Cork Souvenir Buildings & Architectural Models

Cork is harvested from Quercus suber, the Cork Oak tree, which is endemic to southwest Europe and northwest Africa. Cork is composed of suberin, a hydrophobic substance and, because of its impermeable, buoyant, elastic, and fire retardant properties, it is used in a variety of products, the most common of which is wine stoppers. And sometimes, miniature buildings. While researching another post, I discovered the Castle of Johannisburg in Germany has the world’s largest collection of cork architectural models. Entitled, “Bringing Rome across the Alps,” the display consists of 45 models of ancient Rome. These remarkably detailed reproductions were made between 1792 and 1854. They include the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the triumphal arches of the emperors Titus, Septimius Severus und Constantine, the Porta Maggiore and the Pyramid of Cestius. The architectural models were made by the court confectioner Carl May (1747-1822) and his son Georg May (1790-1853). The cork material was ideal for imitating the weathered stone surfaces of the centuries-old buildings. The Sir John Soane Museum in London also has cork building models in their collection. Even Thomas Jefferson had at least one cork replica of the great pyramid.

Former Italian postal worker, Ciro Califano, uses wine bottle corks tocreate replicas of ancient wonders like the Roman aqueduct in Nimes, France, the Saracen Tower, and the Church of Monte Albino. Below, is a video of a German artist Dieter Cöllen who has revived a long-forgotten craft of constructing architectural models using cork as the main building material. He's specializes in recreating famous antique monuments such as the Giza pyramids or the Temple of Poseidon in miniature. His models are on display in museums all over the world:

Concord Gas Light Company Sterling Silver Inkwell Building Replica

New Hampshire Historical Society’s sterling silver Concord Gas Light Company presentation inkwell was made by the world-renowned silver manufacturer, William B. Durgin of Concord. Thanks to collector, Steve V. for this tip about this building replica in the museum's collection. This unique piece of presentation silver, made as a miniature version of the Concord Gas Light Company’s gasholder house, was given to John M. Hill, treasurer and manager of the company in 1889. The circular brick gasholder house building, measuring 86 feet in diameter and standing 80 feet high, was constructed in 1888. It was capable of holding 125,000 cubic feet of gas. The gasholder house was used until 1952 when the company hooked up to a larger network supplying natural gas. No longer needing to store gas, the company put the gasholder house out of service. The structure today is the only enclosed gasholder house in the United State to have survived intact. The recipient of the inkwell, John M. Hill (1821-1900), was the son of New Hampshire Governor Isaac Hill and Susanna Ayer of Concord, NH. The owner of the New Hampshire Patriot, in 1855 Hill became treasurer and manager of the Concord Gas Light Company, serving until January 1889. Interested in civic and state improvements, Hill also served as a member of the Concord Water Commission and Fire Department. He was the Democratic candidate for governor in 1884.

Replica of N.Y.'s Metropolitan Museum of Art

This website is asking people to guess the function of this wooden replica of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Do you know its purpose?

V&A Museum’s Architectural Models

Named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, The V&A museum covers 12.5 acres and is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. The Established in 1852, the London museum spans a wide-range of art of all materials and media. Searching their online archives, I discovered many amazing and historic architectural replicas and models in their permanent collection. A model of the Tempietto of San Pietro in Montorio, Rome is carved from walnut and pearwood. A miniature replica of the memorial to Prince Albert, which stands in Kensington Gardens, London. Carved wooden model of the Miyan Khan Chishti mosque in Ahmadabad. Plaster and wax model for the Wellington Monument in St Paul's Cathedral. This model of a tomb at Palmyra, was probably made by Jean Pierre Fouquet and François Fouquet in Paris in about 1820. This is an architectural model, made of cork, represents the Temple of Concord, in Agrigento, Sicily. This model appeared at the British Empire Exhibition in Wembley in 1924. This is an architectural model of the Temple of the Winds, Athens. It was made of plaster with hidden iron supports by Jean Pierre Fouquet. Miniature replica of Mahabodhi Temple at Bodhgaya, which is the holiest of Buddhist pilgrim sites. Carved sandalwood model of the prayer niche in an Ahmadabad mosque. Brass models of a Sumatran rice barns. Plaster model of the triumphal arch, known as the Arch of Constantine, in the grounds of the Coloseum, Piazzale del Colosseo in Rome. Marble Arch stands at the top of London's Park Lane, but originally located outside Buckingham Palace. A cast plaster replica is in the V&A’s collection. 

