1905.] THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION. 26/ 



The Connecticut State building, we thought, deserved a 

 prize, and if any had been given I understand it would have 

 received the grand prize, but unfortunately there was no such 

 department. It represented the pure colonial style, both in the 

 building and in the furnishings. The commission turned over 

 to the ladies of the commission, supervised by Mrs. Holcomb 

 of the National Board, the project of furnishing the house, 

 and everything was carried out with perfect symmetry of ap- 

 pointment as to its colonial nature. The gentlemen who repre- 

 sented the National Board cooperated, and, with Senator Wil- 

 cox, saw that everything was attended to perfectly. The ap- 

 pointments were carried out to such a degree of nicety that 

 when we had a reception the ladies really did not like it because 

 we put in a few extra hall chairs. They were out of harmony 

 with the colonial idea. Mr. Litchfield, an expert from London, 

 sent over by the British government, and said to be one of the 

 finest experts upon colonial architecture and colonial equip- 

 ment, visited the Connecticut house over and over again. He 

 could take up any chair, any table, any piece of furniture or 

 picture frame, and tell its history, the class to which it belonged, 

 and the period in which it belonged, whether it was genuine or 

 spurious. He made me happy because he quoted a valuation of 

 $40.00 on a piece of furniture, higher than I had to pay. The 

 commission was allowed to pick out a few things and get them 

 for just what they cost. Any one else had to pay whatever 

 price was put upon them. He put this at $40.00 higher than 

 it cost the State. He said that if he had seen nothing else it 

 would have repaid him for his trip across the Atlantic Ocean 

 to see the finest example of pure colonial architectural equip- 

 ment and furniture that he had seen in a long time, such as was 

 represented in the Connecticut house. He knew nothing about 

 the Connecticut house except that he was told to go there. 



Some of the other State buildings are well worthy of an 

 extended description, but, of course, I haven't the time to enter 

 into those details at present. The State of Missouri was repre- 

 sented by a building which was magnificent, a great building, 

 and a splendid dome in the center, but it was erected without 

 any pretention of carrying out any particular idea. 



The walls of the Connecticut house were covered with beau- 

 tiful silk made by the Cheney Brothers of South Manchester. 

 The carpets were made by the carpet company at Thompson- 



