Saturday, July 7, 2012

Shell Mania at Darlington House

Reggie, like many people, adores seashells and has collected them for as long as he can remember, Dear Reader.

A detail of the Shell Mania arrangement on our
dining room mantel at Darlington House

When Boy and I are on vacation at the shore we often stop in at stores that stock and sell seashells and related curiosities, and we buy a few specimen to add to our collection at Darlington House, as a souvenir of our trip.

This is how our dining room mantel looks most of the year,
decorated with basalt vessels and a gilt Paris porcelain
reticulated basket on stand

Since we acquired Darlington in the late 1990s, we've displayed our collection of seashells on the fire-surround in our dining room, arranged by Boy in a most artistic fashion, reminiscent of how such collections were displayed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, here and abroad.

The mantel denuded of the basalt and basket, awaiting its shell decoration

We only display our seashells on the dining room mantel during the summer, when the weather is hot.

Boy began the mantel's decoration with pieces of coral, for height

Most of the rest of the year, with the exception of Christmas, we have a somber and severe arrangement of basalt vessels on the mantel.

He then started adding shells, starfish, and more coral

I used to arrange our seashells on the mantel, but I surrendered that role to Boy years ago (along with arranging flowers and decorating Christmas trees) because, well, he is so much better at these sort of things than I am.

It is a careful, and carefully considered process of layering . . .

The practice of collecting and displaying shells as we do became fashionable in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe when a mania swept the cultivated Western world for exotic seashells.

. . . to create the desired effect of volume and intricacy

Known as Shell Mania, or Shell Fever, or Conchylomania, it rivaled the earlier and more infamous Tulipomania.

After a near-disastrous collapse, Boy rebuilds his arrangement

Shell Mania was fueled (and made possible) by the colonial trade that was then exploding among European nations and the Far East and the West Indies.

Additional layering creates a sumptuous arrangement

Shell Mania became popular here in the United States after the Revolution, once our new nation entered into independent trade with the Far East.

The finished arrangement, how beauteous to behold!

In America, the fashion for collecting and displaying seashells was more usually referred to as "Shell Fever."  According to Elizabeth Donaghy Garrett's At Home, the American Family 1750-1870 (a favorite and frequently consulted resource of ours), Shell Fever reached its height of popularity in America during the 1830s and 1840s, when "many a mantel was thus arrayed," as is seen in the following image taken from the book:

South Parlor of Abraham Russell, New Bedford, Massachusetts
Waltercolor by Joseph Shoemaker Russell, 1848
Old Dartmouth Historical Society, New Bedford, MA

More information about the history of Shell Mania can be found in a fascinating and scholarly post titled Conchylomania, written by James Grout, that appears on his fascinating blog, Encyclopædia Romana.


Another excellent source of information regarding this esoteric subject—the history of the collection and display of seashells—is an article written by Richard Conniff, "Mad About Seashells," that appeared in Smithsonian magazine in August, 2009.


Arranging seashells, as Boy did on our dining room mantel at Darlington House, is not without challenges.  The shells are, in some cases, delicate, and when arranged in layers, as he does, can come tumbling down if the display is not oh-so-carefully assembled.


Isn't Boy's Shell Mania arrangement pretty, and summery, and enchanting, Dear Reader?

Tell me, do you also collect and display seashells at your house?

Photographs (and shell arrangement) by Boy Fenwick




53 comments:

  1. Finding the outlines of fossil shells in the limestones of my childhood home started me off on a lifelong love of shells. Trips to Florida on school vacations resulted in my wheedling my parents for money to buy a giant clam shell and a large conch. Both have decorated the bathrooms of every home I've lived in since. Leaning to scuba in the Western Pacific in the 80's really put my collecting in high gear, though. I learned the shells to conserve by admiring them and leaving them in place. And I only brought up already-broken corals. Even though my collection now fills a Victorian 3-shelf store display case and an antique secretary bookcase, I can tell you where every one came from. The first cone shells I collected, I tucked into my dive jacket's pocket. I wondered why I got a slight tickling from them until I surfaced and discovered they were equipped with stingers. These were small ones referred to locally as "blood mouths" because of the red coloration around the opening. Thankfully, they were too small to do any real damage. I even have a few specimens from the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.

