The Improper Bostonian (Oct. 8 - Oct. 21, 1997), Page 6
There are two good reasons to order a picture frame from the Old Schwamb
Mill, and the second is to visit the place and sink into the flavorful valley
of the past offered by the place itself. Right outside of Arlington, in
a suddenly countryish spot that feels much farther off the beaten path than
it is, the Mill is the longest picture frame establishment in operation
in the county, humming since 1864. For 200 years before that, it was a
gristmill and a sawmill, with water-powered millstones doing the grinding.
The Mill is in an old red wooden building, and when woodworking is not in
progress there is an ancient, pleasing peace in the air, such that the 20th
century just falls away. When there is milling in progress it's a place
for schoolchildren, graduate students and lovers of local or industrial
history or wood working to visit and to watch the work get done, still using
the original machinery, tools and techniques that have been used by five
generations. The other reason to visit the Mill is to order one of the their
frames in its natural habitat, the most significant of which are their oval
and circular ones. Available in any size, they are reminiscent of an era
when they were everywhere, namely after the Civil War, when genteel parlors
were full of these frames, often containing a photograph. Certain frames
here are made in the style originated by James MacNeil Whistler, Gilbert
Stuart and John Singleton Copley, and indeed a common use people put their
custom-made frames to is for the re-framing of old paintings or portraits
that need the authenticity and stature of a worthy, historically appropriate frame. They also work well around mirrors.
- Mopsy Strange Kennedy
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