Maymont Tour
by Judy Thomas
with photos by Gail Goodrich Harwood
On April 1, CVABA members had a real treat, a wonderful tour of the Maymont Estate house by our own Paula Blair.
The Maymont Estate, now a public park, was the home of James and Sallie Dooley, who lived there from 1893 to 1925, during America's "Guilded Age." Maymont was bequeathed to the City of Richmond after the death of Sallie Dooley in 1925, and is now run by the Maymont Foundation. For more information: https://maymont.org/estate/mansion/upstairs-belowstairs/
Paula gave us an excellent tour of the home/museum. We learned a lot about the Dooley family, how the wealthy (and the not-so-wealthy) lived during that era, and the decorative and fine arts collections in the home. The website states there are over 900 period objects in the mansion, about 60% of them original to the Dooleys:
For example, the mansion is home to several pieces of Tiffany glass, including a large window. The Dooleys also purchased a full, duplicate set of Presidential china (made by Haviland), each piece different, that was sold to raise funds for its manufacture for the Rutherford B. Hayes White House:
The design on each piece is based on an original watercolor by Theodore R. Davis. For more images of some of the plates, go to: http://travelphotobase.com/u/OH/OHEBD.HTM
It seems that everywhere we looked we found a treasure, many nature themed!
Thank you to Paula, and kudos for a great, personalized tour!