Rare Building Replicas in Museum Collections

Museums are the keepers of a nation’s treasures. They collect, preserve and archive rare and, many times, one-of-a-kind items. Some of these items are of interest to miniature architecture fans. The University of Hong Kong (HKU) exhibited some of their collections last year including a replica of their Main Building. The 1912 silver model is finely detailed and sits on a wooden base with a plaque on which is written, “Hong Kong Univeristy Presented to Sir F.J.D. Lugard, GCMC-CB-DSO by N H N Mody Esq. son of the late Sir HN Mody donor of these buildings on the occasion of the cutting ceremony 11^th March 1912.” The Sydney Opera House has been reproduced as tourist souvenirs countless times and in various sizes and materials. A metal miniature copy of the Sydney Opera House on a polished wooden base is one of the first, according to the National Museum of Australia. This rare replica was presented to the President of the New South Wales division of the Arts Council of Australia, Justice Rae Else-Mitchell, by the Government of New South Wales to commemorate the official opening of the Sydney Opera House on 20 October 1973.

Skyscraper: Art and Architecture Chicago Exhibit

Reader Isbell sent me this tip about an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago entitled, Skyscraper: Art and Architecture Against Gravity. According to the museum’s website, the show “examines contemporary works of art that take as their subject the form, technology, myth, message, and image of that iconic building structure, the skyscraper. While the exhibition has particular relevance to Chicago, the city that is widely known as the birthplace of this architectural type, artists throughout the world—in addition to authors, filmmakers, poets, and undoubtedly architects—have been enthralled by the human desire to build farther and farther into the sky, testing technological limits while embodying a yearning for spiritual connection to the heavens. Artists’ endeavors to explore this desire have taken many forms, from video and film to sculpture, painting, and photography.” The show runs through September 2012. 

Siege Museum Souvenir Building Replica

Housed in the circa 1839 Exchange Building, the Siege Museum interprets civilian life in Petersburg, Virginia before, during, and immediately after the Civil War. The museum records the ten-month siege of Petersburg, from June 1864 to April 1865, which was the longest period of time that an American city has been under a military siege. The exhibition illustrates how the siege impacted civilian life in Petersburg. The original Exchange Building was built between 1839 and 1841 in the Greek revival architectural style. The building was commissioned by a group of merchants to create a trading center where graded and certified samples of agricultural products could be shown to prospective buyers. A miniature building replica was produced by Dixie Trainer’s Souvenir Building Network. I wrote to Bill Trainer who told me, “Dixie was commissioned to have the Siege Museum piece made by the city of Petersburg, Virginia to celebrate its 250th anniversary. Manufacturer was Bates and Klink (Mass.). Dimensions: 1 ¾ tall, 1 ¾ wide and 2 7/8 long. It must have been made in the 1997-1999 period.”

Frank Lloyd Wright House Monumental Miniatures Exhibit

The Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park, Missouri reached out to the membership of the Souvenir Building Collector’s Society months ago requesting souvenir buildings for their planned exhibit celebrating Mr. Wright's 144th birthday. Many SBCS members stepped forward to help fulfill their request and loaned the house many building replicas. The exhibit, which opened in June and will go till November 28, 2010, received some media attention. SBCS members Joe Kopitz, Elizabeth Lawson and Pat Smith visited the FLW house in October. It sounded like a wonderful trip, filled with events to make it a miniature convention, and Joe kindly wrote highlights to share with everyone. I’ll publish a few installments of what the three did over the next few days.

