The House

[Shelley]

Here's a project I hope everyone can help me with. I have had a good look at the charts and maps of the house on the sister sites, but what I really needed is documented descriptions or references to items in the house, colors, furnishings, etc.-not based on what is in the house today-but what can be proven to have been there. LeeAnn is hoping to work more on interiors this winter, and a list would be really helpful.

Kitchen: From Lizzie and Alice's testimony we know for sure about a stove, a table in front of the stove, and a rocking chair. The location of the ice box is not known according to the chart but Rebello indicates it was in the sink room , not in the kitchen. This makes sense as the ice tray was always brimming with water from melted ice and being near the sink is an advantage. Some houses (like Maplecroft back kitchen wall) had an ice delivery window.

Sittingroom- thanks to photos we have the black horsehair sofa, tripod table with dark fringed doily between the doors to the hall and parlor, the framed steel engraving over the sofa of Sunday Afternoon Under the Elms, Abby's rocker in the corner by the closet, an easy chair in the area in front of the deep sittingroom corner closet with a table in between the chairs against the wall with a lower shelf and a spitoon on this shelf, tidies on the sofa, small oriental-style rug on the right side of the sofa in front of the kitchen entry, a mirror (don't know which wall" and a small table with a kerosene lamp on it centrally located in the room in front of the mantel and fireplace.

Parlor- some sort of settee where Lizzie was sitting for the announcement she was a suspect, a piano. Victorian parlor furniture often came in "three piece suites" so there may have been 2 chairs, and no doubt, some tables to hold the lamps.

Front Hall John Morse says he left his hat, so there may have been either an entry table or a wall-mounted or free-standing hatrack and mirror such as there is now.

Diningroom Table with at least 5 chairs- and probably six as that is the way most sets were sold then and now. A "day bed" which according to Rebello was in the jog in front of the window. One would fit ther enicely. Today we have a round table for 4 for breakfast guests. Also according to Rebello's citings there was a red tablecloth and red curtains (possibly a maroon red). Hard to know if there was a buffet, breakfront, server as one is not mentioned anywhere. The room is not terrible wide, so if there were one, it may have gone in the corner or have been very narrow.

Lizzie's Room Single bed in the corner at an angle, fainting sofa in front of the right hand window, some sort of chest of drawers ( police report mention opening two of these on Saturday), desk and chair with bookcase above against the communicating door to the guestroom,chamber pot in what Lizzie called her "toilet room" which is now a book case and lower chest of drawers, with a curtain in front (blue if we are to believe the reporter), blue embroidered bed spread, velvet portieres of red over the bookcase and head of bed, and maybe prints of the Sistene Madonna and a cathedral (St. Peter's?) on the wall. The reporter mentions images of European sites around the room.

Guest room Bed and dresser (looks to be black walnut Renaissance Revival), maroon carpeting , camp folding chair, sewing machine in the Northeast corner (police report) 2 large toilet water bottles on the dresser, a sort of merchant's giveaway calendar on the dresser, a match safe on the wall above Abby's body as well as a framed picture, 2 small pillows on the foot of the bed, batiste pleated ruffle pillow shams, coverlet of white matlasse.

Abby's dressing room desk and chair, clothing hooks and presumably dresses and skirts and clothing articles.

Andrew's dressing room Is this where the safe was located? There has been some speculation also on whether ther was one of those old fashioned potty chairs too.
I notice on the chart of the Borden's bedroom that the bed is placed on the east wall opposite what would have been the chimney. There is a window on that wall so it seems an odd place. Today the bed in that room is on the wall where the corner closet is located, facing that East window. Since there is a radiator in that room, the fireplace would not have been used, and the bed could most likely have been on the old mantel wall, such as it is in the front guest room.

Borden's room Wooden club under the bed, bed, dresser. Probably a wash stand and chair somewhere about.

Bridget's room Bed (single) wash stand and a trunk

Third floor bedroom (now a bathroom) one double bed and washstand-this is described as the room Morse would stay in or Mr. Eddy.

Back two rooms for storage, both locked on day of the crime, containing trunks, out of season clothing, bags, etc.

