'Downton Abbey' costumes at Winterthur

If you missed Winterthur's splendid Downton Abbey costume exhibit which closed Sunday after a 10-month run, here are some photos of the display. The former home of Henry F. du Pont (1880-1969), Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library in Winterthur, Delaware will re-open to the public March 1 when spring starts up.

 

Let yours blossom with a day trip up to Winterthur, less than two months and about two hours away, north on Interstate 95.  (Take $16 for tolls north and about $12, heading home.) Winterthur has a garden calendar, too. An excellent day trip from Washington combines Winterthur and Brandywine River Museum, the home and studios of N.C. and Andrew Wyeth, just six miles from Winterthur.  Would you believe they both have places to eat and to shop?/Photo by Patricia Leslie 

 This is one of the gowns worn by Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey, in the gown above/Photo of a photo by Patricia Leslie

An array of finery, including Maggie Smith's gown, at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A summer's day at Downton Abbey and at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library/Photo by Patricia Leslie

"Oh, Bill! Am I ever gonna see my wedding day?" Worn in Downton Abbey/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Close-up of the wedding dress above/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Downton Abbey gowns at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Close-up of the dress on the left, above/Photo by Patricia Leslie

"M'lady, where are your gloves?"  "In the case where I left them." A label at the Winterthur show quoted Emily Post from 1922:  "Ladies always wear gloves to formal dinners but take them off at the table.  Entirely off....Both glove and fan are supposed to be laid across the lap, and one is supposed to lay the napkin folded once in half across the lap too, on top of the gloves and fan."/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Downton Abbey gowns, three  of the 40 costumes in the show/Photo by Patricia Leslie

From Downton Abbey/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The wife of Henry du Pont was Ruth Wales du Pont (1899-1967) ("the best thing that ever happened to him") and this is her "quite heavy" travel case (of alligator or crocodile and carried by the maid) made c. 1920 in England.  Among other items, it contained an address book, ink well and sketch pad, 10 gold-plated and capped cosmetic bottles, an ash tray, photo case, clock, thimble, needle case, shoe horn, button hook, two lipstick cases (one with a lipstick), hairbrush,  combs, hair pin box, soap case, two toothbrushes, a mirror and jewelry box/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Downton Abbey gowns/Photo by Patricia Leslie

This is what you wear for a wedding proposal.  Mine were a trifle removed from these/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Downton Abbey gowns/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

What: Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library

When:  Opening for the 2015 season on March 1

Where: 5105 Kennett Pike (Route 52)
Winterthur, DE 19735 (Winterthur says Google Maps sometimes gives incorrect directions, so it recommends MapQuest.)

Admission: Members are always admitted free. Adults, $25; seniors and students, $23; children, 2-11, $5, and no charge for children under age 2.

For more information: 800-448-3883 

patricialesli@gmail.com

 

Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library/Winterthur

Yuletide at Winterthur

If you missed this year's Christmas finery at Winterthur, the former home of Henry F. du Pont (1880-1969) in Winterthur, Delaware, now's a good time to make a New Year's resolution to get your tickets early for next season.   This picture is a close-up of one of the Christmas trees at the museum where tickets are timed for entry/Photo by Patricia Leslie

An aerial shot of Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, a portion which du Pont opened to the public in 1951.  The "premier museum of American decorative arts"  has 1,000 acres, 175 rooms,  and 90,000 objects made or used in the U.S. between 1640 and 1860.  Winterthur (pronounced "Winter-tour" and named after a DuPont ancestral home in Winterthur, Switzerland) is only six miles from Brandywine River Museum which operates N.C.'s and Andrew Wyeth's homes and studios in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.  A wonderful day trip from Washington is a visit to Winterthur and Brandywine,  about two hours up Interstate 95.

The public entrance at Winterthur/Photo by Winterthur

One of Winterthur's Christmas trees/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The dining room at Winterthur/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Paul Revere urns in the dining room at Winterthur/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Winterthur's hors d'oeuvres room/Photo by Patricia Leslie

From a Winterthur Christmas tree/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The card room at Winterthur where playing bridge was de rigueur/Photo by Patricia Leslie

If you are lucky, you'll get to hear a pianist play carols during the Yuletide tour at Winterthur/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Winterthur's "basket room" of Christmas gifts, all set for unwrapping/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Most of the Christmas trees at Winterthur are artificial, but not this one in the green house extension off the main house. Uneven branches and natural drooping add to the tree's appeal/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A room for the housekeeping staff at Winterthur.  In the boxes on the wall are sounds of summons/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A room for the housekeeping staff at Winterthur/Photo by Patricia Leslie

What:  Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library

When:  Monday - Sunday, 9:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Where: 5105 Kennett Pike (Route 52)
Winterthur, DE 19735  (Winterthur says Google Maps sometimes gives incorrect directions, so it recommends MapQuest.)

Admission:  Members are always admitted free.  Adults, $25; seniors and students, $23; children, 2-11, $5, and no charge for children under age 2.

For more information:  800-448-3883

patricialesli@gmail.com