STILL LEARNING

Janice and John Elderkin decided to keep their 1950s “starter home” in upstate New York and spent four decades taking it back in time both architecturally and cosmetically. Now it’s a primitive showplace.

Winfield Ross

QUILLING: BOSTON BRED

Boston women elevated the early European decorative skill quilling, or paper filigree, to high art in the early 1700s, adorning sconces, shadow boxes, and decorative smalls with naturalistic motifs.

Ware Petznick

THE OLD HOMESTEAD

The small 1764 North Carolina cabin Ambrose Barker moved into after his marriage in 1773 has sheltered five generations of his family. A rare survivor, the recently restored homestead still welcomes Barker descendants.

TOPPING OFF WITH CHIMNEY POTS

As long ago as Tudor times, homeowners found that adding a clay pot atop a chimney stopped the fireplace from smoking. Soon the chimney pot became the crowning decorative element of a stylish period home.

I MADE THIS...

Colonial Williamsburg celebrates the art and artistry of Black Americans from the 18th Century through the 20th and tells powerful stories of their perseverance and relevance.

Winfield Ross

THE ANACHRONISTIC BATH

We dug into our photo archives to guide period homeowners in outfitting the modern necessity so it looks like it has always belonged indoors rather than out.

OF MOOSE AND MEN

New England’s earliest English settlers had no idea what to make of the moose, believing it a new species. They soon learned it could provide food, leather, and locomotion.

Winfield Ross

THE ORIGINS OF WAFFLES

Baked to a golden crisp in a hot iron, the waffle evolved from an ancient bread-and-grain wafer into a fluffier confection sold as a street food or served for dessert. We trace its tasty history.

Victoria Brady