Cellar: The room labelled Wood Room in the southeast corner of the cellar now shows a distinct ring of coal dust, so at one time, coal must have been kept there. I'd imagine the black caldron that fits in the chimney may well be the original one used to heat water for the washing. The opening in the back of the chimney, located in a jog in the first wood room is still there and is the given location for the old starch box Bridget describes as being the box where the hatchet was found.

That's all I have on interiors and would love to know more. As far as outside, the color was called "drab", and we have a fairly detailed exterior shots of the barn and house.

[Harry]

Cool project!

I notice the absence of Emma's room in the list.

Found this in the FR Evening News dated 8/8/1892:

"Opening out of this chamber to the south is a small room, presumably used by the sisters as a study, and it next demanded the attention of the police. There was another single bed here, presumably occupied by Miss Emma, and a desk, with easy chairs. The contents of the desk were minutely examined, and then after nearly two hours work the remainder of the floor was gone over."

[Shelley]

Oh- that is a juicy tidbit Harry! It must have been cramped in there. Nowadays there is a double bed, washstand and night table in there along with the dress mannequin and it is a neat trick making that bed up in the morning!

[Oscar]

Shelley, I was wondering if there were any plans to remove the bookcases in Lizzie's room and the sitting room and to restore the closets?

[Shelley]

I will ask tomorrow. I will be at the house this weekend and thought I would make a few measurements of that closet in the diningroom and also Emma's closet which I believe will be exactly the same dimensions. I have also been pondering the pantry and sink room today. There is a remnant of a wall in this area today -which is now the bathroom off the kitchen. I suspect the area where the tub and toilet are mark the dimensions of the old sinkroom and the area of the sink and surround is the old pantry. If this is so, and I bet it is, there would be a tight fit for the sink and the icebox. Of course we do not know how big the sink and counter were.

[Kat]

At the House now, you have all the issues of The Hatchet that Stefani donated to the House for research.

In the issue Dec/Jan 2004-2005, (Vol. 1 Issue 6), I have an article based on testimony which describes the cellar, starting pg. 24.
I bring this up because I used the diagram by Kieran to start and marked on a plat where everything was.

The hatchet head and the box found in the "jog" of the chimney, by most accounts was in the first cellar room to the east- the street-front cellar where that stand-alone white chimney area has been slowly desiccated. Fleet gave the wrong info as to which cellar these items were found,(he said the middle cellar) but the preponderance of tesimony will show it was actually the *front keep cellar*.

[Kat]

There's also a thread around here somewhere where we started to *furnish* the House thru testimony but it was so involved we got only so much done and then quit.

It's pretty hard! Good luck and it's great you are preparing to do this!

Susan or someone might be able to dig up the topic. I'm not good at that.

[Susan]

Shelley, does Rebello cite a source for the dining room information? I was curious about the red curtains and checked through the source documents as I didn't recall curtains mentioned before. According to Bridget, there weren't any curtains, just shutters. We had a thread going here not too long ago about Bridget's use of the word or possibly the Victorian use of the word; shutters. From what we found, shutters were on the inside of the windows and blinds were on the exterior.

Anyhoo, here is what I found from Bridget's trial testimony, volume 1, page 228, Bridget is being specifically asked about the dining room and sitting room:

Q. Did you shut the windows in both rooms?
A. Yes, sir; there was a window up in both rooms.

Q. Were the curtains up or down in the rooms?
A. There was no curtains there.

Q. Were the shutters closed or open?
A. They was open at the bottom, I remember.

Q. Up to when you shut the windows on the outside in those two rooms had you in any way closed the shutters of the dining room and the sitting room?
A. No, sir; I don't think I did.


I agree with Harry, sounds like a cool project!

[Shelley]

Well. now I plan to bug Len tomorrow about these red curtains. I am absolutely sure about the red tablecloth. I recently bought one to have handy for special occasions there. Yes, the shutters now are half window ones in the Borden's room, Emma's room, the guest room, Abby's dressing room and Lizzie's room and the front bathroom (former dress closet). If you live in New England you can appreciate the need for shutters. Even outside shutters used to be able to be closed against strong winds in the winter.

