photo courtesy of Bergen County Historical Society
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
New Bridge Landing NJ, the Bergen County Historical Society is kicking off Preservation Month with a recent project completed earlier this year!
During the winter months, historic preservation painting took place in the Great House. Paint analysis from the Passageways and Northwest Stair passage found a three-layer application process of a grey basecoat verdigris paint and a copal varnish on top.
The brushes you see being used are the type of brushes that were traditionally used with hand-ground linseed oil paint. The smaller round brushes would have been used for painting trim, windows, cutting in edges and areas with details. These brushes are still the best brush to use with this type of paint.
This paint color is from what we believe to be the early Federal Period of the Great House, c.1790’s. It is the same color that was found and restored in the Northwest Stair Passage.
Chris Mills (pictured) is an architectural conservator and owner of Christopher Mills Conservation Services based in New York and the Berkshires of Massachusetts. Chris has worked as an architectural conservator for more than 15 years with emphasis on the conservation, recovery and re-installation of period finishes in numerous historic buildings throughout the United States.
Next time you visit the Great House, take notice of the fresh paint!
Stay tuned for more Presevation projects past, present, and future at Stratford Hall all month long!