According to The Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park, the exhibit called, Monumental Miniatures, “brings to St. Louis more than 150 miniature buildings from private collections around the country. Miniature buildings have been produced for the past two centuries, many as souvenirs that evoke memories of important architectural sites. This unique exhibit features architectural styles from all over the world from ancient times to the present day. Ancient temples, pagodas, mosques, pyramids, cathedrals and churches, skyscrapers, houses and historic sites are on display. Many of the buildings are famous landmarks or buildings of note by celebrated architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright. The works are made of a wide variety of materials including cast iron and various metals, ceramic, plastic, wood, rubber, and even sand. Most lenders to the exhibit are members of the Souvenir Buildings Collectors Society and are avid collectors of architectural miniatures from all over the world.”

Joe Writes:

“A little background about this event. Joanne Kohn, the president of the board of theThe Frank Lloyd Wright House House, had come up with the idea of displaying Monumental Miniatures within the FLW house to place Frank Lloyd Wright in the context of the history of architecture. She had come upon miniature collecting in an article in the Wall Street Journal. She shared this idea with Laura Meyers, the Executive Director and Peter Shank, the FLW House curator and board member who worked to make this incredible event happen. Joanne, Laura and Peter made numerous trips to visit collections of SBCS members. When they visited the New York metropolitan region in April, Elizabeth Lawson and I decided to display our selections at the Brooklyn home of one of SBCS founding members, Patricia Smith. Pat had graciously allowed us to set up in her dining room and provided terrific refreshments. She had not anticipated showing her own (wonderful) collection; Pat is in the process of downsizing her souvenir building collection. She still has an incredibility diverse collection of little buildings that she has amassed over many years. But when the St. Louis threesome asked about seeing her collection, she led them to her 3^rd floor. They were so impressed with what they saw, they asked if she would be willing to contribute some of her little buildings as well. Of course Pat said yes. The group from the FLW House had made many similar stops at numerous collectors’ homes in several States. Many members of the Souvenir Building Collector’s Society stepped up to the challenge of filling the FLW House with such an incredibly diverse mixture of miniature buildings that truly did “place Mr. Wright in the context of the history of architecture.” The three of us, Pat, Elizabeth and I, had originally thought we would visit the collection during its run. But as the summer came and went, we realized it was now or never. So in September, we made plans to visit during the weekend of October 21^st. The hotel in St. Louis and rental car reservations in place, we were all set. Pat and I arrived in St. Louis around noon on Friday, checked into the hotel and had lunch. By mid-afternoon, we had arrived at the FLW House. We had a very informative tour and took lots of photos. Truly the house is extraordinary and the Monumental Miniatures exhibit was set up beautifully and added immensely to the significance of the visit, the history of the house and Mr. Wright’s place among architects. The grounds and surrounding area were also extremely peaceful and relaxing. A true oasis. On Saturday morning, during a personal tour of Downtown St. Louis, graciously provided by Laura Meyer, we got a chance to see many wonderful landmarks. We even got a glimpse of “Occupy St. Louis” from the car. Since Pat and Elizabeth had no interest in joining me, I visited the Gateway Arch at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial by myself. I even went up to the top of the arch in their little capsules. After returning to earth, I discovered that many of the original construction guys who worked on building the arch were there to sign posters. This was the first time they had ever gathered for such an event. Not letting such a rare opportunity pass, I bought a couple of posters (at $1 each) and waited in line for them all to sign them. On Saturday night, Joanne Kohn, along with a couple of board members, had us all for a dinner party at Mr. and Mrs. Kohn’s extraordinary mid-century home. The home, its furnishings and setting were all magnificent. They all really made us feel very special. Joanne’s collection of pottery was extraordinary and very exciting for me; I took lots of photos. She prepared my absolutely favorite dish: Chicken Marbella from the Silver Palate Cookbook. I know I shouldn’t tell cooking secrets outside of the kitchen, but it is so yummy. She topped off the evening with homemade pear-ginger pies. What a treat!” Joe Kopitz.