I recall a big discussion on this red curtain business. We now have them in the dining room and also the parlor. I do recall a reference to Abby's having bought the lace parlor curtains.

We shall get to the bottom of this and report back on Sunday night!

I also had a good look at the door knobs and can tell you they are art deco brass plates and clear crystal knobs- I bet they went on in the 30's. Crime scene photos show old fashioned enamel knobs, very plain. The light switch back plate in the old pantry (now bathroom) is as art deco as it gets. Hmmm... some work to be done there!

[Shelley]

Oh, I forgot to mention the lathing strips in Bridget's room, the third floor landing and the two front third floor rooms. If you look really close, there are holes where hooks used to be and I'd bet these are original. I was picturing Lizzie's seal skin saques swaying in their muslin bags as I was lying in bed last week. This was the room you stayed in Kat- remember? Jennings?

If this is true, then Bridget's bed would be on a different wall than it is now as the clothes would have hung right on her face. I would bet, in order not to bump her head, the single bed headboard was on the window wall.

[Kat]

Witness Statements, pg. 18
(Doherty/Harrington)

"Sunday 21. Summoning witnesses, Bestcome A. Case and wife of 199 Second street. Their statement. Understood from general talk the girls and Mrs. Borden did not get along very pleasantly. Never heard Mrs. Borden say anything about the family relations. Her allowance was about $200. a year; but much of it was spent on articles for the house. The lace curtains in the parlor she purchased. The girls got the same amount as she, but it was for their own use. A short time ago Mrs. Borden, for the first time, told me of the robbery, which took place about a year ago. She simply mentioned it, and said she would tell me all about it some time.

Mrs. Case directed me to Mrs. Daniel O'Leary of Fifth street, who at times worked for the Borden's. She could give no information."

[Kat]

Rebello, 32:

"The Boston Daily Globe [June 26, 1893], published the following account of a newspaper reporter's visit to the Borden home on Sunday morning two weeks after the trial. . . .Such was the scene on Sunday morning, and on Saturday night it was just the same, save ...that lights could then be seen through the curtained windows of the dining room and kitchen."

--But this was almost a year after Abby died, so Emma may have made some changes. You would probably prefer info from 1892?

[Kat]

Rebello,Leonard. Lizzie Borden Past & Present, Al-Zach Press, Fall River, MA., 1999, 109:

Crime Scene

The Borden House

"A Search of the Premises," Fall River Evening News, Monday, August 8, 1892: 1.

"On Saturday afternoon, 3:15 p.m., Marshal Hilliard, accompanied by several patrolmen, searched the Borden home. The search began in the attic and they worked their way down to the first floor. The search ended at 6:30 p.m.

The attic contained four rooms and an open area into which the stairway extends. The two rooms in the rear were found to be scantily furnished. One of them was occupied by the servant, Bridget Sullivan, whose personal effects were about all contained in a small trunk. The lid was quickly raised and the contents inspected. It contained only clothing and a few mementoes treasured by the owner, as might be judged by the careful manner in which they were preserved. A package of letters, a few photographs, a box, a little jewelry and other effects dear to the feminine heart were there, but nothing more. The bed was carefully inspected, the mattress shaken up and pounded, the adjoining closet searched in vain. All that met the searchers gaze were packages and boxes of heavy clothing stored for the summer, comforters for the beds and similar articles.

The search continued to the second furnished room, which contained a painted bed. The bed had the appearance of not having been used for some time. ... On the front facing Second Street, at the northern corner, is the guest chamber which was where the murder of Mrs. Borden took place and where Mr. Morse slept on the night preceding the murder. The room is large, with windows on two sides, and is handsomely papered. The windows are adorned with lace draperies. The furniture is heavy set of black walnut ...

The next room entered was Miss Lizzie's chamber, which is in the middle of the house, with windows on the south side. The walls were covered with rich, dark paper, which was relieved by handsome red portieres at the doors. The windows were draped with taste and the furniture was neatly arranged. There was a narrow bed for one person, which was covered with a spread and pillows of spotless white. Not a wrinkle was in the coverlet and it seemed, like everything else in the apartment, to reflect the precise and trim character of its occupant. Easy chairs and rockers around, a few choice engravings on the wall, a well-stocked bookcase and photographs secured in foreign travel were visible. The dressing case, commode and closet were in turn examined by the officers. Every dress Lizzie possessed, every skirt, wrapper, and piece of underclothing was rigorously scrutinized. On one of the skirts a blood stain was found. It was the only discovery in the room.

