myself out of it. Additionally, I have the feeling like Miller was saying that “things are never going to change”. While this is all going on my objects remain in the same spot, in a way observing every move I make or lack thereof.

Nonetheless, the day will arrive where I throw my bags down and begin to rearrange everything. This day usually happens every couple of months for me and for a while I thought I was just being neurotic. I needed control over something because everything around me and within me felt out of control. What better way to do that then through picking up and moving things that you have complete agency over? (Also what I explained above was not apparent to me when I first began this habit of rearranging my room every couple of months. I wasn’t think about the dwelling of my emotional energy overtime, I was just thinking about reclaiming control.) My friends would always make fun of me–”There she goes again” or point out this habit I have and call me crazy and to be honest during this process I do feel kinda crazy–but I realized it’s part of the overall catharsis of rearranging your bedroom. Moving my furniture/objects begins to break up the shear build up of emotional energy over, in this case, a couple of months. After hours of moving things around I finally sit back down on my bed and I can feel that lightness, I can feel the openness between my objects. It is a feeling that language doesn’t seem to do justice. I feel invigorated afterwards–I may not have figured out how to exactly fix whats going on in my life, but I have a regained a sense of agency that I thought I was lost. In my current apartment I have gone through this process two or three times now for different reasoning. When I look back now and reflect on the emotional fluxes I have gone through, they are indefinitely attached to the orientation of my bedroom during that time.

I chose to use the KonMari method on my closet, focusing on the clothes hanging both inside and outside of it. This is not the first time I have used this method–  I have been using some form of the  KonMari method over the years to tackle the constant accumulation of clothes whether in my closet or my dresser. This exercise was approached with some resistance as I felt like I was not ready to purge. I find myself periodically binging and purging on clothing. I did not feel like it was time to go through this process yet. However, for the sake of this exercise it had to be time.

Certain times I feel comforted by the abundant selection of clothes that I have. Clothing has been a means to express myself over the years. My shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, etc have allowed me to take on a chameleon form. Everyday of the week I have the opportunity to reveal different parts of my personality. I have been mindful and sometimes obsessive about what I am wearing because there is a large part of me that believes in the idea that clothing guides people’s interpretations of one another. I believe this attitude toward clothing is a byproduct of having four sisters- each with a completely different style. Throughout middle school and high school I was constantly face first in their closets looking, touching, and taking their clothes. Also I am fourth in line so clothing would also trickle down and I would be given massive amounts of hammy-downs. I started doing this biannual purge in the beginning of college. With minimal space in dorm rooms, I felt extremely overwhelmed by the amount of clothing I owned especially because I didn’t wear a lot of it. This clearing of clothes, in the beginning, just gave me more room to fill my closet back up until I reached that same point of angst. As I get older and continue this process though I refill less and less as clothing does not play as significant of a role in my life as it used to.

“Inhales”

Although I have been going through this process for a quite a while, I still seem to take away something new from the experience. This time it began with me noticing the shear amount of things that I have hanging outside of my closet. The outside of my closet is filled with hoodies, sweaters, scarves, jackets, towels. I had a hard time getting rid of these items especially during the winter months.  These items are what get me through this season and with that bring me joy.  Additionally, I find that i keep extras of these items just in

Inhales even deeper

case a friend is over and cold or wants to change into something else. Being able to provide that article of clothing for that person is meaningful to me and brings me satisfaction/joy. I was apprehensive to go through these items but, I had to be realistic–whether you have five sweaters or twenty, you can let a friend borrow a sweater and since that’s the case, I would rather I have only five. Also going through this process, both inside of the closet and out, I did not realize how many articles of clothing I completely forgot I owned. That sort of stupefied me and informed a new relationship to my objects–Only own the things you can recall/remember.  I loved getting to interact with these items again and being reminded of the times I spent wearing them but realistically they were forgotten for a reason in many cases– something was too small, had a stain, doesn’t really match anything else, etc. That was a key indicator for the things I knew I needed to get rid of. Also another indicator is the “6 month rule” meaning that if I haven’t worn it in six months then it’s time to depart with it. (this is taking into consideration the seasons) The more I continue to narrow down the selection of clothes I have the more relaxed I feel I am finding. I feel much more transient and in touch with the style I want to portray at this current stage in my life. Now what is left is a big white bag filled of clothes that will either find their way into the homes of my friends or goodwill.