Octagon Museum Souvenirs

Those who attended the SBCS convention, the first time it was held in D.C, will remember the Octagon Museum. During that 1997 convention, we visited the exhibit named, Monumental Miniatures: The Weingarten Souvenir Building Collection. This was just after their first book, Souvenir Buildings and Miniature Monuments, was published. Microcosms produced a well-made and heavy replica of the Museum for the convention. The real Octagon building was designed by Dr. William Thornton, first architect of the U.S. Capitol, was the first house to be completed in the area. It established a residential presence where none had existed before in fact, the streets only existed on paper. Its construction between 1799 and 1801 formalized a plan of streets, avenues, and parks and insured their development. For Washington's planners, the Octagon was a seminal presence. For John Tayloe, as an entrepreneur with political aspirations, being close to the center of government was a powerful incentive to invest in this still undeveloped location. Originally it was built for Col. John Tayloe III who raised family there. During the War of 1812, the Octagon served as a temporary residence for James and Dolley Madison after the White House (then known as the President's House) was burned in 1814. In the Octagon's second-floor parlor on February 17, 1815, the Treaty of Ghent was signed, ending the war with Great Britain. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) saved the building from further decay by leasing it from the Tayloes in 1897, purchasing it in 1902, and restoring the Octagon several times during the period it served as the AIA headquarters. During its years in the Octagon, the AIA played a prominent role in shaping the growth of the nation's capital. The McMillan Commission Plan, which cleared the Mall, established a site for the Lincoln Memorial, and created the park plan for the city, was born in the rooms of the Octagon. In 1968, the American Architectural Foundation (AAF), which was founded in 1942, purchased the Octagon from the AIA and opened it to the public in 1970

Holocaust Museum Miniature Replica

Congress authorized the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1980 to be a permanent living memorial to all victims who perished in the Holocaust. The building has been designed as a living institution dedicated to research and teaching as well as to contemplation and commemoration. The Museum building houses permanent and temporary exhibition spaces, a research library and archives, two theaters, interactive computer learning center, classrooms, a memorial space. Architect James Ingo Freed created a relationship between the museum building and the exhibitions within. To develop his design, he visited a number of Holocaust sites, including camps and ghettos, to examine structures and materials. The result is not a neutral shell. Instead, the architecture, by a collection of abstract forms — invented and drawn from memory — refers to the history the museum addresses. Architectural allusions to the Holocaust are not specific. Visitors make their own interpretations. The subtle metaphors and symbolic reminiscences of history are vehicles for thought and introspection. The curved portico of the 14th Street entrance — with its squared arches, window grating, and cubed lights — is a mere facade, a fake screen that actually opens to the sky, deliberately hiding the disturbing architecture of skewed lines and hard surfaces of the real entrance that lies behind it. In Freed's words, "Visitors must pass through the limestone partition to enter a concrete world." This motif of contrasting appearance and reality is repeated throughout. Along the north brick walls, a different perspective reveals a roofline profile of camp guard towers, a procession of sentry boxes. Above the western entrance, a limestone mantle holds a solitary window containing 16 solid "panes," framed by clear glass, reversing the normal order and obscuring the ability to look in or out. I’ve seen a few different souvenir replica buildings of the Holocaust Museum. A hard-to-find metal version was commissioned in 2005 and produced by InFocusTech. Others have been made of plaster and a "bonded marble" (resin by any other name) was produced in 2002, but may not be available in the gift shop now.

Guggenheim Museum YouTube Projection

Tonight, YouTube will stream a live video from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, N.Y. at 8pm ET, Oct 21. Architectural models and souvenir buildings of the Guggenheim Museum include those made of LEGOS, dinner china and lamps in the shape of the famous museum. Currently available on the Guggenheim online gift shop sells wooden models, snow globes and tree ornaments. Famous buildings have been a canvas for projected images in the past.

