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MORE INTERESTING
NEW PIECES
Two original pieces of art from A IS FOR ANNABELLE appeared at our door last week.
Ned Hills sold them many years ago to a local collector in
whose home they have remained ever since.
They are the two watercolor originals
for "U is her Umbrella." The verso is a
floral oval with a closed umbrella at the bottom. The recto is the lovely picture of the two
little girls walking in the rain and shielding Annabelle who has her own
raincoat and umbrella to protect her from the storm.
Contact us for more information.
Yet
another charming and unique painting is a small portrait of Tudor's late doll
Emma Birdwhistle.
The portrait was
painted at the request and for the collection of a customer in 2001. The intriguing little oil is done in brown tones
and is mounted in a Victorian copper photo surround.
The metal surround is of the type that was
set inside a small hinged book-like photo frame of the 19th century,
although there is no frame with this
piece. Tudor applied a small label to the back identifying the doll and the
maker and dating the work.
The letter
of transmittal Tasha sent to the customer when she had finished the piece is
also included.
Let us know if you have
an interest in more information.
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SEPTEMBER SPECIALFor the remainder of this month we are offering the book Corgiville Fair (Little, Brown and Company, 1998). We have several copies of the hard cover remainders, 8th and 9th printings. They are nice copies with only a small black mark on the edge of the book. Make a copy your own for $9.00 plus S&H., Order item 25916 or 25928.  |
Provisions from the will of Tasha Tudor
From
the First codicil Last Will and Testament [of Tasha Tudor] Dated December
4, 2001. ARTICLE SECOND: I hereby revoke Paragraph SEVENTH of my said
Will and amend it to read as follows:
"My children are: SETH TUDOR, THOMAS S. TUDOR, EFNER TUDOR HOLMES and
BETHANY TUDOR PHOENIX.
I
give, devise and bequeath all of the rest, residue and remainder of my estate
of whatsoever nature as the same may consist or wherever the same may be
situated, both real and personal, to my son, SETH TUDOR, and to my grandson, WINSLOW
S. TUDOR, if they shall survive me. In the
event that any of the above named shall not survive me, but shall leave issue
surviving, I give, devise and bequeath his share to his issue, per stirpes. In the event that any of the above named
shall not survive me and shall leave no issue surviving him, I give, devise
and bequeath his share to the remaining
named person or the issue of any deceased named person. I make no further provision for my daughters,
EFNER TUDOR HOLMES and BETHANY TUDOR PHOENIX, and except otherwise described to
my son, THOMAS S. TUDOR, in consideration of the property I have given them
during my life and in consideration of our estrangement."
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Around the Year p [40] Hare A 56
Welcome to the September issue of the Tasha Tudor Newsletter in the waning
days of Summer. It's fun to play hooky on
the Labor Day weekend. Here in New Hampshire it means time to visit the Hopkinton State Fair. Tasha Tudor painted its essence in Corgiville Fair.
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THE
AGRICULTURAL FALL FAIR
An
annual series of "Fairs" throughout New Hampshire offers visitors all the
excitement and hoopla of the tallest sunflower, the largest pumpkin, the
strongest ox (Yes, we still have them!), the most intricate quilt, prize-winning
jars of pickles, loud demolition derbies and heart-stopping midway rides. These fairs run from mid-August into October
and are reminiscent of centuries-old European traditions. Common throughout New England, the fairs tend to be
small and dusty. They still exhibit
livestock and homegrown produce. The
largest of all is the "Big E" - the Eastern States Exposition is held for 17
days in late September each year in West Springfield, Massachusetts. This year's dates are September 18 - October
4
.
Tasha
Tudor was acquainted with New England fall fairs from
childhood. In her youth she attended
the old Danbury Fair up the road from her home in Redding, Connecticut. The Danbury Fair dated from 1821 and was held
annually from 1869 through 1981. After
that the Fair Grounds were demolished to make way for a shopping mall. (This is the "new" New England.)
