Chaletmomma

I was lucky enough to take a quick trip to Doylestown, PA last month with my sister to meet up with our cousins at The Tile Works of Bucks County or what we used to think of as The Moravian Tile & Pottery Works.

Interestingly enough… look at the tile that is by the entrance. It is the same design my husband and I received as a wedding present in 1998.

Here’s a brief history: Between 1911 and 1912, Henry Chapman Mercer (1856-1930) built the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works to “master the potter’s art and establish pottery under personal control.”

The success of the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works rested on Mercer's pure genius. With a small capital investment, relatively inexpensive operating costs, and an ability to produce a range of wares that made the best use of biotechnology, the pottery produced unique tiles that were praised by critics and sought after by architects. The honest, hand-made quality of his work fully expressed the ideals of the American Arts and Crafts Movement, elevating Mercer to one of the movement’s most important proponents. His tiles were emblematic of the survival, or rebirth, of the handcraft tradition. By the turn of the century, he was recognized as a premiere maker of “artistic” tiles. For the next thirty years, his work was sought out by leading architects and tastemakers to decorate public and private buildings all across the country. Mercer’s pioneering influence was far-reaching and still affects many tilemakers today. [The Tile Works website]

The Tiles are so intricately designed.

We were shown a demonstration of a Cat Tile being made

The building is two floors with walkways.

The Gift shop had so many wonderful designs. I love my new clipper ship.

We had a lovely lunch at The Doylestown Inn.

Hoping your summer is going well - til next time I’ll see you on Instagram!

I enjoyed wonderful visit to The Morgan Library & Museum with my sister. We started our visit at the Morgan Cafe’. The atmosphere, food and wine were all delightful. We enjoyed Hummus with hand-made chips, my sister a BLT and I the Za’atar Spiced Blue Crab Cobb salad - so delicious.

**The Ceiling on our way to the rotating exhibit area**

The magnificent ceiling on our way to the Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature exhibit which closed June 9th.

I was dumbstruck by Beatrix’s talent. The light from the candle in the below illuminated the room perfectly in this panel from Peter Cottontail.

**This image was taken in 1930 of the annex**

We went upstairs and toured the exhibit: Walton Ford: Birds and Beasts of the Studio which runs through October 20, 2024.

We retraced our steps to enter the original part of the building.

Look at this door!

We turned right and entered The West Room - with J.Peirpont Morgan’s desk and the Vault, then walked into the Rotunda and onto The East Room and finally The North Room.

**Cast of Washington’s face made from life is in the rotunda**

The East Room is breathtaking and three stories of bookshelves. I took over 100 images in the library and about 20 were of this room.

A few of the treasures - including one of the three Gutenberg Bibles the Morgan has in it’s collection. I also loved looking at the varied book titles.

Belle de Costa Greene (1879-1950) has been the subject of a work of historical fiction by Marie Benedict The Personal Librarian which I read and it peaked my interest in both her and the Library. She ran the Morgan Library for forty-three years starting in 1905. In the beginning she was the private librarian for J. Pierpont Morgan and then his son, Jack, and later as the first director of the Pierpont Morgan Library (now the Morgan Library & Museum). She is an extremely interesting person - she was a woman in what was a man’s field and she was also passing for white. I was so excited to learn an exhibition dedicated to her - Belle de Costa Greene: A Librarian’s Legacy will run October 25, 2024 - May 4, 2025. I also found an upcoming book will be released October 29, 2024 Belle da Costa Greene: A Librarian’s Legacy.