Opening out of this chamber to the south is a small room, presumably used by the sisters as a study, and it next demanded the attention of the police. There was another single bed here, presumably occupied by Miss Emma, and a desk, with easy chairs. The contents of the desk were minutely examined, and then after nearly two hours work the remainder of the floor was gone over.

110

The rooms occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Borden, deceased, were furnished in old-fashioned style, the bed being low and the other furniture heavy. The only other room on the floor was practically unfurnished."

[Edit- added here]:


"A New York Woman Describes the House," Fall River Daily Herald, August 24, 1892: 4.

Mrs. Percy, correspondent for the New York Herald, telegraphed her description of the interior of the Borden home.

"I went to the Borden house today. I was unable to see any member of the family. I was allowed to examine the rooms where the two murders were committed, the parlor and dining room adjoining on the lower floor, and the bed chambers of the two sisters above, next to which Mrs. Borden was found brutally done to death by an assassin. I was surprised to [find] the house extremely pretty and refined in its appointments. Easy chairs, shaded lamps, books, well-chosen bits of bric-a-brac, cushions, and draperies, an open piano, a hundred comforts and pleasing trifles tastefully disposed bespoke pleasantly the character of the occupants. The 'spare room' is the only unattractive apartment in the house, and that is not cheaply furnished, but in the heavy gloomy style of the Brussels carpet, black walnut period long passed.

There is a great square space where the blood-stained carpet under Mrs. Borden's crushed head has been cut away. The paper underneath shows the awful discoloration where it soaked through.

Lizzie Borden's room is as dainty and charming a place as any girl need ask for. The tiny bed had a pale blue embroidered counterpane, the work of the woman who occupied it. Many books and pictures were in the room, some of them evidently gathered in that foreign journey of which we have heard so much. One thing struck me forcibly. How could Lizzie Borden have come in the dainty place and remove the traces of such fearful work without marring all the delicate purity of everything with which she had contact? Why, the washstand even is in a recess veiled by a pale silken curtain. A soiled finger pushing it aside would leave a mark, and there is none. The stairway leading from the front hall is steep and winding at the top, and the wall at one side is covered with a pale gray cartridge paper. This way, up and down, which the assassin passed bears not a trace. Truly the Borden mystery holds its own as such."

--Whew! Thanks Har for pointing me in the right direction!

[Kat]

I just did a Word Search of the Trial and there is no "red" house object in there.

[Susan]

Thanks, Shelley and Kat. I never thought of that, but perhaps Emma did have the house redecorated during Lizzie's absence. That may be where the idea of curtains in the dining room came into being, she may have put some up in there, perhaps for added privacy?

[Airmid]

Rebello's account, it seems, is partly based on the Fall River Daily Herald account of the search of the house. This was probably published on Monday the 8th. I'll give some quotes from this article.

Rebello,Leonard. Lizzie Borden Past & Present, Al-Zach Press, Fall River, MA., 1999, 109:

Crime Scene

The Borden House

"A Search of the Premises," Fall River Evening News, Monday, August 8, 1892: 1.

"On Saturday afternoon, 3:15 p.m., Marshal Hilliard, accompanied by several patrolmen, searched the Borden home. The search began in the attic and they worked their way down to the first floor. The search ended at 6:30 p.m.

The attic contained four rooms and an open area into which the stairway extends. The two rooms in the rear were found to be scantily furnished.

"The attic to which the visitors ascended was spacious. It contained four rooms and an open area, into which the stairway extends. The two rooms in the rear were found to be scantily furnished."