Guggenheim Museum Replicas

The design has been likened to a white ribbon curled into a cylindrical stack. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often called simply The Guggenheim, opened in 1959 in New York City. Its distinctive round design is the work of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The building was Frank Lloyd Wright last major works before his death and it opened 10 years after the death of Solomon Guggenheim. The museum is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Modern and contemporary art. Inside the building, the viewing gallery forms a gentle helical spiral from the main level up to the top. Paintings are displayed along the walls of the spiral and also in exhibition space found at annex levels along the way. The center rotunda is lit by an enourmous skylight. In 1992, an adjoining rectangular tower was added to the original structure and designed by the architectural firm of Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects. Just as the orignial design was controversial, so was the addition to Wright's design. In the past, a few replicas have been produced in a few different materials including resin and wood, but I don’t believe one was ever made in metal. (If you know of one or have one, send me a photo) A white resin ornament and a silver painted resin souvenir replica paper weight of the museum were made in the past. No purely souvenir buildings are available at present, but some other Guggenheim Museum inspired items are available. A Guggenheim lamp by Megara could Light up your night in high design with Zita Watkin’s beautiful, functional tribute to the iconic Museum building. The semi-translucent polypropylene spiral opens into beautiful table lamp. A set of white porcelain dinner china inspired by the Guggenheim include a bowl and sugar / creamer set. A plastic snow globe is also available at the museum’s online giftshop. In the past, I’ve written about a Guggenheim Lego kit and diamond ring. I also wrote about another lamp in the shape of the New Museum in Manhattan.

White House Visitor’s Center

I stopped by the White House Visitor’s Center, which is a few blocks from the White House, recently to see what might be of interest to Building Collector readers. Visitors can see a 3-D model of The President’s House by Rebecca Fuller, of N.C. an artist’s recreation based on written accounts of the pres house as the White house was then known at the beginning of Jefferson’s administration in 1801. In the last stages of completion, as you can still see construction on the grounds, the model represents the house when Jefferson first saw it after being sworn in on March 4.The visitors center gift shop, and the online version, sells a few items worth noting. Reproduced to scale, the Sandstone Model of the White House incorporates sandstone from the same Aquia, Virginia, quarry that produced the stone used to build the exterior walls of the real building more than 200 years ago. The North Portico and drive are seen above and the South Portico is pictured in detail. The sandstone model sits on a wooden base. A flat metal Bookmark of the White House is also available. As is a sandstone ornament with a detailed reproduction of the north and south façades of the White House enhanced with 24 karat gold finished brass. Also of interests was a White House Service Plate which was part of President Clinton’s set made in the year 2000 and features a gold White House design in the center.

Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia

During a recent visit to Philadelphia, I stopped by this historic home of which a variety of souvenir versions have been produced over the years. Currently, a metal pencil sharpener replica of the Betsy Ross House is available. Interestingly, the various replicas all look the same in the front, but the older versions include different structures attached behind the main house. Most versions I’ve seen are about the same size, but are made of different materials (brass, lead and pot metal). An older brass version is also a coin bank. Built more in 1740, the building now known as The Betsy Ross House was home to not just Betsy, but to dozens of artisans and shopkeepers over the years before it was opened to the public as a museum in 1937. The "bandbox" style structure is designed with one room on each floor and a winding staircase stretching from the cellar to the upper levels. The building's front façade, with a large window on the first floor to display merchandise, and its proximity to the Delaware River, made it an ideal location for a business. In fact, the house served as both a business and a residence for many different shopkeepers and artisans for more than 150 years. The first floor front room was used as the workshop and showroom. The business owner and his or her family lived in the rest of the house. In the 18th century the house was occupied by a shoemaker, a shopkeeper, an apothecary and, of course, most famously, an upholsterer. It is believed that Betsy Ross lived here from 1773 to 1785. By the late 19th century most of the other colonial-era buildings that once stood on this block of Arch Street had been torn down and replaced with large industrial buildings and warehouses. Many people feared that Betsy's home would meet the same fate. In 1898, a group of concerned citizens established the American Flag House and Betsy Ross Memorial Association to raise money to purchase the house, restore it and open it as a public museum in honor of Betsy Ross and our first flag. To raise the money to purchase the house, members of the group sold lifetime memberships to the organization for 10 cents.

