19th Century

Two versions of Christ's agony in the garden of Gethsemane -- how alike they are and yet how different. Almost the same size, both are illuminated manuscript pages; both have floral borders on gold backgrounds surrounding small pictures of the scene in the garden. But one is rather serene and done in delicate colors, while in the other, Christ, clothed in blue and almost garish pink, collapses into the arms of an angel like a ham actor doing a death scene.The first is from a book of hours of about 1500, by a Flemish artist.

The Laurel Historical Society presents Dr. Edward Stonestreet, who will deliver a lecture titled "Civil War Surgeon" at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Laurel Municipal Pool Room, 9th and Main streets. Visitors can learn about what it was like to practice medicine in the 19th century. Call 301-725-7975 for more information.

Founded in 1827, Patterson Park ranks as one of the oldest parks in the country. It grew from 9 acres at its start to 155 acres by 1909. Patterson Park Boat Lake also dates to the 19th century and became popular for ice skating among residents after it was built; it was later enlarged. The lake was created after extensive earthmoving was performed to remove military emplacements.

A local art scholar looks at the walls full of Alsatian soldiers, Tyrolean landscapes, French cardinals and female models draped in diaphanous gowns. He likes what he sees. Very much.The scholar is not in a museum -- not the kind most people think of anyway -- but Haussner's Restaurant, where waitresses walk past the picture-heavy walls with trays heaped with turkey croquettes, crab imperial, pig's knuckles and Wiener schnitzel a la Holstein.For the many years that Baltimoreans have been sopping the gravy from their plates here while wondering about the scene of ancient Rome near the cream pitcher, there has been little public assessment of the artwork's history and place in scholarship.

Even though its period of popularity came to an end a century ago, the "Cigar Store Indian" remains a term that brings a specific image to mind: the life-size, colorful, painted wood figure of the American Indian, standing at the door of the tobacco shop and clutching a bunch of cigars.And though its function as a form of advertising belongs to long ago, in recent years this form of 19th-century sculpture has enjoyed increasing popularity among collectors of American folk art. Last fall, the Museum of American Folk Art in New York presented the show "The Image Business: Shop & Cigar Store Figures in America," an assemblage of 60 sculptures that has now traveled to the Baltimore Museum of Art.This lively show will hold a couple of surprises for those who think the cigar store Indian was that and nothing else.

E. Steuart Chaney, upset as he watched the Southern Maryland of his ancestors disappear under subdivision after subdivision, started scraping together pieces of history. His collectible of choice: 19th-century buildings. That was 15 years ago, and since then, the Anne Arundel County businessman has amassed nearly a dozen of the structures - from the one-room schoolhouse where his great-aunt taught to a two-seater outhouse with its original window - and reassembled them on the property of his Tracys Landing marina.

On this date in 1881, Baltimore began a week that just wouldn't cool off. For the next seven days, through Oct. 3, the overnight LOW temperature in the city never slipped below 72 degrees. (Average lows are in the 50s.) All seven of those daily "high minimums" from 1881 still stand as records, though one was tied in 1954. The four from Sept. 27-30 are among 10 record-high minimums for September that have stood since the 19th century.

The following New Year editorial appeared on The Sun's editorial page Dec. 30, 1899. ALL of our divisions of time, though having some relation to the progress of the seasons and to the birth of Christ, are really more or less artificial. Time is an unending cycle, but man has seen fit to establish certain points in the circle which he designates as stopping and starting places. The year is one of the periods, and on Monday we shall begin a new year of more than usual significance, for it will be the last year of the 19th century.

As part of this weekend's 23rd annual Maryland Historical Society Antiques Show, the society will swing wide the door of its vault today, offering students and silver collectors a rare opportunity to view some of the more notable and unusual items from its collection of 2,000 pieces. Jeannine Disviscour, curator of the society's decorative arts collection, will lead a breakfast discussion beginning at 10 this morning at its headquarters on 201 W. Monument St. in downtown Baltimore. The cost is $25 and includes admission to the antiques show.

An antiques-filled Prince George's County house illustrates the fact that life moves on, and quality endures. Once dark and formal, the house today celebrates a change to softer, easier colors. Oriental carpets, antiques and fine reproductions collected years ago by the owners were retained. Floral chintzes are used with the rich brocades and damasks of the past. The decorative changes have reflected the changing lifestyle of the family, as the children have grown up and left. The owners, who now enjoy a splendid freedom, chose to echo their new life in the decor.