One of them was occupied by the servant, Bridget Sullivan, whose personal effects were about all contained in a small trunk. The lid was quickly raised and the contents inspected. It contained only clothing and a few mementoes treasured by the owner, as might be judged by the careful manner in which they were preserved. A package of letters, a few photographs, a box, a little jewelry and other effects dear to the feminine heart were there, but nothing more. The bed was carefully inspected, the mattress shaken up and pounded, the adjoining closet searched in vain. All that met the searchers gaze were packages and boxes of heavy clothing stored for the summer, comforters for the beds and similar articles.

"One of them was occupied by the servant, Bridget Sullivan, whose personal effects were about all contained in a small trunk. It contained only clothing and a few mementoes treasured by the owner, as might be judged by the careful manner in which they were preserved. The bed was carefully inspected, the mattress shaken up and pounded and the adjoining closet searched in vain. All that met the searchers' gaze were packages and boxes of heavy clothing stored for the summer, comforters for the beds and similar articles."

The search continued to the second furnished room, which contained a painted bed. The bed had the appearance of not having been used for some time. ...

"The search then extended to the second furnished room, which contained a painted set. The bed had the appearance of not having been used for some time."

On the front facing Second Street, at the northern corner, is the guest chamber which was where the murder of Mrs. Borden took place and where Mr. Morse slept on the night preceding the murder. The room is large, with windows on two sides, and is handsomely papered. The windows are adorned with lace draperies. The furniture is heavy set of black walnut ...

"On the front, facing Second Street, at the northern corner, is the guest chamber, which leads out of a spacious hall to the right. It was here the murder of Mrs. Borden took place, positively some time in advance of the husband's death, and there it was that Mr. Morse slept on the night preceding the tragedy. The room is large, with windows on two sides, and is handsomely papered. The windows are adorned with lace draperies. The furniture is a heavy set of black walnut."

I wonder why Mr. Rebello gave us a "painted bed" instead of a "painted set". And I also wonder what a "set" really is. I'm imagining it is a dressing table, wash stand and towel rack, but you experts will be able to correct me there.

One more quote from that newspaper article:
"A long time was consumed in a minute inspection of the parlor, library, sitting-room, dining-room and kitchen, which availed nothing."
That's an odd thing to write, especially since the reporter who wrote this seemed to have had excellent sources of information. Perhaps there was a large closet in either the parlor or the sitting-room filled with books?

Airmid.

[Shelley]

Thanks everyone- good stuff- yes, this was the newspaper article I was digging for. I suppose it was quite possible for the coverlet in Lizzie's room to have been changed.

There is no closet in the parlor. There is a big deep closet in the sitting room, then what would have been a smaller one on the right side of the mantel. Maybe one of these had books in it.

I was excited to read "open piano"- I have missed that all these years. That means it was a square parlor "grand" - a very popular style. They do not have the familiar baby grand lid that raises and is propped at an angle. They are hard to keep in tune though. Fascinating. Rubbing hands with glee....You guys are the bees knees!

[Shelley]

I have a painted set from about 1870 or thereabouts. It is a head and footboard, a commode (place for chamber pot inside), a chest of drawers, 2 chairs, small worktable.

I have also seen 3 piece "suites" of just the bed, bureau, and commode advertised in vintage magazines. That third floor bedroom next to Bridget's is very small and I would bet it was just a bed and maybe a night stand and commode.

[Kat]

Airmid is that from The Sourcebook?

BTW: Harry has found that a lot of papers reprinted what others had, changing the wording slightly or beginning with a different introductory paragraph and then going on word for word. Either that was common practice back then with no one complaining, or the newspapers may have had some kind of tacit agreement that they could share actual stories and it not be considerd plagiarism. Those kinds of articles could show up in out of state papers like Dallas even.

[Kat]

Here is what the Evening News of Fall River said about the guest room window, Wed., Aug. 24, 1892:
"Another question that interested the authorities early in the investigation is,'Was the window open or shut?'
In the writer's opinion it was open. The weather was warm, the window was fitted with a sliding screen. The raised lower sash protected the upper half of the window. The window was open when a News reporter visited the room only a short time after the discovery of the tragedy."

--They were concerned about blood on the window- that is the context of the opinion. I don't see why the window should have been open during the attack, but do see a reason for it to be open as the room filled with people! They did not find blood on the window, anyway.
But what do they mean by a "sliding screen?"

