The best way to learn about historic houses is to look at them closely, and the most fun way to look at them closely is to do a puzzle showing a wonderful historic house! So, we made a unique and interesting collection of Historic House Puzzles for you to enjoy!
This hand block printed reproduction wallpaper hangs in the Charlton’s Coffee House at Colonial Williamsburg. The pattern is called “Sayward Gothic,” and it is produced by Adelphi Paper Hangings under license from Historic New England. The original sample in the HNE collection comes from the Sayward-Wheeler House in York, Maine, where it was hung between 1761 and 1767. This deep Prussian Blue colorway is the original coloring of the sample. The Sayward Wheeler House is owned by Historic New England and open seasonally for tours.
Charlton’s Coffeehouse was an 18th-century alternative to Williamsburg’s taverns, providing space for quiet conversation and scholarly debate. Its location, next door to the Capitol, was convenient for the powerful elite of colonial Virginia.
Long believed to have been lost before a house was built on its site in the 1891, close physical examination of the house determined that it reused the foundation and more than 90 framing members, rafters, an original window, and a door from the cofffee house building. Archaeology on the site provided more important documentation to allow accurate reconstruction of the coffee house.
Colonial Williamsburg reconstructed the building in 2008–09.
For more info: research.colonialwilliamsburg.org/projects/coffeehouse/
The process for reproducing hand block printed wallpapers is shown in “Restoring Your Historic House, The Comprehensive Guide for Homeowners.”
Click on the dashed box at the top-right in the puzzle box below to open the puzzle to full screen. In the top left, you can change the number of pieces (100 pieces is the default), toggle piece rotation, and change the background color. Then hit “OK” and have fun!