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Curator’s Corner November 2021

  • November 23, 2021

Hello Fellow History Lovers!

Happy Thanksgiving! As we are planning our wonderful feasts, I wanted to tell you a little bit about how the Victorians would have dined. What was a dinner party like at the Barkers’? Dinners used to be served the way that most of us serve Thanksgiving dinner – what was called a la Francaise – in which most of the dishes were on the table at the same time, and diners helped themselves. This is what’s known today as “family style”. However, what became the standard in formal dining when John H. and Katherine were hosting dinners in the 1880s and 1890s was actually serving dinners a la Russe. This meant that courses were brought to the table sequentially by a footman or waiter, one by one (Check out one of Katherine’s handwritten menus below!). All the special cutlery and china and glassware were already at the table, and boy, were there a lot of them. The Victorians loved having the appropriate glass for a certain wine, or a special spoon for a certain dessert.

The Barkers would have had an extensive cutlery collection, and we have a snippet of this in the inventory done in 1933. Much of the cutlery is described as monogrammed with “JHB” (for John H. Barker) or “KFB” (for Katherine Fitzgerald Barker) so we know that these were not later purchased by Catherine.

Wines were paired with certain courses. For example, dry white wine was recommended for oysters, medium-dry sherry for soup, and hock (a Rhine wine) for fish. And of course, a different glass was used for each. In the Barker Mansion collection, we have several beautiful examples. These are monogrammed “CEB” for Cordelia E. Barker, John Sr.’s wife.

We have several sets on display in the Drawing Room and Dining Room, come view them when we open for the month of December!

Til next time, Anna

This set of Victorian era cutlery had a different spoon for [top row] chocolate, lemonade, iced tea, dessert, place, sauce, soup/gumbo, soup/cream, grapefruit, orange/fruit; [bottom row] orange/fruit, café parfait, ice cream, tea, youth/breakfast, five o’clock tea, four o’clock, bouillon, chocolate, demitasse, and individual salt. 

Could you keep them all straight? 

From left to right: these glasses were used for port, sherry, cordial, red wine, and champagne/liqueur.
The soup served most often in the 19th century was actually turtle soup! Oxtail soup was a close second for those who could not afford turtle. What is interesting is that Campbell’s Soup Company, who were aimed at a middle-class market, actually sold oxtail soup before it offered tomato soup!

This is a handwritten menu by Katherine Barker. It delineates the different courses: 1. Oysters, 2. Clear Soup, 3. Terrapin, cucumbers, 4. Chicken Timball with mushrooms, 5. Saddle of mutton, rice croquettes, peas, jelly, 6. Punch, 7. Partridge breast, lettuce salad, 8. Fruit ice cream

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The Barker Mansion has an accessibility ramp in the rear of the building so guests can access the first floor and first floor bathroom. The lower level is accessible via two chair lifts. We ask that those who require the ramp call ahead so that staff can meet guests at the side entrance on 7th Street: (219) 873-1520. Please contact the Mansion with any questions. We are happy to help!