[Airmid]

Airmid is that from The Sourcebook?

Yes, Kat, page 21.

BTW: Harry has found that a lot of papers reprinted what others had, changing the wording slightly or beginning with a different introductory paragraph and then going on word for word. Either that was common practice back then with no one complaining, or the newspapers may have had some kind of tacit agreement that they could share actual stories and it not be considerd plagiarism. Those kinds of articles could show up in out of state papers like Dallas even.

Ahh thanks!

[Shelley]

Hi all. I am in the hayloft and just had to say- forget all about the red curtains. False info. Lots to report on closets tomorrow,

[Kat]

This has been a Public Service Announcement!

BTW: What about the red tablecloth?

[Shelley]

Len stands by the red tablecloth, and also the little daybed which was in the diningroom in that little jog (which actually had more lying down space than the black sofa- was green striped. Am waiting for photos tomorrow to post of various obscure measurements and angles, some rather enlightening. In typical Virgo fashion- I am a minutae freak- so no detail is too small for me
LeeAnn says some fine day the prospect of restoring the original construction of the sitting room closet to the right of the mantel is a possibility. The return of the barn is being enjoyed by everyone, employees and guests, visitors during the day and I daresay the city!
Next week our Ben and Emily return to school, Ben off to college after a busy summer, but hopefully Emily will be able to pop in some on the weekend. The crew is doing well, preparing for Halloween, decorations, apples and cider, cinnamon doughnuts and cool autumn New England nights!

[Shelley]

I did give some thought to the piano matter in the parlor. An "open piano" was a somewhat clunky affair, and they were made, either black walnut or fruitwood, until the late 1890's when the curved-sided grand was most desirable. This thing took up some room, and with the radiator in the parlor in the northwest corner, the door to the foyer in the southwest corner, and the entry door from the sittingroom in the southeast corner, Lizzie's piano must have gone in the north east corner of the parlor. After measuring and taking photos of these locations, I am convinced more than ever. We don't know exactly when she began playing, but maybe they got the piano in the 1870's or when they moved in in 1872. An open parlor piano looks like this and does not have the full 88 key octaves. I understand Ernest Terry played for her at Maplecroft, and if Anna Fiore played the organ there at Lizzie's funeral, then Maplecroft must have had a parlor organ and a piano. Parlor organs were very common.


A nice site on Victorian pianos http://www.immortalpiano.com/pianos_victorian.cfm

[Susan]

Here is what the Evening News of Fall River said about the guest room window, Wed., Aug. 24, 1892:
"Another question that interested the authorities early in the investigation is,'Was the window open or shut?'
In the writer's opinion it was open. The weather was warm, the window was fitted with a sliding screen. The raised lower sash protected the upper half of the window. The window was open when a News reporter visited the room only a short time after the discovery of the tragedy."

--They were concerned about blood on the window- that is the context of the opinion. I don't see why the window should have been open during the attack, but do see a reason for it to be open as the room filled with people! They did not find blood on the window, anyway.
But what do they mean by a "sliding screen?"

Kat, from what I could find, the "sliding screen" that the Bordens used was a small adjustable screen. Heres a pic of a modern version of one:



You would open the window, place the screen on the sill and adjust the width to fit the window frame and then lower the window sash down on the screen to hold it in place. I wondered why by 1892 that the Bordens didn't have regular screens that fitted on the outside of the windows and covered the whole thing. And then it hit me, if full screens had been in place on the outside of the windows, you couldn't just open a window from the inside and reach out and close the exterior shutters (or blinds as Bridget would call them). So, I guess there was a method to that madness?

[Harry]

... We don't know exactly when she began playing, but maybe they got the piano in the 1870's or when they moved in in 1872. ...

"She entered the high school when about 15 or 16 years old. It was then held in a wooden building on the corner of June and Locust sts., which was removed when the present mammoth structure was presented to the city. At this time Lizzie was taking piano lessons, and the high school, for some reason, was not congenial to her tastes, for she left after completing a little over a year of the prescribed classical course of study."

