Philip Zea, President of Historic Deerfield

Rural furnishings are often assumed to be somehow less complex or beautiful than wares made long ago in our favorite colonial seaports. While this material culture is often a bit different, the flair for craftsmanship and design that makes room for regional and personal pride compensates for the absence of exotic materials. In this lecture, Zea will share how the pursuit of refinement in rural New England and particularly in the Connecticut Valley supported a fevered pitch of consumerism.