Lizzie Borden Society Forum

Hurray- I never doubt Len- that's where I saw it! Of course red could have been the darker maroon-red, not fire engine red.

Shelley @ Mon Aug 28, 2006 10:23 pm wrote:The front stairs appear to be the same, at least the newel post seems to be, and is oak- 13 very high risers. They do not appear to be carpeted in that police photo of the front hall- anything on that Harry?

It took long enough to find something about whether the front stairs were carpeted. But never give up, never give up. Found this in Dr. Dolan's Prelim testimony, page 113:

"Q. When you went up stairs you went up the front way?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Are those winding stairs?
A. They are to a certain extent; not very winding.
Q. I did not ask you that, did I?
A. You asked if they were winding stairs; they were to a certain extent.
Q. What was the carpet, if any, on the floor?
A. Where?
Q. In the hall and on the stairs.
A. I should say Brussels."

Do we think Dolan meant both? I hate when they ask two things at the same time. Jeesh!

Bummer! How are we to know to which he referred- hall or steps? Well, I would bet there was a runner up the middle. If they bothered to carpet the back stairs- which we know they did up to the second floor, surely they would have some carpet on the front stairs which were visible to visitors coming in the main entry. I would have thought more interest would have been taken in the carpeting as the killer had to go up and come down these same steps. I would have been nosing around for dirt, blood, fibers, damp patches- anything! Also, footsteps from leather-soled shoes are very clearly heard upstairs on these bare treads- Abby would have heard anyone instantly who ascended on bare stairs. You're a real terrier Harry- tenacious! They never give up.

Looks like someone has already thought of tenacious terriers on the trail:
Sherlock Hound and Dogtor Watson !

The Preservation Society of Fall River will be holding "Open Houses" in 7 historic properties this Sunday, December 17th from 11-3 p.m. and for the first time #92 will be a part of the tour. The Little Theatre of Fall River will be providing Victorian costumes for carolers . So, locals and nearby folks, drop by for a little holiday cheer and a tour. LeeAnn, Dee and I will be dressed in our 1892 best to welcome visitors. The weather is cooperating at 51 degrees, and the city is decked out. Particularly lovely are the houses on Highland Avenue and the bridge over 195 on Main Street.

Shelley, have you got that new camera figured out yet???

Almost! Thank goodness for the younger generation who can help me unload the images. Am baking molasses and sugar cookies tonight for the open house, and will get some photos of the decorations and of Fall River aglow for the holidays. Jeff- I can meet you in Oak Grove Sunday for greening of the Borden plot and poor Miss Cornell since you know how to find the grave now. MB- I hope you are back in Fall River. I drove by your house last night but didn't see signs of life

oh great! your right about the young generation! Its amazing how much they know about all these new fangled things! almost like they were born doing it! can hardly wait for Christmas at the Bordens!

Winter finally arrived in Fall River Friday night with temperatures plummeting. The wind was the big story though, as windchill factors dropped us into the single digits. The house battened down the hatches and stuffed every crack and crevice as the north wind howled and screeched around the corners. A senior Girl Scout troop and their fearless leaders arrived for some fun and two very nice young couples from Manhattan who really enjoyed the Portuguese food at Sagres on Columbia St. I wondered what sort of merit badge one could get- perhaps a little hatchet- for staying at the house, but it was just an outing sort of like camping out without the fireside singing, although they did learn You Can't Chop Your Pappa Up. Alas, they brought no Girl Scout cookies to sell. The leaders came with homemade toffee crunch cookies and snacks galore and we went through gallons of hot cocoa. How I wished we could light a fire in the old sitting room hearth! A few of the girls planned on writing a Lizzie paper for English class.

The gals got to bed by 4 a.m. and were too tired to go for a rousing stomp around Oak Grove Sunday morning- ah, Youth- no stamina! Guests have been braving the winter (which up to now has been mild) and coming to visit the Bordens on the weekends with a lively crowd expected for the next two weekends in a row and a full February weekend calendar . We all hope to be snowed in again as Miss Lizzie has a shiny new snowblower

Miss Lizzie has a new Boston fern in the "pahla"

And some new fringed drapes for Spring! I guess Abby saved her 4 dollars for a few weeks!

