So, about those pineapples. First, lets dispel the myth that they meant hospitality in the 18th century: “And here is what we do not know about pineapples: that they had anything at all to do with hospitality in the 17th and 18th centuries. It’s hard to imagine a ship captain sacrificing something so rare and expensive and tasty as a pineapple by spiking it on his door, his roof, or his garden gate–as it says on the card that comes with the little brass pineapple bookmark sold today in gift shops.” From Michael Olmert’s “The Hospitable Pineapple” in the Winter 1997-1998 issue of the Colonial Williamsburg Journal, quoted in historymyths.wordpress/?s=pineapple Were not sure when the pineapples were added to the gate posts of the landscape fence at the Royall House & Slave Quarters, though they werent there in photos from the 1940s. But we know when they were removed: last week, in anticipation of rebuilding the fence before our season opens next spring. The north one is intact and heavy, made of very hard wood. Alas, as wed feared, the one from the south post disintegrated on the way down. Here they are: before, during, and after.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 13:33:52 +0000
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