18th Century

Joseph Iadone, 89, an early-music specialist and recording artist who was among the first in postwar America to popularize the lute, died March 23 in New Haven, Conn. Largely self-taught, Mr. Iadone was a master on the lute, the delicate ancestor of the guitar that was common in Europe into the 18th century but had become obscure by the 20th century.

Odessa, Del. has charm in any season, but next weekend's "Christmas in Odessa" offers something special -- 18th century house tours (properties of the Winterthur Museum as well as restored private homes), exhibits, concerts, carriage rides, demonstrations and a Christmas craft shop. The event, sponsored by the Women's Club of Odessa, is in its 27th year.Country house tours are scheduled from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, with a larger one from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Especially popular is the candlelight minitour from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday.

Back in the 18th century, Christmas was a time for family and friends, feasting and entertainment. The merriment went on for days, 12 to be exact. The season then concluded with a Twelfth Night Celebration -- more feasting, entertainment and the ritual of the burning of the greens.At the Francis Land House in Virginia Beach, Va., on Saturday you can witness a Twelfth Night Celebration from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Visitors will move back in time to 1783 as interpreters, dressed as Francis Land and members of his household, welcome guests.

Candlelight tours are scheduled at historic Sully mansion in Chantilly, Va., tomorrow and Wednesday tthrough next Sunday, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.Admission is $3 for adults, $1 for children.On Dec. 27, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., candle lanterns will line the plantation's pathways and the grounds will be populated with costumed carolers and 18th century characters. Outside visitors can take wagon rides through the surrounding fields, watch open hearth cooking demonstrations and feel the warmth of a bonfire while enjoying hot chocolate and ginger cookies.

Tupac Amaru I in the 16th century and Tupac Amaru II in the 18th century were lost causes who caused mischief. It is fair to infer what Trey is about.Show no sympathy. The top FBI guy working for the Russians should have known a top KGB guy was helping our side.Mobutu Sese Seko heard of a part of Zaire he hadn't stolen and went back for it.So long, Ed-die, it was good to see you again.Pub Date: 12/20/96

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Colonial Williamsburg is snuffing th use of tobacco in its portrayal of a state built on the tobacco trade.As of Jan. 1, smoking is prohibited inside all historical buildings, for costumed and non-costumed workers alike.But interpreter John Lowe said the ban won't hamper his presentation of life in 18th-century Virginia. For five years, he has carried a tobacco-less clay pipe in his portrayal of carpenter Benjamin Powell."I rub it around and hold it so it has the effect of being used," Mr. Lowe said.

Volunteers who decorate the Hammond-Harwood House and the William Paca House, two 18th century architectural treasures located in Annapolis, are well versed in decking the halls of Colonial homes for the holidays.But Boots Michalak, chairman of the decoration committee for the Paca House, is quick to note that while feasting was quite elaborate during the 12 days of Christmas, decoration was spare at best. Many decorative customs, essential today, were simply not around in the 1700s.An 18th century home, or cabin or mansion, never hosted a decorated evergreen.

In the 18th century, the Chinese made furniture that resembled the English pieces popular at the time. The furniture was sold to sea captains sailing back home.The English made other pieces in England that used pagodas and bamboo as part of their Chinese-inspired designs.Today's furniture makers often make copies of an earlier period. French designs with lavish fabrics and romantic pictures have long been favored for formal living and dining rooms. A furniture store might offer Louis XIV rococo style, or the more luxurious Louis XV style and even Louis XVI neoclassical style.

Serge Bisono could be a poet, the way he describes Pierre Deux fabrics."It's cheerful, it's smiling. It looks like the province it comes from. Finally, it looks old. It could be the bedroom of your grandmother when she was a young girl."Mr. Bisono is director of Pierre Deux's design studio in Paris.Pierre Deux itself doesn't manufacture fabrics. Rather, it commissions fabrics from several manufacturers and distributes them through its designer showrooms and boutiques. The fabric lines include 18th century French designs, "Souleiado" (an old Provencal word meaning "the sun's rays shining through a cloud after the rain")

Ephemera. It sounds contagious. You've been exposed to it all your life. Your friends and neighbors have it too. Is it chronic?Chances are, after seeing "Graphic Americana: The Art and Technique of Printed Ephemera," an eye-catching and nostalgic exhibition at the Princeton University Library in Princeton, N.J., through Sept. 20, you'll succumb to the ephemerist's bug; taking out the trash will never be the same.Ephemera is printed paper and packaging not meant to last. It is yesterday's invitations, last year's calendar, business cards, cigar bands, advertisements, postcards, brochures, posters, matchbooks and other items that make good barbecue tinder or overflow your wastebasket.