Photos above on the wall are vintage Fall River postcards, on the marble-topped table, the Bowen/Miller house.

The pear tree, now in its third year, swelling with buds of promise for juicy August fruit.

Standing ever- silent and mysterious, braving the chill wind of an early New England Spring.

Thanks for all the pictures in this part of the Forum, Shelley!

I guess that is the first winter that new paint job survived! I wonder how many it will take to fade ?

I think it is striking how solid the house appears. No sagging lines anywhere. The severity of the architecture seems to accentuate this. The house is the only witness left to the Borden murders, too bad it can't talk!

I agree, and I LOVE the lamps with the globes. My Grandparents had globe lamps next to thier bed when I was a kid. Very cool.

Sometimes these are called Gone with the Wind lamps- for obvious reasons. I was only hours too late to get the pair of matching lamps (the green globe one) . Don't you hate it when a dealer breaks up a matching set? But the rose-painted one is pretty and is taller and although does not match, is not bad. Yes, I think they add a lot to the parlor too, and if you recall, they replace the 1920's pillar lamp pair which had pseudo-Victorian silk fringe -these went in in 1996 and were not quite the thing.

Little touches like ferns, picture frames, doilies, old books- are all affordable and add so much to the vintage feel. Now we are hunting up a real 1890's working piano and a stereopticon viewer and cards for the parlor. It's more fun than furnishing a dollhouse!

Sounds like a on going treasure hunt!!! That would be so much fun!!!

Yes it is a true treasure hunt. I am convinced Donald Trump, for all his wealth has no more fun than we do finding gems from the Past to enrich the house. Half the fun is the search at a good price. Victoriana at the moment is not "hot" in the antiquing world so bargains are there for the patient seeker. In the photo of Andrew on the sofa, there is one shot of the little table which was just in front of the fireplace, showing a stack of books and on top, what at first I thought was a spittoon, is actually a straw boater hat upside down-possibly Andrew's! We do have a brass spittoon in the sitting room but I think the hunt for the table will be fun. We also have the boater hat and a stack of 1892 vintage books so soon that can be recreated.

I guess there's no chance that the "straw hat" could be Lizzies, huh? The one she took off after coming back into the house? (ducking tomatoes) lol

I looked at the crime scene photos, but I don't see the hat.
Possibly, it could be a hat belonging to the photographer or one of the detectives?

The hat is on the little table in the sitting room which has been moved slightly closer to the mantel. The hat is upside down behind the books. Yes, it could be Walsh's hat indeed, the policemen in uniform had their own patrolman hat which sort of looked like an English Bobby hat. Men's and women's boaters looked very similar-untrimmed with usually just a colored ribbon band.

Heres a link to the picture in question, its an autopsy photo of Andrew, so, just be aware that its a bit gruesome. From the LBVM&L site:

http://www.lizzieandrewborden.com/Crime ... s/AJB4.jpg

Thanks Susan, that is the photo I was referring to. After studying the close-ups of this shot, I clearly see the leather hat band on the inside of the crown just above the start of the brim which marks this hat as a man's boater- ladies had ribbon crown bands. If you magnify this close up you will see the shine on the leather interior band. So yes, it may have been any of the men present who tossed their hat on the little table- including Andrew.

I have also thought that the cloth next to Andrew's body was just a bloody autopsy rag but it looks more now like a bloody doily from the sofa.

We had been given to understand that in 1892 only a certain kind of man wore a straw boater like the one seen. It was considered a flashy sort of hat at the time- maybe a reporters'?

That table had been where originally, does anyone know?

Am not sure who told you only a certain kind of man wore a boater. It was a perfectly respectable hat for hot summer wear for both men and women, if perhaps somewhat more informal. The table was slightly in front of the fireplace in the sitting room and was used to hold the central kersone or oil lamp. All houses of the period without gaslight wall sconces or overhead chandeliers or electricity had a central room table so the lamp would shed light evenly to the room. The kitchen had a table in front of the stove and I would be willing to bet the parlor also had a central floor table. I will look up several costume history references for the boater hat and its usage.