Exhales with joy

Exhales feeling accomplished

I left off my last blog with the intention of communicating with two sisters, my great aunts, Germaine and Rosemary Door– Two women that practically hold the key to my heritage. I obtained their number and was able to briefly speak with Rosemary this past weekend. She is 93 years old and currently living in Detroit, Michigan with her sister Germaine. They are quite remarkable. They still Ski and tend to their horses; she told me that there was not a day that passes where her age dictates the way she lives. What a treat it was to speak with her. She was able to provide some additional information off the top of her head, which I will share here. However, she plans to mail me more information from her archives she has stowed away that will hopefully arrive this week. I am excited to learn more about Paulina Byllott as well as other figures of my family. Furthermore, I am excited to learn more about Rosemary and Germaine themselves and continue to develop this new found familial relationship.

After much confusion trying to calculate the genealogy. Paulina Byllott is my great, great grandmother. Paulina Byllott traveled to America from Germany with her widowed mother and brother in 1886. Unfortunately, her brother passed at an early age due to a tragic drowning accident. She was a humble, prayerful woman who married August Byllott in 1887. They had four children: Paul, Aloise (my great grandfather), Sophie (Rosemary and Germaine’s mother), and Rosanne. Paulina was a housewife and August was a blacksmith for a ship building company, following in the steps of his father who was the ship captain of couple of vessels that traveled around Europe.

Paulina received this necklace because her and August were benefactors of St. Bonaventure Monastery. The Gothic influenced monastery is a complex of religious buildings located in Detroit, Michigan. The Monastery was established in 1882. Initially it was intended to serve the Catholic Clergy and churches in the area but it also provided aid for the poor, especially during the Great Depression where the monastery was providing up to 3500 meals per day through its soup kitchen. The Capuchin Friars who presented her with this gift were monks whose mission was to attend to simply and directly to the spiritual and other basic needs of the people, especially those of the poor and disenfranchised, promoting justice for all. Apart of their mission was “partnering,” which supported the idea of sharing gifts and responsibility to fulfill the mission of the monastery. With that said, Rosemary believes that the monks gave this necklace to her in gratitude for her faithful dedication and monetary donations. The significance of the beading pattern is still a mystery. I have searched high and low to figure out what the particular name for that beading design or it relationship to anything sacred importance, but I have come up empty handed. Along with this necklace, August and Paulina’s name was engraved on a plaque and placed above one of he windows in St. Josephs church, which was attached to the monastery. Unfortunately, I do not have any photographs of that.

From what I was able to obtain Paulina, as I mentioned earlier, was humble and prayerful. She had a number of friends and was very well known among the clerical community. She became widowed in 1940 when August passed away. Fifteen years later she passed away in 1955, in her late 80’s from a combination of heart problems and old age. However, she was never bed ridden. Rosemary said she passed peacefully in her sleep one evening that year.

Although there are still gaps to fill pertaining to the character of Paulina and her necklace, I feel rather satisfied with what I have been able to learn so far. The element of mystery that this object has, I believe to a certain degree, transcends the true physical and personal reality of the object. I understand the benefits and importance of being able to thoroughly understand the ins and outs of an object; its physical implications and applications, its relationship to the world and those surrounded by it, etc. However, with our inability to travel back in time it is impossible to witness, first hand, the interactions that were made with an object at a given time. I apologize about the cliché I am about to pose, but this mystery leaves room for our imagination’s. I find with this situation particularly I am able to combine the foundational story of who Paulina Byllott was along with the picture of the necklace and meditate, more so fantasize about the relationship between my great great grandmother and this beautiful necklace in a more vivid and intimate way…Where did she wear this necklace? What is it worn for clerical occasion or daily? Did she wear it at all? How did she react when she first received it? Why was this necklace given to Sophie, then to Rosemary and finally to my mother and not originally to Rosanne her other daughter? Did she receive any other merit for her dedication? I could probably pose another handful of questions that will remain unanswered.

Despite my rant I am intrigued though I will be receiving more information and once it is in my possession I shall post it here to share with you all.