Arrival of the Chandelier

I should say a bit about the chandelier. It was purchased by my great-grandfather William Tobias Litson in the late 1800's when it would have been illuminated with gas flame. It hung in a grand house he built in Mt. Vernon, New York, when he worked as a bookmaker at the Saratoga Race Track. (This was perfectly legal at the time, though in 1911 the state of New York banned gambling altogether, and a couple of years later, re-legalized it under state control.) This line of work must have provided an extremely comfortable living, and William Litson was mentioned in a New York Times story from October 24, 1900 as an acquaintance of Cornelius Alford, a bank swindler--more or less the Bernie Madoff of his day.

The chandelier probably hung in a hallway, given its narrow profile. For as long as I remember, it lay in the attic of our various houses. Mom used to beg someone to adopt it, but disassembled it didn't look like much. Last fall when I knew I was going to do a renovation I pulled it out of the attic and unwrapped and inventoried all the crystals. The parts appeared to be complete, with only a couple of crystals broken or damaged. The newspaper it was wrapped in was from 1947, but we don't really now how long it has been since it was last in use. I brought it back to Boston and had it restored and it has hung in a U-Haul garment box since December 2008.

Last week the electrician came to wire the fireplace sconces and the center ceiling medallion for the chandelier. My plan was to keep the chandelier in its box until the whole job was done to avoid dust and damage, but to my surprise it was installed when I got home from work. I scurried to CVS for some bulbs and turned it on. It is not large, but boy, is it sparkly.

Here are some pictures of the components before restoration:

And after!

It is now encased in bubble wrap and plastic garbage bags, and I've had a serious conversation with the contractor about making sure no one smashes it with a stray 2x4. He assures me no lumber will come into the house on that level. My fingers are crossed.