The Marx E. Cohen House, c. 1845
The Living Room
Text and photographs by Richard N. Côté
Research by Richard N. Côté and Rose Tomlin
The central feature of the living room is one of two original fireplace mantels which survive in the house. Its twin is in the dining room. When installed about 1845, both were simple and unadorned. The ornanental details pictured in this closeup photograph were added during the Victorian Period, in the last quarter of the 19th century.
The broad, simple door frame moldings of the living and dining rooms are a hallmark of Greek Revival architecture. At the floor, plinths form the bases for the sections of fluted vertical molding, which rise to meet corner blocks incorporating a simple, geometric circle-within-square design. As in all well-designed houses, the doors are hinged to open towards the fireplace, thereby protecting the fire's draft from being disturbed.
The round Chippendale table dates from the period 1720-1780. Mrs. Tomlin’s great-great grandparents ate their wedding breakfast at this table, which has been in her family for five generations. The Georgian tambour writing desk is English and dates from c.1800. The card table is also an English antique of that period. The inlaid Hepplewhite card table near the fireplace and, on either side, Hepplewhite shield-back “ladies' chairs” are 19th-century English. The chairs are very light in weight, and their seats are made of horsehair.
[This page is under construction. Photographs of the decor and furnishings will soon be added.]