Mirror, Chrome and Gin Fizz: EEE March 3 NYC Lecture

The mirrored entrance of the Strand Palace Hotel - doesn't it make you want to tap dance?

This Wednesday I am thrilled and honored to lecture for the Royal Oak Foundation, the American branch of Britain's National Trust. I personally couldn't think of a better cure for the winter doldrums than to revel in all things British Deco.

The sumptuous dining room of Eltham Palace

The American Bar, 1931

and of course the American Bar at the Savoy where you might order a White Lady, invented by the celebrated bartender Harry Craddock who "wrote" the first edition of the Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930.

Obviously not Harry, but who cares as he's ready for action

Harry's original White Lady recipe:

• 1/2 Dry Gin.
• 1/4 Cointreau
• 1/4 Lemon juice.

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

THE NITTY GRITTY:
Wednesday, March 3, 6pm
Grolier Club
47 East 60th Street
$30 member/co-sponsor members
$40 general public
RSVP ONLINE: lectures@royal-oak.org or call Robert Dennis, Program Assistant, at 212-480-2889, ext. 201.

Of Old Houses

There's nothing like an historic house to make the pulse quicken. That said, perhaps a medical advisory should accompany the lavishly illustrated Restoring A House in the City by Ingrid Abramovitch.

In her new book, Abramovitch discusses the joys and tribulations of renovating and decorating townhouses and brownstones - all the while dazzling us with an inside peek at 21 different residences, including those of Julianne Moore, Robert Duffy (Marc Jacob's business partner), and the above Greek Revival house in my very own neighborhood.* Get ready to experience major real estate envy.

If you're in New York, you're in luck - Ingrid is making a sweep of the city, signing copies and divulging behind-the-scenes details you can only get in person:

Thursday, November 5th, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum - Lecture and slideshow, followed by book signing
2 East 91st Street
New York, NY
Info: 212-535-2526
Email: info@friends-ues.org
Web: events.cooperhewitt.org

Click here to visit Ingrid's blog and here for her full schedule of appearances.

*Picture Gallery Red by Farrow and Ball. Another bold choice from designer Ellen Hamilton whose room at this summer's Hamptons Designer's Showhouse bowled me over. Ben Baxt was the architect who oversaw the project.
The oak banister and staircase newels, all original to the house, were "taken apart and put back together," says Baxt.

October 30 San Francisco Fall Antiques Show Lecture: "Of Sphinxes and Sofas"

Every year The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show plans a special exhibition with an accompanying lecture series. (For those of you who've never attended the show, The SFFAS is THE West Coast's premiere antiques event including top dealers from all over the country as well as overseas.)

This year's theme couldn't be more glamorous: "Egyptomania: Nile Style in the Decorative Arts." Please join me on Friday, October 30 for a closer look at the Egyptian revival in the British Isles. We'll trace this vogue from Thomas Hope's Egyptian Room in his Duchess Street manse to Oliver Messel's film sets for Caesar and Cleopatra starring the sphinx-like Vivien Leigh as the asp loving Queen of the Nile.

the couch from Thomas Hope's Egyptian Room which was painted 'pale yellow and bluish green of the Egyptian pigments, relieved by masses of black and of gold.'

"Of Sphinxes and Sofas" Lecture and Regency Redux booksigning:
Friday, October 30, 11:15 am
San Francisco Fall Antiques Show
Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason Center
RSVP online or call (415) 989-9019
Tickets $15.

Presented in collaboration with The Royal Oak Foundation and Sir John Soane’s Museum Foundation.

Click here for the entire lecture series and here to visit The Show's blog kept by gentleman-of-style Grant K. Gibson.