Rebello is the reference for the sitting room table. Many books on Victorian interiors will mention the central position of small tables used for lamps. Often books or writing materials would be found upon them as chairs could be pulled up to them for reading or writing.

Here is one reference to the boater, and the excellent excerpt. well worth reading on headware from Diana Crane's book: The Social Meanings
of Hats and T-shirts
Fashion and Its Social Agendas: Class, Gender, and Identity in Clothing
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/117987.html

"The straw boater had a different history. Straw hats had been widely worn by working-class men during the nineteenth century, but following the invention in 1870 of a machine for sewing straw, a new form of straw hat, the boater, became extremely popular with all social classes for about five decades (Wilcox 1945: 245; Berendt 1988: 24; Cunnington and Cunnington 1959: 341). "

Many photos of men on the street in summer wearing boaters can be found online and in archives, both in the city and rural areas. As the name implies, the origin was nautical wear.

Shelley, I think you may be right about the bloody doily, blown up it appears to be crocheted.

I searched through the source documents to see if there was anything written there about the sitting room. I found this exchange in the Trial volume 1, George W. Allen on the stand, on page 439:

Q. I am not speaking now with reference to anything about him, but to any piece of furniture.
A. I noticed a stand with two books on it standing nigh the sofa.

Q. Describe where that was standing by the sofa?
A. I should think it was standing about three feet from Mr. Borden's sofa, where the head was.

Q. Three feet in which direction?
A. In front of him, and there was a table over across the room between the windows.

And on page 443:

Q. This table, was it a small stand?
A. Yes, sir.

Q. A marble top table?
A. No, sir; I think not.

Q. Did it have a cloth on it?
A. I think it did, some kind of cloth.

Q. And a few books?
A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you didn't notice anything about them?
A. No, sir.

Q. Was it near the middle of the room?
A. Not quite; nearer the sofa than it was nearer---

Q. Well, there was nothing unusual about that?
A. Oh no.

Q. And was it moved away from its place while you were there?
A. No, sir; there wasn't nothing out of place, as I should take it.

Page 444

Q. You don't get my idea. Was the table moved?
A. It was not.

Q. While you were there?
A. No, sir.

Q. And set aside?
A. No, sir.

Q. The photograph shown you, then----
A. It has been since I was there.

Q. The picture does not show the table in its proper position?
A. No, sir.

That little stand with the two books on it sounds more like the one between the parlor and entry hall door There is a small vase on the bottom shelf and a photograph hanging on the wall over it.That one had a very small dark fringed cloth on it. Yes, that edging on the bloody cloth next to the body clearly has a finished edge shaped rather like some sort of handwork doesn' it?

Here's a blow-up which shows the little table near the head of the sofa with the 2 books on it. He is right- it IS 3 feet away.

Maybe that lacy thing under Andrew's head is the bloody doily shown in the autopsy photo.

Am rethinking this sitting room furniture thing. I am now thinking that the larger table which was between the two chairs and two windows on the south wall of the sittingroom is the one shown in the photo pulled in front of the fireplace with the boater and books on it. Maybe it was pulled out to make room for the photographer to stand and take the photos. These ocassional tables had caster rollers , or little brass wheels, as did most all of the parlor chairs of the period and I would bet if the table had been needed in the middle of the room, say, to hold a kersone lamp, it would have been an easy matter to roll it away from the wall. I am trying to figure out what is next to the boater hat on the table. There is a stack of four thin books, two fat, impressive tomes (wish we could read the titles) and a saucer-shaped thing which looks like a shiny plate. It could be a reflector plate which would attach behind a lamp to give more light, or maybe it is a piece of photographic camera equipment. Too bad Officer Harrington was not given the task of describing everything in every room- then we might KNOW more.

Yes, I think on pg. 439 of Allen's testimony he is referring to the small stand between the front hall door and parlor door. The thing is, I think he is still referring to it when it sounds to me like he is being questioned about the table we see in Andrew's autopsy photo.

Here is more sitting room testimony on the furnishings, Trial Volume 1, Dr. Dolan on the stand, page 941:

Q. What other objects did you see in the sitting room at the time when you made this examination, or when you first arrived there, Doctor, to see and did see what was in the sitting room?
A. I could not describe accurately what I saw. There was the usual furniture of a sitting room.

