Dining in eighteenthcentury Williamsburg

Magazine Antiques, August, 2001 by Allison Eckardt Ledes

While Colonial Williamsburg is celebrating its seventy-fifth anniversary this year, one of its buildings--the King's Arms Tavern--is marking its fiftieth. The tavern was rebuilt on its original foundations in 1951, like numerous other structures in the museum complex, the best known of which is the Governor's Palace. The original tavern was the meeting place of a number of illustrious Americans, among them George Washington and William Byrd III, and it was one of the most elegant taverns in what was then the capital of the British colonies in North America.

A decade after Williamsburg was founded as a museum site in 1926, the institution launched a reproduction program, the products of which are highly regarded for their quality and fidelity to historical antecedents. Today, more than fifty manufacturers provide some four thousand items including furniture, fabrics, wall coverings, bedding, paint, and tablewares.

In celebration of the anniversary of the tavern a number of products have been manufactured based on originals known to have been used in taverns in eighteenth-century Williamsburg. During that century, as today, specific glasses were developed for use with particular beverages. One of these is the shrub glass, which was especially popular. Shrub is a drink made from pureed fruit or fruit syrup. The reproductions (illustrated at left) are offered in two sizes.

Also used at the King's Arms were what were then known as "candle shades," which are today more commonly called hurricane shades (illustrated below). These are particularly useful in preventing candles from burning unevenly or from being extinguished in breezy weather. The hand-rolled base prevents the furniture from being scratched as the candles and shades are moved about.

Along with these glass products, the museum has commissioned dinnerwares based on creamware examples of the eighteenth century The pieces are decorated with the royal arms of the Hanoverian line of English kings from 1714 to 1801, which were used to embellish all sorts of objects in the period. Also being offered is the Sarah Coke candlestick (illustrated below), which was inspired by an American example excavated by archaeologists at the Coke-Garrett site in Williamsburg's historic area. The candlesticks are being sold in three sizes.