Past Imperfect, The Art of Inventive Repair

Yesterday I learned how to make replacement handles for broken vessels from Don Carpentier, the visionary behind Eastfield Village and master of all trades. Last year at Dish Camp, the annual “POTpourri” ceramics conference where I presented examples from my own collection, I mentioned that I would like to learn the craft of early repair. Don assured me that making tin replacement handles was easy and that he could teach me all I needed to know in one afternoon. Flash forward one year, I find myself in Don’s workshop Period Make-Do’s and How to Reproduce Them, learning how to cut, bend and solder tin.

I urge anyone with an interest in learning traditional trades and domestic arts to visit Eastfield Village and attend a workshop this summer. Please take a look at my post from Dish Camp 2012, which shows some of the historic buildings and links to Don’s site.

This is the finished product. I am in awe of the handle and buttress Don effortlessly created, identical to the ones made by itinerant tinkers in the 18th through 20th century in North American and Europe. The broken mocha ware jug was given to me by my mother who had kept it in her cupboard for many years, knowing that even with a missing handle and large crack, it was too good to throw out.

Within seconds, Don drew a sketch of the proposed replacement handle, showing the placement of the 2 horizontal bands and the 4 vertical supports.

After scribing a piece of tin, I carefully snip one of the 2 support bands.

Don attaches the lower horizontal band, bending and locking the 2 ends together.

I am placing the 4 vertical bands and marking them for Don.

Don is soldiering the first vertical band.

Using an original tin crimping machine from the mid 1800s, Don is embedding wire in the handle edge, which provides extra support.

The handle is being bent and formed.

Don has a remarkable eye and in very little time, has cut out a tiny piece at the top of the broken handle stub to allow for the new handle to fit snugly in place.

By the 1800s, tinkers added embellishments such as thumb rests. Don thought it would be a good addition, as do I.

Unable to drill through the body of the jug for fear of leaking contents, tinkers attached handles to whatever was left of the broken handles. Don snipped out the center part of the lower handle, leaving enough of the tin-encased wire to bend around the remains of the lower handle stub and solder to the lower support band.

Photos courtesy of Mark Randall

It’s the little things that matter most. Enjoy the Holidays!

Photo by Ira Lippke

Last weekend I was invited to participate in the annual Ceramics Collectors, Collections, Connoisseurship & New Scholarship lecture series (aka “Dish Camp”), a 3-day event which attracts an international array of scholars, collectors, dealers and enthusiasts of antique china, porcelain and pottery. It is hosted by Don Carpentier, the founder and director of Eastfield Village, at his historic assemblage of antique structures, located in Nassau, NY. Don and I share a passion for historical antiques and period film set design & decoration, as we have each worked independently in both fields for many years. But unlike me, Don has practically and single-handedly moved an entire village worth of buildings, and in the process became an expert tinker, potter, mason, cabinetmaker, printer…the list goes on. I just don’t know how he does it all, and so stunningly well. And he’s a really nice guy!

Don on the left, me on the right. Usually I’m the one eating something in every candid photo.

As I unpacked examples from my collection and set them out on one of two 20′ long tables, already filled with other collectors’ wonderful ceramics and fragments, Don noticed a Staffordshire child’s mug with an unusual tin repair and informed me that it was made by a student of his who makes new tin repairs on damaged antiques. He spotted it immediately: the extraneous curly flourish at the bottom of the handle was the true giveaway. I purchased the mug from a reputable New England dealer a few years ago and I assume (hope) she didn’t realize the repair was contemporary.

My first PowerPoint presentation (I know, welcome to the 1990s) was projected on a screen inside of the classic Greek Revival church (built in 1836 and moved to the village in 1978), with examples from my collection in the foreground.

Attendees were encouraged to bring in inventively repaired antiques from their own collections, such as this English porcelain teacup with an early bronze replacement handle, which Don has owned since he was a teenager. I love how the delicate bronze replacement handle mimics the form of the original.

Another “dish camper” brought in this marvelous English transferware cream jug with a nicely formed tin replacement handle.

Starting in 1971, Don has moved over 20 original structures from the late 18th and early 19th century (board by board and brick by brick) from neighboring towns to his property, creating an entire village, complete with a Greek Revival church, tavern, blacksmith’s shop, doctor’s office, print shop, and general store (below).

E. A. Brown’s General Store is filled with an eclectic assortment of antiques which are actually for sale, but sadly all items are in fine condition and there is not a “make-do” to be found. To be fair, Don has an affinity for items with early repairs and has his own collection, started when he was just 14 years old.

Mark took this photo without changing or moving any of the elements contained within the frame. Each room of every building contains endless, perfectly placed tableaux, as if the original inhabitants still occupy the dwellings and are just beyond the camera’s reach.

The second floor ballroom of William Briggs Tavern, dating from 1793 and moved in pieces from Hoosick, NY, contains a collection of mismatched chairs from the 18th and 19th century.

The John Brooks House, also known as the “Little White House”, was remodeled in 1820. An early outhouse and a couple of small sheds are seen on the left.

Mark and I are looking forward to returning to Eastfield Village later this summer to spend more time with Don, immerse ourselves in the art of blacksmithing or printing, and briefly live in his glorious antique lovers utopia.

Photos by Mark Randall

Warmest thoughts and best wishes for a wonderful holiday and a very Happy New Year.

Photo by Ira Lippke

The Piano, a 1993 film directed by Jane Campion and starring Holly Hunter as Ada McGrath, a mute pianist, and Anna Paquin as her daughter Flora (both Oscar winners for their performances), contains a poignant “make-do” that must be noted in these virtual pages. In the course of the film, Ada has her right index finger severed by her jealous husband in a fit of rage, depriving her of the ability to play her piano. In the film’s epilogue, Ada’s new lover has created for her a riveted silver “make-do” replacement finger, complete with a finger nail, which allows her to play the piano once more. I love a happy ending, especially when an inventive repair is crucial to the outcome!

I attended Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama, earning a degree in set design, while Holly Hunter was studying acting. Her immense talent was evident even then, though she had a difficult time masking her thick Georgian accent. How appropriate that she won her Oscar playing a mute. Years later I worked as a set decorator on a film directed by Jane Campion, but never had the chance to tell her how much I liked the final frames of The Piano and Holly’s make-do finger.

The film’s poster shows a tender moment between Holly Hunter and Harvey Keitel as her lover Baines. Notice that her right hand still has its index finger intact.

A beautifully made silver replacement finger allows the ivories to be tickled once again…Fade out.

Poster and photo courtesy of Miramax

I am often asked which are my favorite examples of antiques with inventive repair and my reply is…all of them! But if I absolutely had to narrow down the list to my top 10 favorites, I would include those pictured below. Please know that this list is purely subjective and includes items that simply make me smile whenever I see them. These have all been previously posted so you can read more about each piece in the original post by clicking on the title above each photo.

So here they are, from 10 to 1…

Number 10: Victoria and Albert jug, c.1840

Number 9: Primitive wooden shovel, c.1870

Number 8: Large Chinese Mandarin mug, c.1780

Number 7: Stick spatter peafowl teapot, c.1810

Number 6: “Scottish Thistle” crystal cordial, c.1920

Number 5: French Delft ewer, c.1690

Number 4: Anglo-Indian brass candlestick, c.1875

Number 3: Chinese export miniature vases, c.1690

Number 2: Cold painted cast lead dog figure, c.1930

And my number 1 top favorite is: Eastern European teapot, c.1925