Q. There were chairs?
A. Yes, sir.

Q. A mirror?
A. Yes, sir.

Q. A table?
A. There were two tables, one against the south wall between the windows, and a small centre table pretty near the sofa, about the centre of the room.

Q. How far from the sofa?
A. I could not tell you, sir.

Q. Point out some distance in the room which represents the distance from the small table to the sofa?
A. Relative to the sofa, not as far as that table (pointing to table near by) from the rail.

Q. Which rail?
A. This rail, to this table.

Q. From the rail in front of the jury to the rail inside the bar?
A. Yes, sir.

Q. It was near the sofa as that?
A. Yes, sir, I think so.

Q. Was it that little three legged table?
A. I would not say that.

Q. Is that in the picture I show you like the table you saw?
A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did it have something on it?
A. Books.

Q. Did you examine those at the time?
A. No, sir.

Q. Did you subsequently examine them?
A. I don't think I did.

Q. At all events, you saw no spots on the books or on that table which stood substantially near the front edge of that sofa?
A. No, sir, I did not.

Yes, this testimony I have also always found confusing. The tripod table is easy, but "front edge" with books on it seems to me to be that table in the postmortem photo which had to either be a table which generally stood more centrally, or the one that was over on the South wall between the windows which may have been moved for sake of the photographer. So there were either 2 or 3 counting that little three legged stand, which I would NOT call a table, nor do 1890's furniture books call it a table. It is a fern stand actually.

And this table behind Abby's chair is probably the one pulled more over to the center -you can see some of the books, that round thing, and the familiar patterned tablecloth. Also the doily on the rocking chair is similar to the one on the sofa.

The blood stain on that doily near the autopsy caned board looks rather like the one under Andrew's head here and the blood spots would match up. Amazing to see all the junk under his head and that long , long frock coat bundled in that manner.

Naturally the young policeman in the corner with his striped arm rank has fascinated many people. I am trying to match up his hairline and earlobe with photos - sadly not all policemen have a photo. Knowing about the time of the photos taken helps. Too bad he moved and smeared his face.

Wow, Shelley, those close ups are great! The one of Andrew's head is really interesting, to be able to see everything under his head, my gosh, what is all that stuff? Was the jacket he had been wearing that long? Is that flat white thing a doily? And what is the square white cornered thing mostly hidden by his jacket? And what a mess his poor face and head is, poor old man.............

The coat seems to have been the Prince Albert frock coat which did have a longish skirt to it. The two pillows under Andrew's head have antimacassars pinned to them -which protected the pillows from hair oil, pomades, sweat, etc. Macassar oil was used sometimes as a hair dressing and left an oily mark on cushions. They may be crocheted or perhaps they are just lacy-hard to tell. The coat may have been moved as it looks rather at an odd angle. Yes, I have magnified every square inch of every photo known to get the house details- amazing what can be done now with digital enhancement and computer tools.

Here is the order of items under Andrew's head, according to Dr. Dolan.

Prelim
Dolan
Page 89

Q. Describe its position exactly.[Andrew]
A. At the head of the sofa, which was to the west, there was a Prince Albert coat folded up, that was placed on top of, I think an afghan, some knit cover, and on that was placed a small sofa cushion with a piece of the tidy on it; on that rested Mr. Borden’s head. His two feet were on the floor; and he lay in the position as if he had been asleep.

--What we see is:
Head
*tidy*
1 cushion
coat
afghan
arm of sofa

We have had a member from way back who was also into clothing and fabrics of the period and I think it was she [Edisto] who said the hat might more likely be a sporting man's headgear at that time rather than Andrew Bordens. Maybe even a fancy doctor. But not Andrews'. Shell, you had said Andrew's possibly.

Thanks for the source.

In The Hatchet, April/May 2004, Vol. 1 Issue 2, I created a comparison between the *unknown man* and the known photos of the police and doctors who were there, page 65.
Harrington, Cunningham*, Desmond, Doherty, Bowen, Dolan, Fleet, Hilliard, Medley, Mullaly, Sawyer and Seaver.

I think you have access to every issue of the magazine at the House, Shell.