'New Museum' Building Lamp

The mantra from Bauhaus designers is “Form follows function.” In this case, function follows form. The form is the New Museum in the Bowery area of Manhattan. The function is a lamp. Building Collector reader Paul C. sent me this tip from a recent NY Times article. New Museum was designed by the Tokyo architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, who are jointly known as Sanaa. The seven-story, structure located at 235 Bowery in NYC opened in December of 2007. With a dramatic design, the New Museum building is a home for contemporary art and an incubator for new ideas. The designers have described the building as their response to the history and powerful personalities of both the New Museum and its storied site. “The Bowery was very gritty when we first visited it,” they have said. “We were a bit shocked, but we were also impressed that a contemporary art museum wanted to be there.” The architecture has been getting mixed reviews. The building lamp has been called “Functional architecture for our night table.” It is not cheap, its price is about $1200 and created by Sherwood Forlee who said, “As a side project, I decided to make a scaled-down version that actually glowed at night. The result was a nice-looking (thanks to SANAA) table lamp. With luck, I'll be able to produce enough of these for those light-loving but disappointed fans of the New Museum."

George Washington Masonic Memorial

This souvenir building replica has always been a favorite of mine. The copper-colored pot metal miniature stands four inches tall and is nicely detailed. These were most likely made in the 1960‘s and can still be found out and about, but no replicas are currently for sale at the memorial’s small gift shop. Recently, I took the time to take a tour of the memorial and learn more about it. The real building is a landmark in Alexandria, Virginia and sits atop a hill overlooking ‘old town’ and the Potomac River. Its main purpose of the Masonic Memorial is honoring and perpetuating the memory and character of George Washington who was a mason. Freemasonry was already old when a young George Washington became a member of the Fredericksburg, Va lodge in 1752. He remained a proud member and patron of “The Craft” – as Freemasonry is also called – his entire life. The George Washington Masonic Memorial is a museum, tourist attraction, research center, library, center for community activities, performing arts center, concert hall, banquet and celebration site, and a host location for visiting lodges. The Memorial’s mission is to educate and promote the virtues, character and vision of George Washington, the Man, the Mason and Father for Our Country. The Memorial also preserves American Masonic history and informs the public about Masonic affiliated and auxiliary organizations and charities. The Alexandria Masonic Lodge, to which Washington also belonged, began receiving objects from Washington’s family and associates soon after Mrs. Washington’s death in 1802. Desiring a suitable and fireproof Memorial for the Washington artifacts, the Grand Master of Masons in Virginia invited the Grand Lodges from around the country to gather in Alexandria on Washington’s birthday - February 22, 1910. The Memorial Association was formed, construction began in 1923 and the Memorial was dedicated in 1932 which was the bicentennial of Washington’s birth. Influenced by the classical architecture of Greece and Rome, the Memorial’s entrance is inspired by the Parthenon of Athens. The three sections of the tower rise in ascending levels of complexity with Doric columns at the lowest, Ionic in the middle, and Corinthian for the top section. The tower is capped with an Egyptian Pyramid, and surmounted with a stylized flame-like finial as a reference to the ancient lighthouses of Alexandria, Egypt. The Memorial is also the lighthouse of Freemasonry, spreading the light and knowledge of the fraturnatiy to the world. The top is an observation deck which provides a panoramic view of Alexandria, Washington, D.C. and the surrounding area. Check out this Virtual tour of the memorial. Do you know of other versions of this Masonic Memorial? Let us know via the ‘comments’ link below.

