Secrets of Restoration Revealed at Lecture

In the past five years, Friends of Florham has worked closely with Scalamandré in the restoration of the drawing room (Lenfell Hall) and the great hall of Florham, the Vanderbilt-Twombly Mansion on the Florham-Madison Campus. This year, the great hall was refurbished with cotton damask draperies made by Scalamandré, which replicate a pattern used at Rosemont, a Vanderbilt home in Newport, R.I.
Degeorges has directed restoration and archives at the company for more than six years, working with historic sites, museums, architects and designers in developing documented reproductions. She is a frequent lecturer at historical societies and colleges and an instructor at the Parson’s School of Design, N.Y.C.

The archives of Scalamandré are rich with almost a century of creating and recreating fabrics for the world’s most illustrious clients. Jacqueline Kennedy required the reproduction of a magnificent 19th-century silk for the White House, and Franco Scalamandré was commissioned for the task. 

The firm was called on by William Randolph Hearst when he needed Renaissance design fabric for his San Simeon castle. The restoration of Monticello demanded the recreation of Thomas Jefferson’s silk curtains and Scalamandré was the choice.

In her slide lecture, Degeorges will highlight historic sites such as the White House, Monticello, Mount Vernon and the Preservations Society of Newport County (including The Breakers and Marble House) through samples and photographs as well as discuss approaches to restoration and the history of Scalamandré. 

Tickets are available at the door for $5; $3 for members of Friends of Florham. For more information call x8661.

FDU · news and publications · calendar of events · help