geometry 101

Although I live below the Mason-Dixon Line, I am still a New Englander at heart, so I thought I would treat you to something wonderful from up north.

Tucked away in the little hamlet of Blue Hill, Maine, is a historic gem ~ the Jonathan Fisher House. Parson Fisher was a fascinating man: an artist, carpenter, scholar, farmer, and Congregational minister (among other things). A real renaissance man! His home, which is filled with wonderful 18th and 19th-century vernacular furniture (some made by his own hand), is open to the public for part of the year ~ and I promise a historic house tour when I visit this summer. The memorial foundation still owns many of Jonathan Fisher’s woodcuts and journals. As a lover of old manuscripts, I was enthralled by his geometry notebook from 1790 (see above), and the transcriptions from his journals. And what was Jonathan Fisher doing on this day in 1803? He “killed and skinned a couple of cats. Turned several chair rounds. Drew and painted a slate colored snow bird.” All in a day’s work!

(images via Jonathan Fisher Memorial)