A major challenge for understanding historic homes is understanding the ways in which the homes have been modified for use over the years between their original construction and today. A trip to the library can offer you a variety of sources on the ways to identify the time periods of various parts of your house based on the method of construction of various parts of your home, the type of materials used, the size and shape of elements or the inclusion or exclusion of elements. This project is studying one of those elements that is present during a time period, but by the end of that era they have disappeared from houses. The search for information on these elements showcased just how strongly the Lincoln Home conforms to its Greek Revival style. The picture on the top left is the template for a Greek Revival; Home, the top right is an image of the Lincoln Home. All of the major elements of the Lincoln Home are present on the diagram, and the book that it is from notes that the entry may be present or not depending on the style of house. In the Midwest the book notes that the porch is often omitted. The book in question is A Field Guide to Early American Houses which studies the style of the nineteenth-century and makes use of those templates to find examples of home and how you can best identify them. The Lincoln Home is full of these elements, doors and their frames, two staircases, the windows and their layout, as well as the wood stoves and one open fireplace. These elements are all original to the time the Lincolns lived in the home and showcase the craftsmanship of Springfield artisans. But the Lincoln Home is an anomaly, it has been preserved from the time of Lincoln The other homes that share the space with the Lincoln Home are more likely examples of what books such as this are discussing. Used and reused, modified, moved, expanded and reoriented to fit the needs of each generation that used them. The National Park Service has studied the homes and worked over the years to restore them to an appearance that just maybe Lincoln would have recognized if he toured the neighborhood today.
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The purpose of the transom window lends itself to the title of the final project for the class American Material Life. Historic homes made use of the transom for a variety of reasons but of the examples given, the inclusion light and air into spaces with limited access to those resources. The men and women of the victorian era underwent great changes in technology that dramatically shifted the shape of their spaces.
![]() As the first semester of grad school comes to a close the final project of the class American Material LIfe is focused on an aspect of material culture, for me this is the Transom window. The class has discussed various aspects of culture, some have taken my interest more than others, food for example got my attention. The class is asking for a paper analyzing the transom window, along with that paper this blog will also have a number of posts discussing my process and research as well as some of the findings that I come to as I look into the history of the transoms and their place in the Victorian Home. These windows are overlooked by most people that encounter them, they are outside of our culture today, but still found in many old homes. What role did the transom play in the lives of people within the Victorian Era, were they just a tool to ensure that their homes were warm or cool? Did the transom help the Victorians to use their homes in a more effective way? What aspect of culture if any did the transom window play? This project will explore these questions and try to understand what role the window played in the lives of the men and women of the nineteenth century, as well as to explore one specific set of windows in one very special house. The Lincoln home has a set of transoms on the second floor, they will be the primary focus of the project and future posts will look to better understand those windows.
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The Ranger SteveThough I'm no longer found underneath the Flat Hat of the NPS I still find myself identifying as Ranger Steve more often than not. Archives
January 2017
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