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    1. Dear C&FA: I would imagine that your display of shells is delightful. I love the idea of filling the sheves of a secretary bookcase with seashells. Mine prosaically holds paper, staplers, a thesaurus and such. RD

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  2. Hello Reggie

    The artistic arrangement of your shell collection by Boy deserves an award. The variety and abundance so beautifully arranged around existing treasures enhances the still life.

    At our Florida home I have some shells which hold special meaning.

    Thank you for sharing.

    Helenxx

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    1. Helen: Thank you. To have a house in Florida as you do must be a delight, as you can leave your shells out year 'round there! RD

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  3. I suffer terribly from Shell Fever, which spikes while we are at St. George Island every summer when I succumb to "sheller's stoop." Boy's mantle display is spectacular! I'm afraid I'm more given to tabletop bowls and plates with shells sorted by types. My favorites are the olive shell and the prickly cat's paw. Thanks for providing some interesting history about Shell Fever, Reggie.

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    1. Dear T&CM: I know the "Sheller's Stoop" you describe well, as it was a posture that I will always associate with my mother, MD, whenever I am at the beach, as she adored walkng along the ocean's shore and finding shells and seaglass. RD

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  4. You are so sweet with your description of Boy's work, I can almost here your tone of voice. The affection is there. The display is summer, salty air, and white wine. The shells are placed and the living is easy. Nice to drop by, Hf,K

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    1. Hello HFK: Thanks very much for your comment. Boy's arrangement is a labor of love, and requires much fortification of glasses of white wine during its creation! RD

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  5. I am a big fan of shell displays, especially in the summer or in Florida. I don't have any coral, however, and have to live with substitutes whose finish I have "helped" a bit.

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    1. Hello TDC: I assume that the red coral shown in or arrangement of Shell Mania was, as you say, "helped" in achieving its brilliant red color... At least, that's what I've always suspected! RD

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  6. I too love seashells Reggie. Most of mine are displayed in blue & white bowls a few in vignettes!

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

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    1. Hello Karena: I would imagine blue and white bowls are the perfect place to gather and display shells, setting of their natural colors beautifully. RD

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  7. My wife and I are sea-glass collectors...always hunting the elusive blue sea glass!
    I love how the shells and related items look on your mantel.

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    1. MLS: Ah, I know the pleasure of collecting seaglass, too! I have collected it since I was a boy as well, and I understand and appreciate the absolute joy one has in finding, as you write, the "elusive" blue sea glass. I have some of it in my collection, and I treasure it. Does anyone use Milk of Magnesia or Pond's coldcream anymore (the source of much of it, I believe). If they do, I suspect it has long since come in plastic containers, making the much-sought-after blue seaglass all the more elusive... RD

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  8. oh yes, Mother Nature's works of art. I only have a handful and have them distributed throughout the house...your collection inspires me to do a more artful arrangement.

    Rarely do I get time to just paint...for myself, no one else. But last chance I had...it was of a shell I collected from a trip long ago....as posted about below

    http://www.jcwebbstudios.com/2012/05/in-studio_13.html

    Always excited to get a peek into Darlington House

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    1. Hello JCW: Must check out your painting of the shell, thanks for the link! RD

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  9. Boy is so clever, I wish I had him at my house. I have the odd shell around the place and some sea glass in the bathroom. I have never seen them displayed as you hsve them. They look sensational. When I was a child my grandmother had an enormous clam shell in her garden. They seemed to be popular in Sydney then.

    I love the faceted prisms on your candelabras (wrong word I know), actually love the whole objects.

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    1. Hello smr: Yes, Boy is most clever and useful to have around the house, I find. Such enormous shells as you describe were also popular here in the States, but today are terribly expensive and, I believe, endangered. So expensive and endangered that they are now made in cast resin. But even those are still damnably expensive! The correct term for the gilt and prism-hung candlesticks in the photographs is "girandole." Thanks, RD

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  10. Your shell arrangement is magnificent. I do have bowls that hold small shells that my children collected on family vacations. My favorite shell display is a shadow box containing a few shells that they collected with their father shortly before he died.

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    1. Hello Kerry: Your comment brought tears to my eyes, what a lovely memento your shadowbox is. Thank you for sharing it. RD

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  11. I like both your arrangements, (the sparse basalt display), and the shell confection. I can easily imagine how delicate the latter is, and not something to do when there's a duster around, (as in my house). My main task is "straightening" items that have been moved in table arrangements by my duster, (and in this case, my duster is a person). Well done Boy - lovely effort and a whole new luster from your lustres at night, I imagine.

