Tradition holds that as the defeated British soldiers retired off the field at Yorktown, their regimental band struck up an ancient march, The World Turned Upside Down:
If buttercups buzz’d after the bee If boats were on land, churches on sea If ponies rode men and if grass ate the cows And cats should be chased into holes by the mouse If the mamas sold their babies To the Gypsies for half a crown If summer were spring And the other way ’round Then all the world would be upside down!
I was reminded of these verses the other day, when looking through our collection of historical Harvard student room photos in preparation for a project we’re sponsoring, the Adams Room Catalog, which will allow occupants new and old to see who has lived in a particular suite before them. One of my favorite images has always been the one below. Simply put, it is precisely what you imagine when you think: Victorian room.
This particular picture has also been very important for us in terms of guiding acquisitions for the Suite. It is so clearly photographed that we can use digital enhancement to pick out the finest details. In particular, this photo led us to discover the wire carte de visite hangers we see again and again in the various period room photos. Here’s a closeup:
Eventually, after much searching we managed to find two of these extremely rare wire holders – at considerable cost. Here’s one of ours, above FDR’s desk:
But ours doesn’t look quite the same, does it? Rather bare in fact. Well, the reason is that the cards have mysteriously been dropping off the hanger. The slightly breeze or touch, and they fall like leaves off an autumn tree. There’s probably at least a good dozen on the floor behind the desk as I write. The solution however, is finally at hand: it seems I had hung the holders upside down: the Victorian hangers don’t clamp the pictures as modern refrigerator holders do, but rather support them in a wire loop from below – something you can clearly see in the period enlargement above, and which I saw, oh wise curator that I am, for the first time the other day. I wonder what other little jokes from the past await my discovery… The world turned upside down indeed.
And speaking of the future: Today’s article in the Wall Street Journal notes that with the potential change in tax laws for 2013, now is a particularly good time to consider year-end charitable giving, stating that “Under current law, donations of assets that have risen in value, such as shares of stock, often qualify for a deduction at the full market price, enabling donors to skip paying capital-gains tax on the appreciation.”
As a registered 501(c) 3 public charity, the Foundation stands more than ready to accept your charitable donation, and we can certainly use your support to fund our upcoming scholarship and educational programs.
Some people read history, others make it. Support the FDR Suite Foundation
We are delighted to announce that the Foundation has received the first major donation towards its Scholarship Endowment Fund from C. Stephen Heard Jr. (’58) and his wife Susan Renfrew Heard. The fund, initiated this year and separate from day-to-day accounts, seeks to raise sufficient capital to permanently finance the operations of the FDR Suite Foundation, its collections and preservation programs, as well as its educational initiatives, including the new Franklin Delano Roosevelt Global Fellowship Program.
While the Foundation hopes to finance future scholarship outlays from income derived from investment, given the Heards’ enthusiastic donation, the decision was taken this year by the Foundation directors in conjunction with Adams House Masters Judy and Sean Palfrey to launch the initial year of the FDR Global Fellowship Program through direct contribution.
For the summer of 2013 the Foundation will offer a new grant to support summer undergraduate field-research, experience or study in the areas of international relations, international trade, economic affairs and development, global governance and affairs, international languages, humanities, sciences or global medicine, to be guided by the spirit of FDR’s Fourth Inaugural Address: “Today, in this year of war, 1945, we have learned lessons—at a fearful cost—and we shall profit by them. We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other Nations, far away… We have learned to be citizens of the world, members of the human community. We have learned the simple truth, as Emerson said, that, ‘The only way to have a friend is to be one.’”
Participants will be known as Franklin Delano Roosevelt Fellows.
The Foundation will award one grant this year. The size of the grant will vary depending on the country of destination, length of stay, and type of program in which the recipient will be participating, as well as on the applicant’s individual budget and financial need.
Current Harvard College freshmen, sophomores & juniors are eligible to apply, with special consideration given to students from FDR’s own Adams House. The FDR Global Fellowships are restricted to students who 1) can demonstrate family income below 50K per year and 2) who would otherwise have to work during the summer to meet term-time expenses. The Foundation will grant up to $6000 for summer expenses, as well as an additional stipend of up to $4000 upon successful completion of the summer program to make up for lost summer wages, the amount being determined by the student’s previous summer earnings.
Susan & Steve Heard at Harvard Yale 2012
Emphasizing the non-partisan nature of the Scholarship Endowment Fund, it’s fitting that the initial gift was received from an avowed South Carolina Republican from Leverett House. Heard, a successful attorney who worked his way through Stanford Law, put it this way: “Over the years, I have come to realize that Harvard gave me a road map that changed the way I look at everything. But that was just the beginning. My journey was equally enriched by an incredible three years in Spain – in a prospering, peaceful Europe, a Europe due in no small part to a certain Franklin Roosevelt and his internationalist vision of a post-war world. So when I learned that a scholarship was being organized in FDR’s memory to provide a period abroad for some deserving young man or woman, Susan and I knew we wanted to participate. May each recipient find their own new and exciting road map through this opportunity.”