My choice is Harrington, but I was never sure. The *unknown's* photo is a bit hard to tell in my edition which is a hard copy prototype (not for sale) made for me by Stefani way back when.

Edit here: *Hoffman describes Cunningham as a "freelance reporter."

Thank you Susan for all the testimony!

It's funny- I was just reading about that table that you posted about whilst looking for the menstrual pail!

You're welcome, Kat. It gets so confusing because they refer to that three legged stand as a table. From what I get, there were two tables, one near the windows and a smaller one close to the sofa and near the center of the room. And then there is that plant stand between the hall and parlor doors. Oh for the want of crime scene photos where nothing was moved!

Yes, we can never be positive about that table issue, but knowing the usual layout for Victorian rooms without electricity or gaslight, a central table for a lamp and books is very typical. The only other possibility might be as stated above, the table between the windows may have been moved. My favorite theory is 2 tables, one stand too.

As far as that charming boater hat- well, it could have been anybody's-there were so many men milling around and in and out. Under usual circumstances, I am sure a visitor would not have laid it so casually on that table, rather on a hatrack or table out in the hall entry, but then, these were hardly usual circumstances. The fact that we find Andrew's coat laid so casually over the arm of the sofa in the sitting room, and this hat also laid upside down in the sitting room gave me a thought that it could also possibly be Andrew's. August was the time for straw hat wearing, as straw "breathes" and is cool for head air circulation. As an avid hatwearer, that means a lot in summer. The thing with boaters is to make sure not to lay one down on a chair and forget it, then sit on it. I have a vintage English boater hat now on the hatrack in the front hall of #92 which sometimes Ben wears when he is Mr. Cunningham, with his suspenders, bow tie and striped shirt, and sometimes LeeAnn trims up with flowers for Red Hat Teas at the house. We have a lot of fun with hats at the house

Beginning Monday, May 7, our forum friend Jeff begins his official first day aboard at #92 as day tour guide. Welcome aboard Jeff- so glad to have you on the House Team. YAY!

I've been looking at my sources for references regarding straw hats.

de Mille, page 38+:

"Lizzie wanted Emma wired for, and Dr. Bowen put on his straw
hat and left in his buggy to send the telegram without ascertaining where Mrs. Borden was or if the murderer was still around. But it was now safe leaving the women; a police officer was in charge. Poor doctor, he was badly shaken and his muttonchop whiskers quivered on his chinless face."

And these brief lines in a Boston paper of August 5, 1892:

"At 8.40 Mr. Morse said goodby and left the house as Mr. Borden called after him. "Come Back to Dinner, John." In a few minutes Mr. Borden put on his black frock coat and light straw hat and left the house."

Joe Howard, the newspaper reporter wore a straw hat to the court room on at least one occasion and Charles Peckham who confessed to the murder of the Bordens showed up at the police station straw hat in hand. And then there was the said pretty Martha Chagnon who testified wearing a straw sailor hat. Of course none of these people were in the house on the 4th.

It seems straw hats were sort of looked down upon at least in this item that appears in Pearson's, The Trial Of Lizzie Borden, p2+:

"In August, 1892, this region was quieter and less crowded than today. The streetcars were horsecars; doctors and other citizens went about by horse and buggy; all traffic was under power of the horse. In what they wore, men made no concession to the intense heat of summer. They sweltered in woolen clothes, dark if not black in shade; they wore black shoes or boots; the well-to-do had starched shirts and collars, waistcoats tightly buttoned and stiff black hats. A straw hat might be tolerated on a college boy, or on what was then called a dude, but it was too frivolous for the sober, conservative citizen, or for the businessman."

A dude? Cool.

Thanks for these, Harry. In countless photos of the period, doctors, lawyers, bankers and businessmen all can be seen in the summer straw- a much cooler alternative to the trilby, bowler-and the rare formal silk tophat. The style may have started with college boys but it didn't take long to catch on with the older set. Makes sense to me!

Oh, I agree Shelley, straw hats were very popular. I don't know where Pearson gets that information. Of course his book was written in 1937, some 45 years after the crimes.

I believe Dr. Bowen was there at the time of the autopsies on the 4th so just possibly it could have been his. Assuming de Mille's info is correct.