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    1. Hello Columnist: Thank you for your comment and kind words. Our "duster" is under strict orders to steer clear of the arrangement of seashells that Boy so carefully assembled. And yes, don't I know the "straightening" you describe. I don't know if the items are left askew to prove that they have been dusted, or because our dusters can't see that they haven't been returned them to their original positions...I suspect a combination of both! RD

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  12. Its quite magnificent, you two live so beautifully Reggie.

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  13. If you ever find yourself in Norfolk, England, you must visit the Shell Museum at Glandford - http://www.shellmuseum.org.uk/about.htm

    A most eccentric place.

    As a boy I had what I called my museum; a shelf of various objects I came across that interested me. A display of exotic shells formed the star exhibit. I found them in a shoe box in my grandmother's house after she died: she must have collected them on her travels around the world in the 1920s and 1930s.

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  14. Hello Reggie and Boy,
    This is my first visit! I found you via Meg's blog...Pigtown. So delighted to learn about shell mania....I never knew. I have been collecting shells and corals for a while. Your red coral is exquisite and quite large!! I've only seen small pieces...usually as jewelry. And, I love your basalt ware collection. Are any by Wedgwood? Engine turned? Wonderful collections!
    Cheers from DC,
    Loi

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  15. Currently, I do not display seashells at my house. However, after seeing Boy's artful arrangement, I just may have to rethink my "summer" mantel! Btw, I'm a new subscriber to your blog and I am really enjoying it--I love the personal tone!

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  16. Beautiful and so worth the effort! I absolutely love shells in the summer too, but have never attempted anything on this level-so inspiring! If you ever encounter the toppling issue again, use those little wax disks that are typically used for steading candles in their taper cups and press them between the larger shells.

    Happy Anniversary to you & Boy!
    xo,
    ~R

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  17. I just love the photos in this post. I don't have a lot of things sitting around in my home but this really appeals to me. I spent each summer in Cape May and loved, loved, loved collecting shells and as I get older, the memories of youth become sweeter. Maybe I'll find a glass apothecary jar to hold some shells...that would fit with my clean and simple decor. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  18. Hello-
    I loved seeing the shell display on your mantel, and it has inspired me to do the same! I normally have shells in a big white ironstone bowl in our living room on a low table during the summer but I love the idea of having them on the mantel! Thank you for the inspiration! Thank you, also, for the work you do on the blog - I love reading your work and wish you and Boy a wonderful, happy summer! Warm regards, Elizabeth in Nashville, TN

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  19. Hello Reggie,

    What an absolutely stunning display! Thank you for the education. I had no idea shells were displayed in such a fashion in the 19th century. I must procure a copy of the book you mention in your post to learn more.

    Also, I adore your regularly displayed mantel too. It is a reverse of my own (check your mail box to understand why). You must write a post on Basalt one of these days. I'm certain your readers would enjoy such a post.

    Thank you and Boy again for spreading the beauty of the seashore in such an original way.

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    1. Hello LizaE: Our mantels are, indeed, reverse examples! Thanks for the email photo of yours, it is lovely. RD

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  20. It's terribly pretty the way you have displayed your shell collection,I have a big 18th century punch bowl full of them but think I will change and Chanel you chaps with a mantle arrangement

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  21. I was literally holding my breath looking at the shell arrangement for fear it may tumble to the floor if I dared to exhale! What a wonderful job Boy does. Anytime you find yourselves in Marblehead, please stop by - I have 3 mantels begging for decorative touches!

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  22. Beautiful! I am new to your blog and am so happy to discover it! This is beautiful and instructive -- people so often skimp. My motto is use what you need and then add a little more. Certainly applies to flowers and as you've so beautifully shown, to shells. Did not know about the shell museum in England and am putting that on my list!

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    1. Hello Frances, I agree -- when it comes to things such as flowers and shells, "more" is, indeed, required! Thanks, Reggie

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  23. Hello, Reggie,

    Looking at Boy's splendid arrangement conjures the stacking of a house of cards! It is beautiful. Since I live in Florida, and near an area where they're plentiful, I've collected sand dollars over the years. Sometimes I add them to my Christmas tree ...

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    1. Hello MDR: Sand dollars are a lovely addition to a Christmas tree. Please see my response to Bitsy Adams, below (I'm working backwards!). Reggie

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  24. Glorious shells and perfect for summer...but I really adore the basalt...