The Scholarship Endowment Fund actively seeks your support. For more information, contact Michael Weishan ’86, Volunteer President, FDR Suite Foundation Inc.
Some people read history, others make it. Support the FDR Suite Foundation!
I was at the Suite yesterday, the day after Thanksgiving, beginning what’s going to be a three-month intensive effort to catalog the objects in the collection for inclusion in our new Internet museum. I was working away contentedly at Lathrops’ desk for an hour or so, when just before twilight, I realized that for the last few minutes I had been idly eyeing the room. Perhaps it was Thanksgiving-dinner-post-partum, or else simply the distraction of the hour; whichever, I noticed that the late afternoon light was casting lovely patterns of sun and shadow about the room, and so decided my time might be better spent with a camera.
It’s been a while since we’ve taken still photos for the blog, and I think you’ll agree this was indeed the golden hour.
Above: craftsman Lary Shaffer’s latest and second-to-last last creation for the Suite, the new daybed, takes pride of place in the study. (Double click on any image to expand; these are but thumbnails.) Lary and I reverse-engineered this piece from a tiny, grainy photo over a period of six months, and I’ll be doing a future post on how this magnificent creation came together. In the meantime, it’s easy to appreciate how the rich walnut and plush fabrics add to the Victorian elegance (not mention comfort!) of the room – especially when you compare these views to those taken in April 2010.
Above: On the smoking table, young Frank at Groton, 1899, next to “Uncle Ned’s dog tobacco jar” and our collection of pipes.
The Atlantic of 1903, record-holder extraordinaire, looking ready to sail at a moment’s notice.
Our exceedingly rare John the Orangeman mug caught in a golden beam on the mantle. Immediately behind is a recently acquired etching of Harvard Yard in the 1840s.
FDR’s desk glowing in the sunlight. When this inventory project is finished, you’ll be able to click on any of the above objects to learn their individual history, and how that particular piece relates to other pieces in the collections, as well as to the history of the Suite as a whole. For instance, that large volume sitting on top the revolving bookcase? That’s not just any book, it’s the 1900-01 bound edition of the Harvard Crimson, where FDR’s soon to become a reporter. And that young lady next to Eleanor, why that Alice Sohier and of course you know how that affair went… Ah, and then there’s the elegant Half Moon II… How fortunate to have your own yacht in the harbor… Given that there are currently well over one thousand objects to classify and digitalize, this isn’t going to be the quickest project in the world, and we will require substantial help – in fact, thanks to a recent pledge of support, we’ve already hired two student researchers half-time during Harvard’s new Winter Session. But given how far we’ve come, I have no doubt we’ll get there, especially with help from viewers like you!
Come Make A Little History. Support the FDR Suite Foundation!
Just when I thought there was no more Harvard Class of 1904 memorabilia to be found anywhere, one of our supporters discovered this remarkable tankard on E-Bay and donated it to the Foundation, where it will join our fireplace collection. The original owner was one E.C.Kerans, a classmate of FDR. The tankard however is a bit of a mystery. The top of pewter cup carries a large copper DELTA with an almost illegible inscription DIKAI ****THEKE – which doesn’t exactly ring a bell… It’s obviously a club or organization motto; we’ll just have to track it down.
But while we ponder this little mystery, I want to remind you that the FIFTH Annual FDR Memorial Lecture and Dinner is this coming Saturday. There are only 10 dinner tickets left, and we would love to sell them out, so please consider joining us for a fun and informative evening. If you’re unable to attend, we would happily accept your donation of the ticket price to help us cover the event cost by sponsoring one of the twenty-five free student places we’ve set aside. Both can be done online, HERE.
Here’s the menu for this year’s FDR Memorial Lecture & Dinner. As you can see, we’re celebrating in style with a five course Dinner Dance based on a 1960 Eisenhower State Dinner for Charles de Gaulle. Yum!
COCKTAIL HOUR: open bar
RAW BAR:
Shucked Oysters
Shucked Clams
Shrimp Cocktail
Assorted sauces and condiments
APPETIZER COURSE Crostini chicken liver pate, cornichon and red onion jam.
FISH COURSE Trout roulade shrimp mousse citrus butter sauce.
Aperitif Lemon Sorbet
MEAT COURSE Beef wellington, horseradish sauce scallop potatoes French green bean and braised shallots.
We celebrate in true bi-partisan style this election year with award-winning presidential biographer Jean Edward Smith, author of Grant, FDR and now the critically acclaimed Eisenhower in War and Peace. Professor Smith’s lecture on the masterful warrior-president from Abilene begins at 4:30, followed by a book signing in the Conservatory, a cocktail reception & our now famous Roosevelt Raw bar in the Gold Room, along with guided tours of the newly restored FDR Suite. Then we adjourn to the majestic Adams House Dining Hall for an elegant dinner-dance featuring a specially catered menu drawn from actual Eisenhower-era State Dinners and the musical wizardry of DJ ‘Dance With Lance’, Lance Kussell ’87, who’ll be spinning toe-tapping tunes from the Eisenhower era and beyond.
Saturday November 10, 2012 at 4:30 PM
Adams House, 26 Plympton Street, Cambridge