Here's some assorted info on the piano:

Radin, p34: "If the new house on Second Street was not as appealing or as spacious as its neighbors, it still was an improvement over the old home on Ferry Street. And Borden did splurge in furnishing it. Flowered carpets were placed in all the main rooms. An upright piano was purchased for the front parlor. And, as the daughters of one of the now wealthy Bordens, Lizzie and Emma started rather late in life to take music lessons."

Aha, Emma actually did something! But not if you believe Kent. (p215):

"They were in no way alike. While Lizzie had attempted to play the ancient piano Andrew had installed in the parlor on Second Street, Emma had not."

Lincoln has this, p37: "However, there was an upright piano in the parlor which was only twenty years old; all young ladies were supposed to "play." But Lizzie never mastered it."

How Lincoln knows it was 20 years old isn't stated. But few of her "facts" are.

There is a unsigned, undated letter in the Knowlton papers, HK125, page 127, advising Knowlton on the piano:

"I understand that the "Bordens" have an old-fashioned piano; has it been examined? There is usually a vacant place on the left side of the key board, where by removing the paneling a sufficient space could be made to hide several hatchets if need be. The tone of the piano would not be affected: it is sometimes necessary to remove the action first, but if prepared beforehand it would take but a few minutes. ..."

Apparently the piano was searched. Hilliard testified at the trial, p1145:

"Q. ... That, so far as your immediate knowledge is concerned, is what happened on Saturday afternoon?
A. I would say that Mr. Jennings and I looked at the parlor there, the piano that afternoon.
Q. With the same result?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. In fact your whole search was, as the doctors call it, with a negative result?
A. It might possibly be; I call it a thorough search."

Whether others inspected it earlier than Saturday I wasn't able to determine.

[Shelley]

Great stuff! So, Radin and Lincoln say it was an upright?- well, that does change things. An upright would have fit handily in the spot where there is the little pump organ now in the parlor. I wonder how both authors knew it was an upright? -

"old-fashioned piano;" throws me more of a curve, for that could be either, and "open piano "can only be one of those square parlor grands. Yes, I had a 1900 "upright grand" which was a fancy way of saying it was a nicer model of an upright with more fancy casing and very carved and fussy legs, and it had plenty of room for hatchet -hiding with an interior readily accessible. The top lid is hinged and opens usually with the front half of the lid folding back. I am picturing hymn-playing in the parlor. I wonder if Lizzie was an alto! Somehow, I can hear Emma singing alto too.
The White Ribbon Temperance Hymnal has some dandy tunes Emma would like.

[Harry]

Yes, I would imagine hymns would have been the predominate music played. Just can't see Lizzie banging out a ragtime tune!

Spiering also says "upright piano" on page 11 but he had a tendency to borrow heavily from other authors, especially Lincoln.

I don't know how any of the authors knew the type of piano the Bordens had. Porter and Lundy were the only two contemporary authors at the time of the murder. Pearson didn't write his "Studies in Murder" until 1923, some 31 years after the murders. There is another thread somewhere about whether Porter was ever inside the house (was he?) and we have no idea, but some have suspicions, of who Lundy was. Neither of them describe the piano.

I've always wondered whether the piano was one of those items taken to Maplecroft. In Williams' book she quotes Ellis Waring, from Swansea:

"She owned a Packard automobile. Always had a chauffeur. Apparently, he had other duties as well. People said that he played the piano for Lizzie's entertainment."

[Shelley]

Considering the size of the parlor, and Lizzie's lukewarm dedication to her music, I would bet it was an upright, not a grand. An upright has the full 88 key range, takes up little room, has a great sound, and beautiful case. By the way, under the keyboard is a latch which drops the entire underneath front panel where you can see all the way back to the soundboard. I hope they searched that too! I would surely imagine Lizzie took her piano to Maplecroft. I will ask Mr. Terry if his grandfather played piano, I had seen that quote too recently.

A guest asked me this weekend what she took to Maplecroft- I was pretty sure the black sofa stayed!!!