Plaster Model of Independence Hall

In a side hallway of the Supreme Court, 1937 scale-model of Independence Hall, one of twenty-six hundred created during Pennsylvania’s State-Wide Museum Extension Project is also on display. Produced by the Work Projects Administration (WPA) to mark the 150th anniversary of the 1787 ratification of the United States Constitution. They hoped to produce historically accurate models in 1/16” scale which would be reproduced in sufficient quantities for every school and local historical society in the country. Sculptors poured moulds and hundreds of plaster replicas were cast, painted, and then assembled. The replicas— each cast in ten separate sections— rolled off the assembly line to meet the deadline. Do you know of other WPA building replicas?

Chicago Museum of Science and Industry

I was delighted to find this metal souvenir building in an antique store recently and was also surprised to learn the museum building still exists. Too often it seems, buildings from this era were torn down. The rare, low-profiled pot metal building replica was probably made in Japan in the 1960’s. Located in Chicago, the real Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) was originally built as the Palace of Fine Arts for the 1893 World Columbian Exposition. The Palace of Fine Arts was designed by Charles B. Atwood and was constructed with a brick substructure benith a plaster facade. After the World's Fair, it initially housed the Columbian Museum, which evolved into the Field Museum of Natural History. After a series of other uses, the building became the science museum. During its conversion into the MSI, the building's exterior was re-cast in limestone, retaining its 1893 Beaux Arts style. Meanwhile, the interior was redesigned in Art Moderne style. In June of this year, the museum celebrated its 75th year.

Thomas Jefferson’s Souvenir Buildings

During the SBCS private tour of Monticello; I noticed a Pyramid souvenir building pyramid on a fireplace mantel in the entrance hall. It’s a solid cork scale replica of the Cheops' Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt. The original was an 1802 gift to Thomas Jefferson from the French writer and Middle Eastern explorer Constantin-Francois de Chasseboeuf, but this one is a reproduction. It seems in the early part of the 18th-19th centuries, there was a European trend for cork models of ancient ruins. The reproduction of Jefferson’s pyramid replica was constructed in the antique phelloplastik technique revived by German artist and architectural historian Dieter Coellen of Cologne, Germany.Jefferson also designed the Virginia State Capital and adopted the costly practice of commissioning a scale model of the proposed building and turned to the eminent modelmaker Jean-Pierre Fouquet to build the plaster replica. Jefferson was fascinated with everything new, was a voracious scholar and fascinated with Native Americans, dinosaurs and ancient Egypt. It also appears he was an early souvenir building collector.

James Madison's Montpelier

I happen to be in the Charlottesville, Virginia area last weekend and found a few things of interest to building collectors in anticipation of this weekends’ Souvenir Building Collectors Society’s Convention there. Montpelier, the home of James Madison, Father of the Constitution, architect of the Bill of Rights and fourth president of the United States is nearby. It was here that he read, researched and thought more deeply about our republican form of government than any other Founding Father. Montpelier Estate was formed in 1723 when Ambrose Madison, President James Madison's grandfather, and his brother-in-law, Thomas Chew, were deeded 4,675 acres in the newly opened Piedmont of Virginia. The Madison family owned Montpelier for more than 120 years – from 1723 until 1844 when Dolley Madison sold the property. The visitor’s center on the property has a 3-D map of the estate and grounds. The gift shop offers a ‘flat’ wooden replica of the main house and gold-colored metal ornaments of Madison's Home and the Madison Temple. Also in the areas at the Monticello Visitor’s Center on Route 20 just off Interstate 64 is a basswood model of the Carriage Front Northeast – the “first house” at Monticello based on Jefferson’s own designs and specifications up to 1789. Also called “First Monticello” or “Monticello I,” this was the design of the house from 1770-1796. This structure may have been unfinished when in 1796, Jefferson began an extensive remodel and enlargement which became the Monticello we know today.