EYE ON ANTIQUES: ROCKING HORSE WINNERS

A natural for imitative play, the rocking horse has delighted children for millennia. Now surviving examples do the same for collectors.

Rebecca Rupp

COLLECTING IN THE WATERCRESS PATCH

Unable to fi nd an old house that met his requirements, John Hoyt designed and built a Georgian home on land in central Pennsylvania.

Linda Harbrecht

EVERYMAN'S HOUSE

Ed Oestreich found a non-descript two-room Cape in Maine and fi lled it with what would have been a working man’s furnishings in the late 18th Century.

Winfield Ross

LIFE IN EARLY AMERICA: A COLONIAL WEDDING

Before weddings became big business, a young man and woman simply dressed in their Sunday best and exchanged vows before family and friends. But there was dancing.

Jeanmarie Andrews

TWELFTH NIGHT TRADITIONS

The Epiphany barely merits a nod today, but our ancestors reveled in the last day of the Christmas season. We share recipes for some of their favorite indulgences.

Alice Ross

CONFLICT AND COFFEE AT CHARLTON'S

Colonial Williamsburg's newest structure, built on the foundation of the 18th-Century original, gives visitors a taste of coffee, chocolate, and sometimes revolution.

EARLY AMERICAN LORE: A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT

George Washington’s desperate Christmas crossing of the Delaware River took the Hessian troops by surprise. His small victory secured his reputation and helped legitimize the fledgling United States.

SIDE BY SIDE: THEOREM PAINTING

Decorative painting using layers of stencils became all the rage among girls’ schools in the early 1800s. Many of today’s traditional artists are reviving the art.

Gregory LeFever