[Shelley]

How about a sing-along to My Ain Countrie? This is one of the better midi files of it. The Ames Collection homepage has many more Lizzie vintage favorites.

http://junior.apk.net/~bmames/ht0137_.htm

And speaking of parlor pianos and organs and all things Victorian furnishing- "Death In the Dining Room" is a MUST HAVE. Amazon has it for as little as 5 bucks plus other wonderful Ken Ames books on Victoriana. The link below gives a free PDF chapter to read online. This chapter deals with the entry hall, be sure to scroll to get the diagrams and full text. The book is chock full of photos and diagrams. "Parlor organs, a blending of the sacred and the profane, provided an occasion to display feminine accomplishment and to symbolize the role of the bourgeois Christian lady. "Yep- that's Lizzie at Maplecroft!
http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/668_reg.html

[Shelley]

Speaking of the diningroom closet and whether there was room for a hat, the shelf is just 12 inches wide, the entire depth of the closet is 13 7/8 inches with the inside width 36 1/2 inches- so about a foot deep and a yard wide- not much space to store very much. There are three hooks which really look original. They have the S imprinted on them one sees so much in old Victorian schoolhouse cloakrooms.

[Shelley]

Hey Kat- we found the red tablecloth! Here's a closeup of the iron hook.

[Shelley]

Still trying to figure out what could have been construed as a "library"-which 1892 usage could mean simply a home collection of books, not necessarily a room, the sitting room closet looks like a possibility. It has two deep shelves in the back, 18" deep. The closet with the shelves goes back 61 inches through a 27 " door , but with the 10 hooks in the lathing strip near the front of the closet, and if they are original, things would have hung over the front of the shelves. I think the best bet for the library is the spot to the right of the mantel. The door heights are just a hair short of 79".

[Shelley]

A more likely candidate for library:

[Shelley]

Getting away from measurements for a few frames- here is the light at about 7 p.m. as it would have been when Lizzie left the house to see Alice on August 3rd.

[Shelley]

Twilight in the side yard outside the sitting room with St. Mary's across Second Street, 7:15 p.m

[Shelley]

A Lizzie-eye view looking out the screen door at Mrs. Churchill's window.

[Shelley]

Bridget's view rushing out the side door to get Dr. Bowen.

[Shelley]

Bridget's point of view standing on the ground outside washing the sitting room window.

[Shelley]

Lizzie peering out the same window in the sitting room-from the inside.

[Shelley]

Checking to see Bridget chatting up the Kelly maid by the fence

[Shelley]

The usual run for a staircase is 13 steps, and there are 13 up these back stairs, then the second floor landing and hall and then a run of 12 up to the third floor and Bridget's room.. Kind of makes you wonder why somebody did not choose to just push Mr. Borden down the stairs instead! Bridget says the back stairs were carpeted.

[Shelley]

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?

[Shelley]

The dining room jog which held the little daybed measures 64" long by 15 6/8 deep. If the day bed fit the entire width, there would have been more room to lie down than on that sofa, which interior stretchout room was only 58" inside due to the slant of the armrests.

[Shelley]

Back in the old sinkroom looking through the wall into the old pantry.Kitchen beyond.
The pantry dimensions would have been 56" x 62" and the sinkroom about 75 1/2" x 59 with the wall in between accounted for.

looking from pantry through to sinkroom

[Shelley]

Back hall and location of former door in the hall to the sinkroom

[Shelley]

The familiar molding with the distinct indentations. I was surprised to find not all the molding is the same width. The diningroom molding is 4 1/2" wide while the molding in this photo going from the sitting room into the front hall is 5 1/2" and from the front hall into the parlor is also 5 1/2"

[Shelley]

Some other measurements of interest :
The four panels of the famous window Bridget was washing when Mr. Borden knocked on the front door measure 14 3/8" by 29" each and I believe these windows, and the diningroom had double white wood interior shutters top and bottom which could be opened at the half point.

[Shelley]

The front entry boasts 5 side lights vertically on each side of the door. Each pane measures 14 6/8" x 9 1/2" and were curtained but I expect someone might have seen the murderer go upstairs if they had peeked in at the right moment. From the head of the black sofa to this front door measures 10 steps-Lizzie chose to go through the diningroom to call for help into the back hall- exactly 20 steps and twice as far.