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  25. Beautiful shell collection and Boy has done a marvelous job on the display. My shell collection, both personally acquired (by way of the "Sanibel Stoop") and purchased, was packed away many moons ago when a little one arrived in my home. I vowed to display them again only when I could put them behind glass, thus no dust collectors. Two prized ones were given to me: one is a calcified (that may not be quite the right word) scallop shell found embedded in the kaolin pits around Macon, GA, and I was told that was an indication that at an earlier point in time the ocean came as far inland as Macon, and the other shell came from someone who personally collected it off the coast of Venezuela. I believe it is called a Music Volute. The old gent was a jazz musician on a cruise boat in the area (1920's or '30's) and he found it when diving in his free time. It may be fairly rare. Thanks for the interesting shell history references.

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    1. Helly JudyMac: I know the "Sanibel Stoop" well -- please see my response to Bitsy Adams, below (working my way backwards on responding to comments tonight). Thanks, Reggie

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  26. You certainly know how to "shell it out" ~ Love to see how all these marvelous specimens are stored away when they are dismantled.
    pve

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    1. Dear PVE, Thank you. When not in use, we safely store the shells in Steerlite boxes between layers of tissue paper. Rgds, RD

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  27. Lovely post! I keep a tiny collection of shells from La Jolla and Cape Cod on my desk to remind me of happy times.

    (By the way, did you know that if you request a La Jolla, CA address in Google Maps, it automatically changes it to Country Club, CA? Nerd humor!)

    Happy summer!

    Christine S.

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  28. So sweet, Reg, and tell Boy what a lovely arrangement. With regard to shell collecting, we made Xmas ornaments from scallops shells we all searched for on Nantucket -- cleaned them in dilute bleach so the colors will show, then drilled a hole, then sprayed w/ shellac and tied an 8" ribbon through the hole. They, and ukrainian pysanky, and gorham sterling snowflakes are my only ornaments. Makes for odd trees, but all the parts of my life. Miss you always, Bits xo

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    1. Dearest Bitsy, Many years ago my family spent a delightful Christmas holiday on Captiva Island where we decorated a tree with seashells scavenged on the beach and augmented with sand dollars and seahorses from a shop. It was lovely! RD

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  29. Growing up in a small south Georgia town, the
    city cemetery was a place visited often with your Grandmother and friends. One of my best friends had a beautiful family plot. The grave of his aunt "Little May" that died at 3 years of age was encircled with interesting shells collected on a trip to Cuba by her parents. We would pass the time arranging the shells in different designs.
    It was a happy time not sad.
    Becky
    a constant reader

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  30. Indeed, very charming mantle scape. However, what is the best way to dust such a display? Honestly, if removing the installation pieces one finds them a bit dusty would one give them a bath? I fear a swifter thingy would catch on the rough edges. Looking forward to a reply. In the meantime, I shall examine your archives for the topic of the mundane-- dusting. P.S. loved the cornflower essay. I now have a greater appreciation of my Corningware dishes. HBE (Hardboildegg)

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    1. Hello HBE: Fortunately, the forced air HVAC system we have at Darlington House has a dust-catching filtering system, so we have very little dust in the house. So, no need to dust the shells for the two or so months they are arranged on the mantel. Regardless, we have instructed our housekeeper to steer clear of the arrangement, to ensure that it is not disturbed. Thanks, Reggie

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  31. Hello Reggie! I'm totally crazymad for Boy's shell arrangement and I've had to put some of the images in my i-photo scrapbook. I do hope you don't mind. Just for my own pleasure and perhaps for drawing/painting reference.

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    1. Dearest Rosie, I (and Boy) are honored! Thank you. Reggie

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  32. I absolutely love the photos & the idea of changing the decor on the mantle by the season dahhling! I will tell you know, I will have to steal that idea at once! I tend to be a stickler for keeping what works in place all the time but your post & the beautiful images of Boy have inspired me to rethink that approach.

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  33. My mantle at home is static much of the year. Occasionally something will get added or taken away but for the most part it remains the same. On the right side is a beautiful, red sea fan with a large sponge and conch shell. On the other is a collection of three butterflies in a narrow frame fronted by a potted orchid. An off kilter pinyon pine cone (found in New Mexico) completes the arrangement. I used to have more shells grouped on the mantle but our cat took great pleasure in knocking them off. Centered between the two ends are a couple of framed antique maps. The large one is hung while the smaller one simply rests on the mantle and rests against the other.

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