Upside Down/ Inside Out

This was the invitation:

It´s "drawers open and bottoms up" at Rienzi. The Upside Down/Inside Out event highlights select pieces of furniture and other treasured objects from the Rienzi Collection that will be opened up or turned over, giving guests a rare chance to see the inner workings.

Isn't that the best idea ever? Listen, Rienzi is worth a visit any time, if only to listen to the docents. It's worth the price of admission to hear a lady named (no lie) Sally Lunn tell you about the "armaleww" (ormolu) and the "aayperns" (epergnes).

But yesterday we got to see the insides of cabinets, the machinery of an early English long case clock, the undersides of the silver serving pieces, and even an X-ray of a wooden torchiere. They had a first edition of Tom Jones out on display (they kept the Ben Jonson locked up, alas). We saw the stitching and structure of this footstool, created for Spencer House in London [it was evacuated during World War II and then sold off to some rich Texans].

I actually got to the house an hour early (they had the starting time wrong on the online calendar), so I had a chance to wander all over the property and check out the gardens. The camellias were going crazy. In a couple of months it will be all about the azaleas, but I love it when the camellias have their moment.

And I thought of you the whole time, HOBAC.