Tea at Trianon: Octagon House

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, September 8, 2022

Octagon House

From Side of Culture:

A more discerning road warrior might prefer to spend time at the Armour-Stiner house, known more descriptively as Octagon House. As you wend your way along the driveway to the estate, there’s the slow reveal of the perfectly appointed landscaped grounds, which brilliantly frame the five story home: in no way does this first impression upstage the majesty of the soon to be seen stately mansion. At first glimpse, the home looks like a larger than life ornament, or a brightly colored carousel whose horses had fled the wrap-around verandah.

While the exterior of the home is certainly a head turner, this architectural style was not unique; there were hundreds of these eight-sided structures scattered across the country in the middle of the 19th century. The impetus for the design was Orson Squire Fowler, and the publication of his 1848 book, “The Octagon House, a Home for All.” Fowler was a free spirit, questioning the conventional wisdom of having a four sided domicile when you can have one with eight sides, incorporating more “square” (if you will) footage, within the octagonal shape. In turn, additional sides lead to more windows, hence more light.v(Read more.)