The corbit-sharp house at Odessa, Delaware : finishes analysis and interpretation of four interior rooms

528 Pages·2003·7.3 MB·English

by  Matsen, Catherine Ruth

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THECORBIT-SHARP HOUSEATODESSA. DELAWARE:
FINISHES ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONOF FOURINTERIORROOMS
CatherineRuthMatsen
ATHESIS
Historic Preservation
PresentedtotheFacultiesoftheUniversityofPennsylvaniain
PartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsfortheDegreeof
MASTEROF SCIENCE
2003
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Supervreor Reader
.FrankOpMatero SusanL. Buck. Ph.D.
AssociateProfessorofArchitecture ConservatorandPaintAnalyst
GraduateCommitteeChair
FrankIfi. Matero
AssociateProfessorofArchitecture
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UNIVERSITY
PENNSYLVANIA
LipoaPiES
Acknowledgements
Iwouldliketoexpressmy appreciationtoseveral individualswhocontributed
considerable attention, knowledgeandtimetothecompletion ofthisthesis.
Firstandforemost, Dr. SusanL. Buckdeservestremendousrecognitionforher
contributiontothiswork. Herknowledgeandenthusiasm forthestudyofhistoric
finishesinspiredmetofocusonthisareaofhistoricpreservation. Shehasprovided
continual guidancewithmy analysisandresearchandhasbeenespeciallygenerous
with hertime, resourcesandknowledge.
Iowespecial gratitudeand credittoJaniceCarlson, Dr. JenniferMassandDr. Chris
PetersenattheScientificResearch andAnalysisLaboratory,WinterthurMuseum for
theirexpertiseandhelp. Iam especially grateful toJanforintroducingmetothefield
ofconservation scienceandforgrantingpermissiontousetheequipmentinthelab.
IwouldliketothanktheentirestaffoftheHistoricHousesofOdessaforrepeated
accesstotheCorbit-SharpHouse, especiallytocuratorStevePulinkafordiscussions
abouttheproperty heknowssothoroughly.
AttheUniversityofPennsylvaniaIwouldliketothankmy advisor, FrankG. Matero,
RyntaFourie, and my classmates.
Thankyoutomy parents,grandparentsandentirefamilyfortheirinterestandsupport.

TableofContents
TitlePage i
Acknowledgements
ii
TableofContents iii
ListofFigures v
ListofTables viii
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Historical Context 4
Chapter2 Eighteenth-CenturyArchitecturalPaints: MaterialsandApplication 9
Chapter3 Summary ofPreviousPaint StudiesoftheCorbit-SharpHouse 20
Chapter4 AnalysisofInteriorDecorativeFinishes 28
4.1. Methodology 28
4.1.1. Cross-sectionmicroscopy 29
4.1.1.1. Reflectedvisibleandultravioletlight 30
4.1.1.2. Fluorescent stains 32
4.1.2. Polarizedlightmicroscopy 33
4.1.3. Instrumental analysis 34
4.1.3.1. FTERmicrospectroscopy 34
4.1.3.2. SEM-EDS 35
4.1.3.3. GC-MS 37
4.1.4. Colormatchingwithcolorimeter 38
4.2. Results-Parlor 41
4.3. Results-First-floor, northwestchamber 56
4.4. Results-Drawingroom 65
4.5. Results-Second-floor, southeastchamber 74
Chapter5 InterpretationofFinishes 81
5.1. Parlor 84
5.2. First-floor, northwestchamber 86
5.3. Drawingroom 93
5.4. Second-floor, southeastchamber 93
Conclusions 96