In
her art, Tasha Tudor explored the idea of a fall fair in her early manuscript Hitty's Almanac. She carried the idea to fruition in her third
book The County Fair (1940). She had developed the characters of Sylvie
Ann and her brother Tom in her first two books, along with the mischievous Alexander the Gander. All three reappear in The County Fair where they lead us to the Danbury event that Tudor knew
well. Sylvie enters Alexander and a jar
of strawberry jam she made; Tom enters his prize heifer Buttercup - and they
win ribbons for their efforts. In the last painting of the book, Tasha drew in
- almost as an aside - a fine old shell cupboard laden with the family
ironstone and Canton. A point worth noting is that the characters
are all from her husband's McCready family who also lived in Redding. Sylvie Ann was her husband's niece, Tom is
Tasha's husband in person, and Mimmsy and Pawp were her in-laws. The book is a fine tribute to the family.
Tom and Tasha McCready and their children changed
venues to the Hopkinton State Fair when they moved to Webster, NH, in 1945. Tudor combined events and sensations from Hopkinton along with other
fairs from her life in the paintings of her magnum opus Corgiville Fair. The cattle
sheds, the preparations, the bands and the races are reminiscent of the
Hopkinton Fair. You may have one of
these Fall extravaganzas in your area, too.
They all draw on a long cultural tradition of showing off the best of
ones effort at the end of the growing season. Agricultural fairs are a last celebration of the bounty of the earth
before plants start to die and we hunker down for the cold winter months ahead.
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TASHA TUDOR'S BOOKS
We
have recently acquired a portion of Tasha Tudor's library. These are books that she culled from her
personal library and gave to a friend when she moved from New Hampshire. They are mostly from previous family
collections. There are a number of
books with the bookplate of Tasha's mother - Rosamond Tudor; some with her
father's bookplate or written name; a lot of McCready pieces; and others. None are listed on our web site yet. Contact us if you are interested in a title
list and a brief description to help you choose. This is an interesting way to obtain another
piece of the Tudor history - those books that Tasha Tudor grew up with, or
which came to her house through marriage. The subjects tend to be in literature and the arts, not
surprisingly.
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FROM
THE PROBATE HEARINGS
At a meeting of the Vermont Probate Court held August 21, 2009, it was
decided and allowed that the Tudor family
will meet at Tasha Tudor's former home in Marlborough, Vermont, on
October 17, 2009. This is a private family event for the interment of
the ashes of Tasha Tudor. No one outside
the family will be involved.
***************
Rufus Porter Museum Exhibit
This is a reminder that you can view an exhibit of Tasha
Tudor's art for a few more weeks at the
Rufus
Porter
Museum, Bridgeton,
ME. It includes a number of original watercolors from Pumpkin Moonshine. Bridgeton is
a 2 ½ hour drive north of the airport in Manchester,
NH. The exhibit will close Sunday, October 11, 2009.
***************
PHONES! PHONES!
PHONES!
This summer we changed our telephone service
provider. While the transition was
mostly without problems, we heard that some of you weren't able to get through,
or may have been told the number was no longer in service. Worse, we may have lost some of your recorded
messages. We apologize for any
inconvenience you may have experienced.
Your calls are extremely important to us. We try hard to answer your requests
promptly. Give us a call and test our
system!
Call us at 1-800-818-8914 or 603-753-9594. These two are the only good
numbers to use. Disregard any other numbers you may find on
our older literature.
Sometimes an email lands in our Trash bin. We scan our trash to be sure that we don't
discard good mail. Please let us know
if you experience any communication problems.
Becky, John, Jill or Trudy will normally be here to take your
calls.
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We hope you will enjoy hearing future news and upcoming events.
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Wm John Hare
61 Borough Road
Concord, NH 03303-1833
Toll free: (800) 818-8419
Entire contents © 2009 Cellar Door Books
 Visiting New England? Plan to stop by Cellar Door Books by appointment. We are an hour and a half east of Marlboro VT, and an hour and a half north of Boston.
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