Walk Slowly and Bow Often: Wintertour: the DuPont legacy

In the late 1920s Henry Francis du Pont 1880–1969 of Delaware became a prominent collector of American decorative arts housing his collection and conservation laboratories at Winterthur not far from Wilmington, Delaware.

He established main his home as a public museum in 1951 and moved to a smaller building on the estate.

I think May was the right time to visit; the flowers were stunning. It happened to be Mother's Day and I was surrounded by friendly people and beauty.

Henry was very careful about landscaping; as the tram made its way up the hill we enjoyed his lovely gardens.

We caught a glimpse of the house coming around the bend.

We were permitted to take photos in the house!

Inside the house everywhere were treasures. The museum has 175 period-room displays and approximately 85,000 objects. Most rooms are open to the public on small, guided tours. The collection spans more than two centuries of American decorative arts, notably from 1640 to 1860,

Some of the prettiest dishes were in a hall cabinet.

The museum was named for the city of Winterthur in Switzerland, the ancestral home of Jacques Antoine Bidermann, a son-in-law of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, the founder of the du Pont family and fortune in the United States.

I decided to request this cozy room when the DuPonts have me over.

Invitations to a weekend at the house were highly valued. One luxury was being served breakfast in the morning with exactly the items you requested the evening before.

The flower arrangements were planned by Henry and never duplicated.

Our guide was one of a group of students who study at Winterthur for degrees in conservation or expertise about American antiques.

During the depression Henry DuPont purchased whole rooms, including the walls. Many pieces in the collection are of important historical value such as George Washington's set of china.

This room has Chinese wallpaper that does not have repeats. Henry had the height of the walls changed to accommodate this paper. The paper doesn't so much reflect the Chinese as it does what the Americans thought was Chinese.

Let's have a bridge party.

Henry didn't like the staircase so while he took his family on a trip to Europe he had this one in the photo removed from a neighboring mansion and installed to surprise his family when they returned home. They liked it.