Paca House prepares to open Porch Chamber, complete with zograscope

Remember that nifty toy called a View-Master?

Well, the Paca House in Annapolis is getting ready to unveil a new room that will have a device that's like a primitive version of the View-Master.

Called a zograscope, it provides 3-D glimpses of things like a Parisian garden, Venetian canals or a Chinese temple. It works by focusing a lens and a mirror on colored engravings placed on a table. It takes some practice to achieve the effect, but when successful, a hall, for example, seems to literally jump out from the page and extend forever. The optics are mounted on a mahogany pedestal, and the mirror is angled downward at the image.

It's certainly not high-tech by today's standards, but remember, the zograscope is more than 225 years old.

"People expect 21st-century 3-D," said Historic Annapolis Foundation curator Alexandra Deutsch. "(But) it's 18th-century 3-D. For the 18th century, it was the height for entertainment. You have to put it perspective, literally."

Ms. Deutsch purchased the zograscope, also called a perspective glass, in England, and also procured three engravings from a Philadelphia shop. These images had to be rendered with "mathematical accuracy" tocreate the illusion of an extra dimension under the zograscope, she said. The scenes are fanciful rather than realistic, but since many people couldn't travel to these locales themselves, it was how they got to know the places.

"People (then) relied on print to get a sense of what the world looked like," said Laura Pass Barry, who has studied zograscopes as associate curator of prints, maps and paintings at Colonial Williamsburg. "I think they're fascinating."

The Paca House's device will be in the Porch Chamber, which will be opened to the public as part of the organization's Maryland Day festivities on March 30.

It's not known if William Paca actually had a zograscope, but it was something used in high society in the 18th century. The aim of having the zograscope, as well as the whole new Porch Chamber, isn't to focus on technology, but rather to hone in on how the family might have interacted in a less formal setting. It all serves the foundation's mission of bringing history to life by showing more of the Pacas' daily activities.

"Overall, it brings more life into the house," said Glenn Campbell, HAF's vice president of preservation and education. Consequently, he said, it should make the Pacas more accessible to the general public.

"It's going to tell a story with a lot of beautiful and unusual things in the chamber," added Nan Farmer, co-chair of the Paca Society, which supports and funds a variety of project at the historic home.

Living in the past

The 10-by-12½-foot Porch Chamber is the result of two years of planning.

"This is a space that visitors really respond to; it's the best view of the garden," Ms. Deutsch said. "It's a lovely space every time of the year. There's great light and ventilation."

In addition to the zograscope, the chamber also will showcase a reproduction of Mary Paca's embroidery frame, some embroidery, associated items like scissors, period slipcovers and window hangings, and a green floor cloth.

Barbara Meger of Crofton, who has made reproductions of textiles for the Paca House in the past, is handling the embroidery that will be on display in the Porch Chamber.

Ms. Meger is working on a copy of a potholder with a stylized floral design for the frame, using a "flat stitch" technique common in the Colonies to conserve thread, which was hard to get because it was imported, she said.

The potholder will be unfinished, as if Mrs. Paca is still there at work on the project, Ms. Deutsch said. A finished version will be on a table next to the frame.

"I think it's going to give the visitors the opportunity to get a glimpse of what life was like (when the Pacas) were at ease," she said.

Ms. Deutsch will give a lecture called "Putting Things in Perspective" on the Georgian fascination with optics, including the zograscope, from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Paca House conference room. The cost is $10, free for HAF members and volunteers. For more information about HAF's Maryland Day festivities on March 30, call 410-267-8146 or visit the Web site at www.annapolis.org.