Hartford, CT
November 22nd, 2013 at 6:08PM
“A Home – & The Word Never Had So Much Meaning Before” by Patti Philippon‚ Beatrice Fox Auerbach Chief Curator | patti.philippon@marktwainhouse.org
"Samuel and Olivia 'ivy' Clemens were married in 1870 and moved to Hartford in 1871. The family first rented a house on Forest Street‚ in the Nook Farm neighborhood‚ from Livy’s friends‚ John and Isabella Beecher Hooker‚ and later purchased land on Farmington Avenue. In 1873‚ they engaged New York architect Edward Tuckerman Potter to design their house. Livy had strong opinions about the design of her home; she drew sketches and sought the counsel of trusted friends on her ideas. Construction began in August 1873‚ while Sam and Livy were abroad. Although there was still much finish work to be completed‚ the family moved into their house on September 19‚ 1874. Construction delays and the ever-increasing costs of building their dream home frustrated Sam. In spite of this‚ he was enamored with the finished product‚ saying‚ 'It is a home - & the word never had so much meaning before.' Mark Twain and his family enjoyed what the author would later call the happiest and most productive years of his life in their Hartford home. He wrote: 'To us, our house...had a heart, and a soul, and eyes to see with us; and approvals and solicitudes and deep sympathies; it was of us, and we were in its confidence and lives in its grace and in the peace or its benediction.' Financial problems forced Sam and Livy to move the family to Europe in 1891. Though he would complain about other places the family lived compared to the Hartford house ('How ugly‚ tasteless‚ repulsive are all the domestic interiors I have ever seen in Europe compared with the perfect taste of this ground floor')‚ the family would never live in Hartford again. Susy’s death in 1896 made it too hard for Livy to return to their Hartford home‚ and the Clemenses sold the property in 1903.
SOURCE: www.marktwainhouse.org/house/history.php
Tags: Hartford Connecticut United States Mark Twain CT Samuel Clemens house historic night spooky haunted creepy Ivy Clemens Olivia Farmington Avenue
© All Rights Reserved
Inside the beautiful Mark Twain House in Hartford, CT. The conservatory as seen from the library.
"Like many upper-class late Victorian homes‚ the Clemens home had a conservatory. Theirs had a fountain and was filled with lush‚ thriving plants. Clemens daughters Susy‚ Clara and Jean called this room 'The Jungle.'
Source: www.marktwainhouse.org/house/room_in_the_house.php
Tags: Mark Twain house home Hartford CT Connecticut historic history author famous victorian asylum hill Tom Sawyer Samuel and Olivia Livy Clemens Samuel Clemens Olivia Clemens Farmington Avenue leaves color hdr tone mapped Pentax K5 Frank C. Grace Trig Photography 1020mm Livy Livy Clemens conservatory The Jungle garden indoor garden plants library Pentax Art
© All Rights Reserved
Fisheye fun inside The Mark Twain House & Museum. I don't think Mark Twain would approve at such a distorted view, but it is fun to play around with. First shot using the fisheye. Watch out, I just noticed the mistletoe on the ceiling to the left of the frame.
Tags: Hartford Connecticut United States Mark Twain Samuel Clemens Hartfort CT Christmas Xmas holiday holidays Winter December haunted New England spooky author American America gothic warm inviting hdr Nikon D800E Frank C. Grace Trig Photography Asylum Hill history historic Farmington Avenue house museum Nook Farm Livy Olivia Samuel L. Clemens decorated National Historic Landmark fisheye
© All Rights Reserved
If there was one place I would kill to have a cup of tea, it would have to be in the kitchen of the Mark Twain House in Hartford, CT.
Tags: Hartford Connecticut Mark Twain Samuel Clemens tea cups sugar cubes pot lamp kitchen historic iron counter table CT New England
© All Rights Reserved
"The entrance hall provided an appropriately impressive area for receiving visitors. Leon Marcotte of New York and Paris carved the entrance hall’s ornamental detail when the house was built. In 1881, the interior design firm of Louis C. Tiffany & Co., Associated Artists, was hired to stencil the room’s original wainscoting in silver, and paint the walls and ceiling red with patterns of black and silver. They drew inspiration from the other cultures such as the Middle East and Asia to form a cohesive design scheme that flowed throughout the first floor and public spaces of the house."
SOURCE: www.marktwainhouse.org/house/room_in_the_house.php
Tags: Mark Twain Hartford CT Asylum Hill entrance Leon Marcotte Louis C. Tiffany & Co., Associated Artists hdr Pentax K-5 Frank C. Grace Trig Photography Samuel Clemens ornate decorative beautiful warm tones wood wooden pillars brass statues
© All Rights Reserved