This week four of six rooms and two staircases received carpeting. The room carpets are facsimiles of original ingrain carpet from the Old Economy Village collection produced by the Langhorne Carpet Company of Penndel, Pennsylvania. The stair carpets were woven by Family Heirloom Weavers of Red Lion, Pennsylvania. Two more carpets are still at the [...]
The staff at Old Economy Village has recently begun to move the historical artifacts back into the Rapp Houses. Packing and removal of artifacts began in the summer of 2012. The house was closed in December 2012 when the large artifacts were removed. The curator has started with the small items, and the large [...]
We can hardly believe it ourselves, but yes, the wallpaper is done! The wallpaper reproduction project began in 2002, and now, 12 years later, we are proud to show off the results. And I might add that what you are going to see is BEAUTIFUL, especially to those with an early 19th century eye (wink, [...]
Here at Old Economy Village the restoration of the Rapp Houses has come to a slight pause, but in other parts of the country, people are working very diligently on preparing furnishings for the houses. Adelphi Paper Hangings in Sharon Springs, New York is busily block printing the remainder of the wallpaper for the George [...]
Yes, the wallpaper is finally being hung in the Rapp Houses! Everyone is so excited to see it, because we've waited and worked on this for YEARS! We are still in the production phase for three wallpapers, so more will come probably in September. But for now, take a peak at the new look of [...]
It has been eight long weeks since the last post (sorry about that - I've been extremely busy putting together two exhibits: Two Centuries of Music at Economy and A Style of Their Own: Clothing and Textiles of the Harmony Society - two must-sees!) An update about the Rapp Houses restoration is LONG overdue. The [...]
It's a little bit of a slow time for photographs inside the Rapp Houses right now. The plaster work is done for now. We're looking at a little bit more plastering before this project is complete. The painters are still painting inside the houses. Carpentry and electrical work also continues. Old Economy Village will be [...]
We've taken a 2-week break while 2 exhibits have been taking up all of my time. Harmonizing at Economy: Two Centuries of Music opened at the end of March in the Visitor Center lobby, and Their Own Style: Clothing and Textiles of the Harmony Society is set to open Thursday, May 8th at 7 PM [...]
This week in the Rapp Houses the plasterers have still been hard at work, the painters have been painting several rooms, some masonry was repaired, and more carpentry was completed. We also received a carpet pattern and the artwork for some wallpaper. Whenever I walk around Old Economy Village, I'm always looking for those odd [...]
The plasterers, painters, electrician, and carpenter are still hard at work at the Rapp Houses. While we're waiting for more changes to report about, let's talk about a room of mystery in the Rapp Houses. There are so many rooms in the Rapp Houses whose 19th century function is not known. Of course what a [...]